|
|
| Maintaining Balance in Our Ministry |  | Recently I saw a five panel framed print that depicted the construction of the Eiffel Tower in France. Each of the five photographs in the print showed the different stages of the tower as it went from foundation to architectural masterpiece. I don't know exactly how much time elapsed between photographs, but obviously the progression encompassed years.
One thing that caught my eye was what changed at the bottom of each picture. While the tower went up, the buildings surrounding the tower changed. In the first illustration there were small houses surrounding the construction site. In the next picture they were gone! In the next, there appeared some new buildings. Yet in the fourth, the landscape around the tower had changed completely ... again!
This got me to thinking about our music ministries. We'd all like to think that we're growing, we're building, we're making progress. And that's good. But what about the things that surround our ministry? What about the other portions of our lives? What about the people? In our desire to build an effective ministry, have we lost sight of what we might consider "fringe elements"?
Let's recommit right now to not letting that happen. As we face a new calendar year, let's be sure that we maintain the balance that's so important to our lives. Sure, we don't want to be slack in our ministry responsibilities, but we must protect our personal devotional time with God; our reading of God's Word; our quality time with family; our interaction with others in ministry and even with those who have no direct involvement in our ministry, but are, nonetheless, vital members of the Body of Christ.
For most of us, this takes some concentrated effort. Keeping our feet on the ground while our dreams are in the clouds is a tall order. Yet we're called to minister first to God, then to His people. Let's be sure that nobody falls through the cracks. Things, people and circumstances will change, but we'll never regret paying attention to the things at the foundation of our ministry. Building an Eiffel Tower program with no idea of what's going on at "ground level" is a tragic situation.
Besides, it's amazing what God will do through a committed group with the same vision and the same goals and the same passion. You may be the construction foreman on the job, but you're not alone. Nor are you called to be.
To get your free subscription to Easy 2 Excel Communiqué just mail your request to:
Lillenas Publishing Company
Attn: Easy 2 Excel Communiqué
P.O. Box 419527
Kansas City, MO 64141 | | | This Easy 2 Excel Communiqué article appeared as the lead article in the Winter 2003 issue. |
|
• Printer Friendly Version
Email a friend about this
|
