Karen and I returned from Belize Wednesday. On this trip we visited the regular gathering of the Southern Baptist of Belize, where I was able to encourage the pastors and train them in a simple, biblical disciple making process. We spent our first two days at a beachside hotel, where we relaxed some as I completed preparation for the training. And it was on our first evening there that I was bitten on the right arm by sandflies.
I knew nothing of sandflies until a couple of days later, when the itching became unbearable and I secured all the anti-itch medications I could find. But a Google search revealed they are like small mosquitos, with the same appetite for blood, most active from dusk to dawn, and have a bite that’s little noticed for one to two days, when the bite sites redden, turn hard, itchy, and sometimes painful.
Obviously I made it through the trip, and my arm is recovering. But the point in sharing this experience is that it should not have happened. Why not? Because, while I was ignorant of the sandflies, I had been taught on numerous occasions by our missionaries and local friends not to go anywhere without a good application of my favorite insect repellant. But, on that evening I was bitten, I thought about it. I had some within reach. I just didn’t do what I knew to do, as every subsequent itch reminds me.
Here’s my point. Ministry leaders are encouraged to be life long learners. While God’s word never changes, not one of us have mastered it so that we can afford to stop learning how it applies. Often leaders learn something through personal study, a conference, or a cohort. The thought resonates in their mind as they envision a change that quite possibly might lead to greater faithfulness and fruitfulness for the Lord. Sometimes they hear it repeated as faithful partners consider the same point. They see evidence in the testimonies of those who make the shift, confirming their thought. But many, even knowing what they know, just don’t make the change. They don’t do what they know to do.
Now I’ll be the first to say not everything you learn in the latest book, conference or blog is a worthy reference for tactical decision making. But when the teaching is a biblical priority, like evangelism, making disciples, or prayer, just like me at the beach, failure to act brings consequences.
1 John 4:17 says “Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
I often hear people say, “We just don’t know what to do to turn our church around?” Lately my answer has been, “Until you know what to do, do what you know to do.” In other words, why would the Lord reveal a next step when we’re not doing what He’s revealed up to this point?
Do what you know to do, and in His time the Lord will reveal what’s next.
You’ll see more about next steps in coming posts. Until then, consider the question. Is there anything you know you should be doing that you’re not? So, what will you do?
Blessings,
Bro. Jim