Since leaving traditional church leadership, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my ability as a leader. One big concern was whether I was a bottleneck, a point of restriction or limitation for what God wanted to do in me, through me and in the lives of those I had the privilege to lead. My passion has always been to see the gospel proclaimed in word and deed, but was I the bottleneck? Was I the reason why we didn’t see the fruitfulness I longed for?
I recognise all leaders have a limit to their capacity. How many times I wished there were 36 hours in a day, but God set it at 24! How many times I wished I had more energy to get to the end of my to-do-list, but strength is limited! Regularly I prayed, ‘Don’t let me be a bottleneck for the gospel.’ The key seemed to be delegation. Identify, train, and equip potential leaders to pass on ministry to release more time. After all, according to the Bible, we are called to ‘equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up’ (Ephesians 4:12). But it didn’t matter how hard I worked to release others for works of service, it didn’t lead to more people hearing and responding to the gospel.
As I reflect, I wonder whether the bottleneck was not me, but those I was leading? My focus was to equip people to serve the ministry. To help me keep the church programme running, keep rotas filled and attenders happy. In the next verse, Paul teaches we are to ‘equip His people’ until we ‘reach unity in the faith’, ‘become mature’ and attain the ‘whole measure of the fullness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13). But this is only half the story. Yes, we must grow personally but we must also release what we have learnt. Otherwise, instead of becoming mature, we just get spiritually fat! Have you heard of the illustration of why ponds become stagnant? They only stay healthy and a source of life if they have water flowing in and out.
A couple of days ago, I sat with a lovely couple over lunch at a gathering of leaders. It soon became apparent that they were related to the developer of the ‘discover app’! This is an effective disciple making resource that we have only recently become aware of. It encourages people as they walk and talk, or meet in a coffee shop or eat lunch in the office together to read a passage from the Bible and then ask each other four questions:
- What does this story tell me about God?
- What does this story tell me about people?
- If this is really God’s word, what changes would I have to make in my life?
- Who am I going to tell?
So simple, but so effective. But it’s the last question I’m particularly keen to highlight: who are we going to tell? For me, this has become the bottleneck for the gospel. Our purpose on earth is to go and tell, to be sent witnesses to Jesus. Early in Jesus’ ministry he was asked to stay where His message had been received but He responded ‘Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’ (Mark 1:38). Jesus continued to look for people to tell the good news of God: “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). Jesus is our example, the one we should follow.
For many years I have spent hours preparing talks to give to a congregation. Always aiming to be true to God’s Word, crafted to keep the congregation engaged and ending in my mind with the question: ‘so what?’ In other words, looking to make sure I gave a practical application to how the talk could bring life and transformation to their lives. How it could build them up and help them reach the ‘fulness of Christ’, but perhaps I should have asked ‘who are you going to tell?’
The true ministry of Jesus is not to fill rotas so a church programme can be maintained. The true ministry of Jesus and therefore of His followers is to go and share the good news of the gospel. Yes, it is important to apply all that we learn to our lives. God’s word should lead to change, to personal transformation but if it ends there, we have become a bottleneck for the gospel. Our priority should be to pass on the gospel to a world who is desperate for good news. It’s time to unblock a bottlenecked gospel.
P.S. To find out more or download the discover app CLICK HERE!
Featured photo by shun idota on Unsplash
"Live to Serve" 