Leading With Help
Life can be a very stressful and even overwhelming at times! As rewarding as ministry can be it too, can be overwhelming. I worked for a wonderful pastor who used to say,“Ministry is a privilege, but sometimes it looks a whole bunch like work! As I have studied people in ministry, especially people in kid’s ministry over the past forty-five plus years, there are two things that are apparent to me: One, we have a tendency to want to do things all by ourselves and secondly, at times (More times than most) in our own strength. This is not good. I should have listened to “Three Dog Night” years ago they told me “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do!” (google this milenials) or maybe the “Beatles” they not only sang about needing “help” but also “help from our friends.” Better yet I should have listened to Jesus. John 15: 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. God never intended us to do the work of the ministry by ourselves! For that matter He never intended us to live the Christian life by ourselves. Jesus told his disciples that He would send them a helper or another counselor to be with us forever. He also said in John 14:26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Verse 27 adds “Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” This is good news! It’s also the only way to live and lead effectively and handle the stress and demands of life and of ministry.
Mr. Webster defines stress as “the physical, mental, or emotional pressure, pull or force exerted on one thing by another; strain; tension” Pressure is normal and can be helpful at times but not knowing how to handle it causes us problems. Trying to handle it by ourselves is not God’s plan for us that is why he has sent us Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit (who is not a THE, He’s a person) is our teacher, He is our guide, He is our helper and He is our comforter! Just because stress exists doesn’t mean it cannot be managed and controlled. Electricity like stress can be deadly but when it is harnessed and controlled it is a powerful and helpful resource. Pressure is an excellent test of your ability to lead or your current leadership level. But when pressure and problems come, you don’t need to try to handle them in your own strength but in the strength and power of Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of the living God! Just because you are doing the “Lord’s work” doesn’t mean you won’t have problems and challenges. We all have issues of life to deal with. Psalm 34:19 tells us, “A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” I believe this verse describes us as “getting up people! When we lead with the help of “our helper-Holy Spirit, we are not leading in our own strength but in the strength of Jesus’ promised power source.
I learned a very valuable lesson about relying on my helper several years ago. One day as I was leaving for work I had an impression in my spirit that I needed to bring my bass guitar with me to church. Rather than be quick to obey I started reasoning with myself and to make a long story short I blew off the leading and went to work. No sooner as I walked in my office the phone rang and it was my Wednesday Night bass player in my pre-youth class informing me that he just got to work and found out he had to work late and asked if I could play bass myself for him. My helper (Holy Spirit) wanted to help me save time. As I drove back home to get my bass I saw that the more I listened to the voice of Holy Spirit in small things the easier it was to hear him in major decisions. I also realized it would have been better for me to brought my bass and didn’t need it, than to blow off the voice of Holy Spirit, my helper. I’ve also learned through the years to never disobey a check in my Spirit. If I sense a strong leading to not go somewhere or to not do something or to pass on a certain worker or team member, even if I can’t explain it, I trust my helper! With these things in mind here are Ten Ways I allow Holy Spirit to help me Lead in ministry.
1. Let the Peace of God rule and reign in your lives. How do you do that? I’m glad you asked. Make time to meditate the Word about peace daily as well as in stressful times. Make time to pray! When you don’t know how to pray let Holy Spirit guide you and lead your prayers. Give no place to fear! Fear is faith in reverse.
2. Meet every situation with a spirit of faith. Holy Spirit gives us boldness.
Be positive and speak faith words! Speak what God’s Word says not your doubts. Remind yourself what God has done for you. One of the jobs of our helper is to remind us about what Jesus has done and said. Don’t go by what you see, feel or hear. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight:
Don’t listen to the devil, his messengers or to bad or evil reports.
3. Be strong and courageous. Acts 1:8 says But you will receive power when Holy Spirit comes on you. I believe a good measurement of the Spirit in us is how strong we are. What ever you are full of comes out of you when you are shaken. When you are full of the Spirit, His strength and courage comes out of you when life shakes you! Don’t be a baby, instead be strong! Thirty-three times in the Bible we are told to be strong, and an additional ten times will are told to be strong and courageous!
4. Ask for the Spirit to guide your plans. The Bible could not be more plain on the subject of Gods plans are different than our plans. That’s why we should be sensitive to the leading of Holy Spirit for God’s plan. Don’t be afraid to be detailed in your planning. Learn to think backwards from the desired outcome and break your plan down into steps. Don’t wait to the last minute. Never equate flowing with Holy Spirit to flying by the seat of your paints.
5. Learn to allow Holy Spirit to help you Identify things that need correcting and ask Him to teach you why it needs fixing as well as how. To me my friend and helper Holy Spirit works in our lives like a spot light He shines or illuminates things that need to be brought to light. I also rely of Holy Spirit to help me identify areas of improvement in my ministry. The Spirit is a safe guide, one whom can always be trusted. The voice of wisdom and the voice of Father God is always the same thing. Our helper Holy Spirit will lead us to all truth and will never disagree with the voice of wisdom or God’s Word!
6. Trust your guide. I used to illustrate this in Children’s Church by blindfolding a child and give them verbal instructions that they had to carry out without bumping into things. It’s impossible to walk by faith and not by sight in our own strength. Then I would ask another child to come be a guide (just like Holy Spirit is our guide) and guide the blindfolded child to safety. It’s much easier with a guide to follow Father’s Word . I have found practice make perfect not only in playing an instrument or developing a skill but also in trusting our guide!
The more we practice walking this out, the more reflexive it becomes.
7. I rely on the help of Holy Spirit to lead me to people I need to develop to be on my team. I refuse to wait on people to show up that I need to lead. I’m on a mission from God to connect with those He leads me to. Jesus was out and about when he found the twelve disciples. I ask the Lord daily to lead me to the right people who need to be a part of the team He is building!
8. Learn how to let Holy Spirit refresh you. The biggest challenge for people in ministry is to learn how to leave the stress and pressures of life and ministry at the church or the office and don’t bring them home. I have learned to pray in the Spirit on the way home and allow Holy Spirit to refresh me. It helps me to be able to enjoy my family more. One of the things old Jim would tell young Jim is to take time off. Rest is part of God’s plan just like work. I guard my day(s) off and use my vacation wisely. Retreat when you are at your busiest. When we study the life of Jesus here on the earth Holy Spirit led him away from work and those he was leading to pray and be refreshed. I believe when we pray in the Spirit it refreshes our spirit and builds up or edifies us! Holy Spirit still leads Christ Followers to times of refreshing and renewal.
9. Take care of the temple. 1 Corinthians 3: 16 asks “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If this is true and it is then it’s important we take care of the temple. I have learned the hard way as I age I must exercise, eat healthier, take vitamins and supplements as well as get plenty of sleep. I don’t stay up all night anymore.
10. Holy Spirit helps me discern what is right for me to be involved in. What’s of God and what’s not? Learn to be sensitive to Holy Spirit’s involvement and presence and recognize or discern if something is good or God as well as bad or evil. Not every good idea is Father’s will for me now. Not everything that is wrong or bad for now is evil, it’s just not the right timing. If every believer has Holy Spirit on the inside and they do then how much more do we in leadership need Holy Spirit’s help to be the leaders God has called us to be.
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 tells us “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Aren’t you glad we have a helper to lead us to be the leaders we need to be. Listen to your guide, our helper, Holy Spirit is with us, always. Listen to Him, Learn from Him, do what He says. Every leader leads better with help, no matter what they are doing!
Thanks Holy Spirit, for being our helper, we need your help, more now than ever!
