Every month, Lesley Baker shares a blog post with helpful tips and tricks for the cat herders on church staff. Today, Lesley’s written something a little different. Enjoy.
This month’s blog doesn’t have any tips, tricks or how-tos. Instead this is a note of encouragement from me to you.
I was recently inspired to write this to you after an Implementation visit with a church in Maryland. As I was leaving the church building on my last day there, God dropped a scripture in my spirit for them and led me to pray for the church literally before I drove off the campus. I always pray for a church and staff from the moment I get a ticket assigned to work with a church, to the moment I go onsite with a church. This was different though.
When I got in my car I began to pray out loud for the church, their staff and their leaders. The next morning before I checked out of the hotel to catch a flight home I sent the church an email of encouragement. Immediately thereafter I started thinking about you, and determined that note of encouragement I sent that church team was also for you.
I remember the days when I was on church staff and if you’re anything like me it wasn’t uncommon to periodically find myself feeling overwhelmed, and perhaps even a bit discouraged. Not because I didn’t like what I was doing but because some of my projects and/or workload seemed like I was making absolutely no progress. Then there were other times that I felt like I was a party of one trying to set sail on a ship I was asked to captain but I didn’t have a crew to help me navigate, being asked “so how soon do you think you can reach that destination?” Seriously!
The most simplistic and most profound thing I can say to you is this, don’t be discouraged. Let that feeling of being overwhelmed just slide right off your shoulders as you kneel in prayer before the throne. Recognize what it is, a feeling. We’re not to be led by our feelings. The burden of your workload or project load is not intended for you to carry in the natural, it will be accomplished only through prayer. I speak from experience.
If you try to carry the burden on your own, and try to accomplish a goal in your own strength, you’ll burn out and at the end of the day and you’ll see that you didn’t accomplish very much. Here’s my mantra: “one step at a time, one prayer at a time.” I still recite that to myself even to this day.
I have great faith in God that the goals and projects a church has for using technology to advance Kingdom work will come to pass. I pray for you even as I write this, before this blog has even been posted, that as you read this God would send an Angel to come and refresh you and strengthen you as you release the burdens you carry as staff to the One who sent you to where you’re serving Him in this season.
The verse that I leave with you is this, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” (Eph. 3:20-21) God is able – let that be your mantra as you move through each project … God is able. I have such an expectancy to see how God will move in your churches. Watch and see.
I’ll be praying for y’all. Remember to pray for yourselves and remember, God is able. One step at a time, one prayer at a time.
Abundant grace and blessings to each of you,
Lesley
Would you like to hear more of Lesley’s perspective? She will be one of the many inspiring speakers at the 2012 Ideas to Impact Conference, just a few weeks away.
