Be kind!
Be loving!
Be focused!
Be passionate!
These key four steps can change the culture of your church. Too often, we let ‘busy-ness’ take over and we fall into the routine of so many tasks.
But these four simple steps could help you to get back on track in terms of what the Lord has for you in your church and community:
First, we must always try to be kind. People desire to be treated with kindness and feel respected. It’s easy for any of us in ministry to get frustrated and quickly lose sight of being kind.
If we prioritize this, it is more likely to happen. Let’s be honest, we all need more people in our lives that are nice and kind. We are driven to others that exemplify this. We should lead in this category as those who have surrendered our lives to Jesus. Simply to be KIND is the first step.
Secondly, our attention should be on loving others. With so much bad attention on loving people in inappropriate ways, let’s take a look at how we can care for others well. This is a great example of pure and true love. When we care for others, we can become the precious hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world.
Could more people be attracted to the inside of a church if we, as leaders, would lead well in caring? I believe so.
Over the last several years, while I have been battling cancer, I’ve been blessed by the care of my family, friends, church members, and my amazing organization at the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. Meals have been provided, multitudes of prayers have been launched into the depths of heaven on my behalf, incredible visits have been had because of simply caring from so many.
I’m telling you, if you want to see a change in your community, it will take you as a leader to start caring for those within the community.
Thirdly, and possibly most importantly, our attention should be on BEING FOCUSED. On a personal level, being focused on our own spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health can change the environment we are in.
Our churches and our families need us to be healthy. If we focus on these aspects of health it could lead to better production of life.
I know personally when I’m on track spiritually — by spending time in the Word of God daily and spending intimate time with Jesus through prayer where I pour out my heart and soul — I’m on a journey to becoming a better man.
When my mental and emotional health are constantly being checked on, I’m a better me. We live in a time when anxiety and depression are overwhelming within the church and pretty much all across society. We need others to talk with about our mental health.
And even as we focus on our mental health, let’s not forget our physical health. Having regular check ups, eating right, and engaging in an active lifestyle — make these things part of your routine. These focused points will help you be the leader that God has called you to be.
Last but not least we must be passionate. This passion should be rooted in a love for Jesus that is inextinguishable. This passion for Jesus should be contagious to everyone around us. This passion motivates us to share the gospel with our neighbors, friends, and any and everyone we meet. I’m a person that loves engaging in gospel conversations because it was modeled to me.
I’ve had the blessing of surrounding myself with others that are passionate about their relationship with Jesus and it’s helped transform my life. Our desire should be to model this to those around us and especially the next generation to pass down as well.
Simply being kind, loving, focused, and passionate can change not only YOU but it could change the culture of your church and community.
Hey, are you looking for some steps of what can you do this year for Jesus? Work on you and BE the change that leads to gospel transformation.
It starts with you! Pray for a miracle — and remember that our God is still in the miracle-working business. B&R