Peace in a World of Disturbance

The Burden.
Ever push to make things happen? When I do, I become anxious, worried, and stressed. All actions feel like my responsibility. Like it’s my fault when it doesn’t go well. Or when it does, the credit is mine. During these times, everything seems to key off of me, what I do, or don’t do, if I’m good enough, or not. I don’t like the stress of that kind of responsibility.

The Freedom.
When I place myself in the presence of sovereignty, I have peace. Overriding the swirl of troubles, struggles, and circumstances, a peace prevails. My actions become obedience to the sovereign God instead of an ambition to control. I realize the results don’t hinge upon my behavior or ability. God’s responsible for the results. I’m responsible for obeying. By sitting down in submission to him, I find a peaceful freedom.

The Counsel.
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” (Ps 37:7). I should work physically while sitting still in God spiritually. But I forget that God’s in charge, and get busy, working, feeling responsible for the outcome. When things don’t go right, the responsibility turns into temptations to take control, get frustrated, and become angry. Psalms 37:8 states, “Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm.” “Be still,” or “Stop being angry!”

The Choice.
I must choose. “Be still,” or push-through-with-all-I’ve-got. The choice leading to peace is simple, but the “Be still” follow through isn’t easy. The option keeps coming back and needs a fresh resolve. Sometimes I make the right choice, and others…

Anyhow. Do any of you, like me, search for peace in a world of disturbance?

*picture by MJ Photography

“If I have eaten my morsel alone,”
The patriarch spoke with scorn;
What would he think of the Church were he shown
Heathendom—huge, forlorn,
Godless, Christless, with soul unfed,
While the Church’s ailment is fullness of bread,
Eating her morsel alone?

“Freely you have received, so give,”
He says, who has given us all.
How will the soul in us longer live
Deaf to their starving call,
For whom the blood of the Lord was shed,
And His body broken to give them bread,
If we eat our morsel alone!

Oh Church, I confess to being a glutton, but I can no longer fully enjoy our feasts, the meetings of shared faith. My heart longs to take the abundance of life to those who hunger, those who cry out, those who have no hope.

To those who wait, “I don’t know how to get to you, but I’m coming. Hold on a little longer while I find my way and learn. I want to bring you a bite of hope, a bit of love and acceptance. I’m a coming. Don’t give up.”

To God, “Help me bring the answer to their cries. Show me how to do this. What is your way? Fill me with your amazing love and let it pour over them. Here am I.”

“Where is your brother Abel?” (Genesis 4:9)

Great Master, touch us with Your skillful hands;
Let not the music that is in us die! ~Streams, p. 335

That line of poetry pierces into the struggle for my passion and alludes to the difficulties of life. Job said:

Is not all human life a struggle? Our lives are like that of a hired hand…who longs for the shade…waiting to be paid. I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery (Job 7:1-3).

An ordinary man named Nehemiah showed awesome leadership skills. His leadership began with a passion and brokenness over the state of disrepair and neglect of his native land, Jerusalem. A vision of Jerusalem’s repair began forming. When the king asked about his downcast demeanor, Nehemiah took advantage of the opportunity to persuade the king, an obvious key person, with his vision and plan. After gaining the king’s support and upon entering Jerusalem, he obtained the buy-in of its key leaders followed by the support and following of the whole community. For an ordinary person Nehemiah began his leadership well.

Good leaders make the most of starting out great while remaining open and creative to make necessary changes. Well thought out modifications keep the momentum headed towards success. When things don’t go smoothly, which happens, a good leader has to make adjustments. He must be willing to change methods, be creative and proactive in the face of challenges, and continually inspiring to his followers.

Nehemiah fulfilled this need for creative leadership.

I want to be a creative leader too. So I asked God, “What are the creative adjustments I need to make?”

Still struggling with the “answer” to that question, I wonder if you’re seeking to be a creative leader as well. Do you feel like you’ve hit a wall, making no progress, or needing a creative improvement? What changes are you willing to make? How has God led you to adjust your approach?

What is your experience with the creative need in leadership?

It will happen. Bad things happen to good people all the time. What is our perspective on the bad things happening to us? If we have enemies, backstabbers, and nay-sayers, we can say to them, "Beware. Good will come." It’s a matter of perspective.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (Gen. 50:20, NLT).

He [Ezra] came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the LORD his God was on him.  …[He prospered in his work quickly], for the gracious hand of his God was on him. This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations…(Ezra 7:6-10, NLT)

Ezra was determined. He had a focus, a passion, a mission. He resolved how he would live and what he would pursue. Good leaders know where they are going and what they want to do. They are not easily deterred from their path. It’s obvious a good leader can go in a bad direction, but Ezra focused on a wise pursuit, which made his efforts successful.

S.O.S. Flag

Ezra’s determined path proved both wise and successful because it included God. He decided to consistently study and obey God’s word, and boldly show others what he learned. But shouldn’t he focus on planning, organizing, vision casting, recruiting, budgeting, and the like? Isn’t Ezra’s direction too simplified and off target? The discipline to study, obey, and share God’s word gives bearing and muscle to the tasks of good management. Ezra’s S.O.S. delivers the wisdom and guidance that best practices give good leadership.

The S.O.S. of Wise Leadership:

• Study: Seek God and study his word to know how to live.
• Obey: Obey his word and the Spirit’s promptings to know where to go and what to do.
• Share: Share what we’ve learned and how to implement it, or the temptation takes over to become legalistic and snobbish about what we know and do. It helps to remember what we were like without knowledge or obedience.

Whether in a position of ministry or business leadership, the results of following Ezra’s practices are the same. Our worst enemies may become our best supporters when we determine to study, obey, and share. Like Ezra, God’s gracious hand will rest on us.

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Things aren’t always rosy and cheery, BUT things can always be good in God. It’s a perspective. A matter of where you place your hope, of what to surrender and to whom. If everything fails, God will not.

All hands on deck! The job is big and the pastor can’t do it alone. Women can help unpack the pastor’s workload and make a powerful impact in the lives of those in the community and the church. As I mentioned in the previous post, Partnership with Pastors, I have a desire to help the ministries of the church be effective in their mission. The following is part two of that post and lists seven tips for women ministering to women. Ladies, you can do this.

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1. Realize you have something to offer. A listening ear. Wise counsel. Party planning. Training expertise. Organizational skills. Bake and Take friendship talent. You can always offer relationship to women who need relationships.
2. Pray for a discovery of where you can help both in the community and in the church.
3. Look for opportunities to serve women by determining their needs
4. Communicate your availability and interest in helping your pastor reach the women of the church and community. Be sure to express your intentions of strengthening the church and families.
5. Ask the leadership, pastor, or women’s ministry leader, what needs they see and how your skills and talents can help meet those needs.
6. Learn the skills necessary to become more useable. Be teachable and always adapting to changes.
7. Believe that God can use you to make a difference in the lives of others. No task is too small to make an impact, nor too big for you to do your part.

You can make a difference. With so many needs in our communities and churches, you have a great opportunity to assist life change by joining others and partnering with pastors.

* photo from www.jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu.

Faith and togetherness. Our weaknesses are made strong with God and others. I feel inadequate (no big secret), but with faith to trust and obey God along with joining others, amazing acts are completed. When I consider what faith and togetherness does in my life, it’s nothing short of a miracle.

When Lynn Snider, the Executive Director of South Baptist Texas Association, heard about my desire to partner with churches to reach women, he invited me to share at several pastor’s luncheons of the SBTA. I offered my assistance to make a difference in the lives of women in their community. Being a pastor’s wife, I understand the burden and workload of pastors and the benefit of women ministering to women.

Robin with Pastor Elmo Johnson and Anita Wood

At one luncheon I joined Anita Wood, SBTC Women’s Ministry Regional Representative and speaker at Capture Me! iGETitLIFE Women’s Event. We traveled to the 4th Ward in Houston and met Rev. Elmo Johnson, pastor of Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church and president of UpLift 4th Ward Community Development. Anita and I offered our assistance to the pastors followed by an awesome prayer time and lunch at This is It Soul Food. We met some of Rev. Johnson’s members working and dining at the restaurant. His ministry is evident all over the 4th Ward. If you want to make a difference in the lives of people, seek out and learn from Rev. Elmo Johnson.

During each pastor gathering I offered:

•    Inspirational events for the community and churches
•    Women’s ministry training for leaders of women
•    Vision casting for the women of the church (to assist the pastor in counseling and ministering to women)

The pastors appreciated the counseling women vision and were eager to find that kind of assistance. My pastor-husband brought a godly woman, or most often myself, into every counseling situation with females. He found extra support for the lady in crisis, a “girlfriend” with which to pray and talk. This partnership lightens the pastor’s workload and frees him to focus elsewhere.

Look for future post Tips for Women Ministering to Women, Unloading the Pastor’s Workload