Focus

I was inspired last week at Minister's Convocation. For those who don't know, Minister's Convocation is a gathering of pastors from across Virginia who come together for inspiration, worship, training, and fellowship. I have always enjoyed the time, since before I knew it was optional, and valued at least the comradery of the event that I have attended every year I have been in ministry. This year, however, the inspiration portion was particularly touching. There is so much I could share, but one of the most significant points was the realization that we often completely mess up our focus. What I mean is that we so often talk about how we have accomplished something wonderful. When we celebrate an event as a success, we say, "Thanks to all the hard work from so many hands. We couldn't have helped so many without the work of everyone involved." We pat ourselves on the back, and celebrate the lives that we have helped change. At best, we attribute the success to assistance from the Holy Spirit. At worst, we leave God out of it entirely, as if we accomplished this all by ourselves.

To be honest, there may be times in which what we do is entirely our effort and we have left God completely out. But more commonly, I hope, we just forget that God is the actor, not us. It's really our culture to blame. The western, and particularly American, focus is on the individual and individual abilities. After all, the American Dream was built on sweat and hard work alone, right? And that plays out in our churches as well. Clergy as well as laity are guilty of this glaring omission in our celebration and focus.

The solution, it seems, is to be honest with ourselves and think a bit more. We definitely need to pray more. We claim all the time that when God is for us, nothing can be against us. We claim all the time that we are on God's mission to the world. We claim all the time that we are seeking God's will for our lives. So why don't we celebrate our success along the same lines? We should say, "Look what God has done through us! Look at the lives God has touched through our hands! Look at the amazing power of God at work in a world that needs light!" See the difference?

For us to really be on God's path for the world around us, we need to be willing to step aside and give God the real glory. Let's get out of the way and let God's work really shine!
Praise God for God's patience as we strive to finally get it right! Thanks be to God for every wondrous gift given to every person, and for God's power in enabling that person to use it for God's purposes. Glory to God. Amen.

Pastor Brian