God Ideas...

We have staff meeting every Tuesday from 3-5 and you would think we get a lot of work done but we laugh and make fun of each other more than we should.  Each week a different staff member has to give a devotion which is very unique because we all come from different backgrounds.  I have done many different things like evaluations of ministries, sharing from a book I just read and even crafts.  That's right I made the staff do crafts.  But yesterday I wanted to challenge the staff with separating good ideas from God ideas.  I drew a chart on the white board and at the top I had written good ideas.  There were two sections about the ideas, one for your ministry and then for the entire church.  The staff had many great ideas about outreach programs, items needed for their ministries, ways to help those in need and things that need to change in our services.  Then I wrote on the other side of the chart God ideas.  I told them to think about what God would want them to do in their ministries and in the entire church. These answers took some thinking and questioning.  But the answers were amazing.

We did not talk about things we needed or things we could do.  We did not talk about flat screen TVs or programs that needed changed.  We did not talk about the service or what we could buy.  We talked about people.  We talked about compassion and love.  We talked about saving the lost.  Matthew 9:13 says, "Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy not sacrifice, for I have not come to call the righteous but sinners!"  That is what we talked about. It felt great to talk about the mission of Jesus.  To talk about people instead of programs.  It felt great to talk about the gospel instead of our gospel.  

I am amazed on how we as the church can take our eyes off the will of God.  I am amazed how we think we are doing what God wants and sometimes it's anything but...  I get a little nervous when we talk about what we need or want instead of what others need.  I am ready to show mercy to those who need it.  I am ready to love those who are unloved.  I am dieing to share compassion to those who are turned away.  Maybe just maybe I am starting to see what it means to be the church.  

What in your ministry needs to stop because it is a good idea and not a God idea?

What needs to happen because of a God idea?

What would your church look like if you only focused on God ideas and not just good ideas?