Ok, so this was going to be a reply to a comment made by Tim. It became so long it turned into a new post.
"Showing up and being Holy makes you faithful, but it doesn’t necessarily make you effective."
I recognize the widespread copout that can occur with regard to officer recruitment and evaluation, but I think there has to be some discussion about what effectiveness looks like. I love the Sandra Ryans and Chick Yiulls of the world who are doing effective ministry and can communicate in a terrific way and who are rock stars. For that matter and for the same reasons, I love the Steve & Sharon Busseys and Russell Rooks and Tim and Jamie Millers.
Here's the thing, though, I know that it's not all about the rock stars. It's also about these people who aren't that well spoken but have hearts to love their people, it's about people who may go about the business of Corps Officering very differently from the way I would, it's about people society would not tap to be leaders. But they are effective as Salvation Army officers because people see what they have and want some of it. I can't tell you their names and you won't know them anyway.
My concern is with the angle that seems to say that it's possible that some hypothetical set of officers could be holy and could be showing up and that God would not bring fruit due to lack of training or expertise. I just don't buy that. I quote this all the time, because it's so dead on. Turn it around to be about excuses why others can't be effective:
In his book The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren writes, "If you're not involved in any service or ministry, what excuse have you been using? Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was codependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric to say the least, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid. That is quite a variety of misfits, but God used each of them in his service. He will use you, too, if you stop making excuses."
The caveat is that if you are a holy person and have a heart for people, you will be driven to minister more effectively by being trained, by using best practices, by checking your approach with peers who share your passion. Holy people who show up aren't static in minstry. They find paths to greater effectiveness, and they already know the most important one--being indwelt by the Holy Spirit and keeping in tune to what God is doing in and around them.
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5 comments:
Nice post. I guess being holy and showing up for work is the definition of one thing - faithfulness. Maybe the best success in ministry is being faithful when everything around you says you ought not to be.
You are right Drew, not everyone can be a rock star. Some of us actually become roadies and agents.
Let me say, first of all, that I’m not even sure we disagree here. I think we may just be wording it differently. I guess it all depends on what your definition of “show up” means.
I’ve known lots of ministers (in and out of the Army) that showed up for work. They came and sat in their office everyday and even preached on Sundays. But that didn’t make them affective. I’ve also known loads of officers who were “holy”, spending hours in study and prayer, but their heads were so far in the clouds they were no earthly good (or something like that).
I think I cringed a bit when I read your quote from Colonel Naggs because, popular to say or not, we’ve got a lot of bad leadership in the Army. We’ve accepted a lot of people into our seminaries that should have never made it past the interview. We have a lot of people collecting a pay check, when all they do (literally) is show up.
And I know that’s harsh, and judgemental, and who am I. But is it wrong of me to expect people to be good stewards of the resources God has blessed the Army with? Having a good heart does not make you a pastor. Having the gift of pastoring makes you a pastor. Having the title of officer or minister does not make you a good preacher/teacher. Having the gift of preaching/teaching does. And the list goes on and on.
There has to be balance. We’re so quick to value people that we’re unwilling to talk about gifting, so we see somebody with a good heart, who wants to be an officer, and who can pass the phsych exam, and we say yeah, let’s make them officers, without any discussion of whether or not they’re actually gifted in any of the areas of “leadership”. Doesn’t that, in a sense, diminish the gifts of the Spirit? It’s almost like we’re saying, “Spiritual gifts are nice and all, but they’re not THAT important!”
One of the challenges of Army leadership seems to be having enough quality leaders to cover all of the areas where leaders are needed. I have witnessed countless people, in the Army, who are obviously gifted in leadership that have no interest in officership. This would be all well and good if we had the quality leaders we needed, without them, but obviously, we don't. When it boils down to it, if you have to choose between "gifted but not willing," or "not so gifted but willing," there really isn't much of a choice to be made.
This is why there is always so much pressure on gifted young adults to consider training. If I really believe in the mission of The Army and I want it to be lead by the most gifted leaders, then I am going to try to identify who those potential leaders could be and go after them. To not do so, would be to be content with less.
Having said that, when I look back on the officers that have impacted me most in my life, it has not often been those who would be listed among the most gifted. Go figure.
I guess we find ourselves back to God's call and God's sovereignty. He often calls and uses those who make no sense according to earthly measures and may not even be calling those who we may view as merely unwilling.
Somewhere there is a middle ground between being the gifted rock star officer and simply showing up, holy or not. The middle ground is where work ethic (going to work, working a minimum amount of hours, etc.), seeking out the help of others when unsure, accessing appropriate training for areas of weakness, a willingness to submit to supervision and correction, and being prepared (for sermons, advisory board meetings, corps council meetings, etc.) matters.
"If I was a rock star..."
Nevermind.
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