The Strategic Formation Waypoint
Elizabeth and I have often felt inadequate or ill-equipped to be in ministry doing what we do in our two+ decades of ministry as global workers. It’s not a pleasant feeling. We want to be competent, have the answers, solve problems, teach brilliantly or do whatever we do with the utmost excellence. A verse that has been a comforting reminder is 2 Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant.. . (NASB 2020).” How’s that for good news? A part from Christ, you are inadequate! So are we! But Jesus has a mission, and He’s invited you to join Him in it. He’s called and created you with purpose and has given you gifts. He makes you “adequate” and “competent” to be a strategic part of His work. Recognizing inadequacy is a gift because it drives us to depend on God.
In ministry, leaders often go wrong by putting way more emphasis on developing skills and competency in ministry than on their inner formation. I truly believe that character trumps competence in that a failure in integrity, purity, kindness, gentleness, humility, etc., can and has brought down many a leader. But that does not mean that we ignore competency and skill. Paul challenges Timothy as his young mentoree to “fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you…” (NLT), modeling the role for modern-day mentors to help mentorees fan into flame their gifts. There is an invitation here for all of us to cultivate a developmental bias that never stops discovering more about our gifts, strengths, and abilities and helping others develop theirs.
Each Christ-follower needs a clear sense of calling. Os Guinness warns, “To be sure, God’s call can be ducked, derailed, and drowned out, but it must never be shrunk and it must never be hollowed out.” Don’t let that be you; discover it, recognizing that it isn’t a solo process. You need others to guide you to clarity on your calling. Guinness goes on to say that “Calling is a “yes” to God that carries a “no” to the chaos of modern demands. Calling is the key to tracing the storyline of our lives and unriddling the meaning of our existence in a chaotic world.” An ongoing struggle for me is to learn to not say yes to every ministry opportunity but to say discerning no’s to some good things so I can say yes to the best. As global workers, saying “no” is not a skill most of us are equipped with. Learning the art of saying no to good things and giving a full yes to God’s unique call on your life is wisely strategic.
Make it your life’s ambition to notice, name, and live out God’s calling and gifting in your life and help others do the same!!
We like to leave you with a song at the end of each blog post, so today, we leave you with Waymaker by Leeland to help you remember that God makes the way and strategically shapes you.
If you want to read to further explore your calling, we recommend Os Guinness's book and working through the Focused Living course from Leader Breakthru.
