Wow, those are some hard words to say, "I must decrease" and even harder to watch and see. John the Baptist had been sent for a season and a role, "to prepare the way" once that work was done it was time to move on. John knew that when he said those words "He must increase, while I must decrease". It must have been hard for him though. He was the "man" per say, the leader the teacher the baptizer. And now that his work was done, One would come along, take what he had prepared and make it greater, actually do the greatest work in all of man kind. When you explain it like that, it sounds awesome. But I imagine that while being in the midst of decreasing it doesnt feel all that great. I say that because I used that exact quote a few weeks ago when my staff was having a meeting without me. Dont be cruel to them or anything, they needed to have that meeting and do some things and the reality is they need practice in doing them without me. I must decrease. In light of that statement it sounds good, but I can tell you personally that whilst in the storm it sucks.
As I move out of my current role in ministry I have to move aside and let others take over. If any of you know me, you know that I love to delegate, and not because im lazy, but because I love seeing people grow and take on new roles. So this moving aside is not a huge thing, except that im in a place now where I have no say, or responsibility. Now dont take that to mean that I dont care, its not that. Its really that I have no authority, no matter what I do now, it can be undone in a few weeks. Its a weird place to be. I want to help and guide and hold people accountable but its not my place anymore. I must decrease. Hard thing to do. I want to see them succeed and grow, but that will be someone else's job. I can obviously still have a relationship with this staff and dont doubt that I will continue to love them, but when it comes to ministry issues they will need to follow their new leader. Which means I must step away, that is not only hard but it sucks. I love my staff and I dont want to let go, but I must decrease (I figure if I say that enough it will become easier, NOT).
This past weekend I was up at Hume Lake Christian camps with my last HS class. This is a unique class in that I took them over when they were in the 8th grade. I have known them all for 5 years. They are an awesome group, but I have to let them go (im still going to their graduation though). At camp I had to step back and let some other leaders talk with the kids, love on the kids and begin relationships with the kids. Ill be totally honest, I didnt like that one bit, I actually hated it. "Those are my kids and I want to love them and no one can love them as much as me", not a true statement, but definitely one I felt. Am im being selfish, heck yes I am, jealous, oh you bet. Is that wrong, yes and no. I cant help my feelings in that they are from my heart and I do love those kids. But the reality is that others can love them as much if not greater than I. So again I must decrease. I asked my staff in one of our meetings to handle any and all issues themselves. I would be there to assist the staff but the students needed to go directly to the staff that was staying. That was incredibly hard to say and to do. But it was necessary and again I must decrease.
These feelings I think are normal. I think we all go through when we leave any job. Maybe in ministry it is harder because we are so involved in others lives. Dont deny the feelings, they are there, but dont act on them poorly either. This process is going to be hard and saying goodbye is always hard. Any one who ever left for college knows how hard it is to say goodbye. But the reality is we have to, we all know that. When its time to move on its time and you must move on graciously. Others will come in, take what you have done and build on it and that should give you great joy. It wont be easy but you have to let others take over. Even while you are still around, others need to prepare the organization for the change and in my opinon that is not your job. You need to graciously begin to decrease and let others increase.
Gods Blessings
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Now I know how the weekend really went! MOM
ReplyDeleteWhile I wholeheartedly understand the frustration and pain and discomfort and helplessness that must accompany the "letting go" process, I hope that you can find some moments of solace by reflecting on the impact that you've already had on so many lives, including mine.
ReplyDeleteShawn, I think one of the greatest things about working for God is that there is no corporate bullcrap. I'm not saying that there isn't drama and structure and even sin in the church. What I am saying is that you don't have a to be a "Minister" to minister. You don't have to wait for "authorization" to show God's love. You don't have to halt for a work release to share the gospel.
So, although you are leaving this group behind, you will have the opportunity to impact so many new lives in so many different ways. My prayer for you will be that God gives you something new to grasp onto ASAP. But in the meantime, don't forget that God doesn't care about job titles or credentials. He'll use you whatever way he can.
Shawn, I’ve read your blogs, I think I feel some of your pain. It is indeed a great place to be when you can determine exactly what God requires of you and then have the integrity to do exactly what He wants you to do. The trouble most have is defining that correct path. The considerations that must be made when the determination is made, that God is no longer in the ministry that you are employed to lead, are difficult. In each of our lives there are many “forks in the road”, and as you have discovered many people are affected by the decisions that we make.
ReplyDeleteIf our desire is to live in God’s will, we must find out what pleases Him, because this is His will. We can discover what pleases God by searching through the pages of the Scripture. In those pages we find that mercy, kindness, forgiveness, truth, faithfulness, compassion, responsibility, waiting on God, and trusting God, these are things that please Him – integrity pleases God! Matthew 13 reveals that not everyone who hears (or reads) God’s Word understands and applies it. Some eagerly receive the truth, they are the ones “who have ears to hear, while the hearts of others have grown too hard to hear the truth.
When Jesus communicated His vision, He simplified the message: He made it clear – He repeated it often – He spoke to His audience and to their specific needs, not to impress, but to convey what needed to be said – He recognized teaching moments, when His teaching would be receive and understood – He showed the truth by living a life that was credible – He remained constant in His message – He evaluated the response to ensure understanding.
If our purpose or mission or our vision of what must be done is to bring others into an intentional intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, then we must do the same as Jesus did. We must address our audience at their level we must teach, as Jesus did, to meet their specific needs in their lives.
My prayers are with you and your family Shawn, may God bless and keep you.