What is up Be the One family!
Pastor Steven here, I am so excited to go into the next part of our series on leadership, "Work It and Keep It"
For the kingdom of God to advance in our lifetime, we will need leaders.
In America, churches are closing down, around 4,000 to 6,000 every year, all because we are missing leaders. Sure, we have a lot of strongly opinionated people and even aggressive personalities, but where are the leaders? We aren’t talking about the talented, or even the highly intelligent, or the detailed administrators. We are talking about people who will put in the work of ministry and leading. If we are going to be a house of Daniels, Josephs, Marys, Esthers, Pauls, and Timothys... we have to do the work. This won’t happen by just searching for your favorite preacher. It will happen by searching the scriptures to develop a mature faith. We can’t take ground by just using google to find a verse that fits our current narrative. We have to put in the time to develop the understanding of the full counsel of God’s word. We have to reject the lie that we can trade a life giving community for a livestream church service and still be known. God has given us what we need to become a giver. We have to work for it. We have to see the work that needs to be done. God has so much more for his leaders. Remember leadership is about giving.
At Be the One, we don’t believe leadership is a title. Leadership is about serving people and showing them love and truth. We see through scripture that leadership starts in the heart, is developed through obedience, guided by the Holy Spirit, and sharpened through affliction. No one is born a leader. You were born with a purpose. You were born with giftings, but everyone has to develop what they have been given. I know work is a four letter word, but let’s stop acting like work should be easy. To be seen as a leader you have to do the work. Just showing up isn’t work. When leaders hit the door we want them to see differently. Think about entering the highway. As you’re transitioning from the ramp to the highway there are a few things that must happen; you must see what’s coming and quickly get up to speed. That is why at Be the One, we have so much processing and training, so you can see what is coming and get up to speed. The work of ministry looks like submission to leadership, stepping into connection, fixing problems, providing structure and ultimately caring for people. Jesus told us to do the work until He comes. This is why we are always looking for new leaders, there is tons to do! Ephesians 4:11-14 "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and from by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."
Start your work with your attitude.
It has been said that your attitude determines your altitude. How you conduct your attitude is something everyone notices. Bad attitudes hinder the work you're called to do. Have you ever seen someone working or serving and they have a bad attitude? Maybe they're rude, frustrated, angry or complaining. That type of attitude impacts culture. Just like those who thought they were grasshoppers. I want to challenge you to spend some time seeing differently when it comes to how we handle our attitude. Remember leadership is about giving. Here are some questions that I want to leave you with: When was the last time that you gave something to someone just to give? How is your attitude toward giving? How are you putting in the work to give to others? Love ya, Pastor Steven Sexton
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