Ministry Follow-Through

If we were to ask coaches about success one of the more common answers would be the value of follow-through.  Just about anyone can throw a baseball accurately, but superior pitchers have the ability to follow-through with the pitch so they get maximum movement or velocity.  It doesn’t take much effort to carry an oblong ball in your arms, but top-notch running backs have the ability to keep churning their legs and contorting their bodies to overcome the initial contact and gain extra yardage.  The difference between average and greatness may not necessarily be talent, it might be the ability to finish.
While follow-through is important in athletics, it is vital in other aspects of our lives as well.  One of the most visible areas is in our Christianity.  Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ call to follow-through with our discipleship when He challenged His hearers, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”  (Matthew 7:21)  and “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  (Luke 9:62). While commitment (follow-though) is a basic tenet of our Christian walk, there is another area where it is important – individual ministry.  It is easy to volunteer for spiritual service, but it is also awful tempting to not follow-through.  The simple part is having a great idea, the challenge is when distractions and discouragement  get us sidetracked. 
Even the most well-intentioned struggle with follow-through.  So, what can we do to follow-through with our Christian service:
1.  Be committed before committing.  Prior to accepting an assignment to be a part of a program or suggesting an outreach effort we must make sure that we are committed to seeing it through.  It can be an honor to be asked to be involved and it is exciting to think about new opportunities, but before getting started we must make the promise to be there at the end.
2.  Do what you love to do.   Each one of us has talents and passions that  can be used in Christian service.  In all honesty, a Christian who whole-heartedly volunteers to do a few things about which they are passionate will be more successful than one who lackadaisically agrees to try to do several things they don’t want to do. 
3.  Keep reminders in front of you.  Whether it is a standing appointment in your online calendar or a sticky note conspicuously placed on your bathroom mirror reminders can help us stay focused.   Out-of-sight-out-of-mind is a real challenge, so write it and remember it.
4.  Partner with someone.  Programs involving individuals can be successful, but there is something compelling about being accountable to others.  When we do things together we don’t have to keep reenergizing ourselves, we can enjoy the inertia our “team” brings to the commitment.
Are we doing what we committed to do?  

Popular posts from this blog

At The Foot Of The Cross

I like a lot of the old classic hymns, but there is one that I struggle to sing – The Old Rugged Cross .  I understand that George Bennard’s masterpiece has an allure to a lot of people, but honestly, there are some phrases that get stuck in my mind and in my heart.  I find it hard to vocalize that “I love that old cross” or that I can see its “wondrous beauty”.  No, I don’t have any scriptural issues with the song, nor do I feel we should stop singing it – it’s just not one of my favorites. While I may struggle with Mr. Bennard’s description of the cross, I do appreciate the imagery of emotionally standing at the foot of the cross and being reminded of its lessons.   When I look at the cross, here are a few things I notice: 1).   My inability to be personally successful in life .   Everything I have and everything I hope for comes from Jesus.   Whether it is internal peace or external success, it all dependent upon His work in my life.   Yet, my greatest failure comes in my inab
Read more

Spiritual Computer Safety

When I took a computer class in college the highlight of the course was getting to actually see the computer – which was housed in a room by itself.  During the semester I also remember seeing a smaller piece of equipment (I think they called it a “personal computer” because of it its size), but  I didn’t pay too much attention to it because, after all, if it took a computer the size of a classroom to do simple accounting processes what could that dinky thing do?  That was circa 1980 ... it is incredible how things have changed! Often, when we discuss computers and spirituality, we tend to focus on pornography, but that’s not the direction I want to take this discussion.   Computers – complete with the development of the internet and the prevalence of social media – impact our mind and our spirit just about every day.   In light of this, I want to provide a few suggestions for keeping us spiritually safe in the modern technological world. 1.   Don’t take to heart everything we se
Read more

The Gospel Truth

During a recent Communion Service Scripture reading I was struck by a portion of John 19.  I am sure that I have read it scores of times, but this time it really got me to thinking.  When John recorded the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion he wrote, “ And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.” (John 19:35).   In the midst of making some incredible claims about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus John pauses to say, “believe me”!   As I got to thinking about the importance of this statement it reminded me that we all have to be honest with the gospel – not just John (whose words would transcend time) – but every one of us.   Even though we have the written Word available to us today, we must treat it with honesty and we must be transparently truthful when discussing it.   So, how do we make this happen? 1.   We must know what the Bible says (and doesn’t say) .    Truth begins w
Read more