First, lemme throw a disclaimer at you: these are my opinions, and I don't speak for Radiant Worship, although Mr. Radiant Worship probably agrees with me. But don't take my word for it.
A lot of you know we did youth ministry/pastoring for 7 years, or so. Then we took to the road with an itinerant worship/preaching ministry and have been doing that for almost 9 years. So I'd like to think we know both sides of the coin, so to speak, for being in-house and also being the guest.
I started on this rant this morning, after reading some stuff that reminded me of what I am now calling Minister Entitlement Syndrome, or Man of God Syndrome.
If you are a member of a traveling ministry team, I'm talking to you today. It is essential, it is crucial that you have some understanding of what Jesus was and is like before you take the pulpit in any capacity. Jesus flipped some tables, yes. But don't think He did it without His heart breaking.
Jesus loves people. When you walk into a church with an agenda that includes reaping honor, you're off base. Jesus doesn't care about your ministry. He cares about people. He loves YOU, but it's not important to Him that everyone remembers your name and gives you a hefty offering.
Should we honor each other? Absolutely. Is it your job to demand honor? Uh, no. With Radiant, we've stayed in 5 star hotels and we've slept on gym floors. We've been given $50 offerings for trips that cost us $500. Does it sting? Well, yeah. Jesus' congregation murdered him. Ouch. And what was His response? He forgave them, rose from the dead and got right back to loving them.
It's not about your name, or your bio, your credentials or "your" anointing. It's about Him.
Please, for the literal love of God, get over yourself and love the people He died for.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
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WOW> I'm sitting here teary-eyed. Thank you so much for writing this.
ReplyDeleteI love this! It's so true. In the different churches I've been involved with, I've seen ministers demand no one get within a certain radius of them and a long list of other demands. I've also seen great ministries (Radiant included) where every member of the team seemed to be there just to glorify Jesus and seemed to be there to serve more than to be served. It really makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think it's important as the person/church hosting the ministry to think of how to show honor to the person. That doesn't mean blowing the ministry's budget by doing things you can't afford, but I do believe you should take reasonable measures to take care of a ministry's needs both while they are with you (food, lodging, etc.) and after they've left (a love offering, etc.)
I guess what my super long comment is saying is in the Body of Christ, we really need to prefer the other person and try to act how Jesus would act toward that person.
Preach it.
ReplyDeletehm. cranky pants.
ReplyDelete