by Bishop Bill Gohl
…to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… –Ephesians 4:12
Arwyn and I have different approaches to parenting. She is patient and thoughtful about how she teaches our children how to do things, and then when they don’t do it right, she teaches them to do it again. On the other hand, I teach them something, and when they don’t do it the way I want it done, I go behind them and fix it; and I think they have figured out that if they continue to do a poor job, I’ll just do it myself.
Doing it myself because it’s easier than getting my kids to do it well themselves. It’s a position that I find myself defaulting to – not just at home, but more so at work – particularly when I am tired or feeling under pressure to get something done. It’s such a crippling mindset, and only hurts me, and us in the end. It’s like the time equivalent of pennywise and pound foolish – minute-wise, and hour-foolish.
Doing it myself because it’s easier than getting them to do it themselves. It is what creates resistance to instructing and delegating to other people to do what I usually do. It slows me down from creating systems to manage things better in the future. It’s the fear that keeps me from trying new products and new technology and keep on stumbling along using what “works” instead of leveraging what might work better.
And here’s the problem: When urgent gets in the way of important.
I find myself reminding colleagues, and myself, that expediency and convenience are the greatest enemies of the gospel; that when we cut corners, slide-by, “do it ourselves,” we are disenfranchising the people of God from the ministry that belongs to the whole Body of Christ.
It’s not about doing more, it’s about prioritizing discipleship over pragmatism, equipping the saints over getting the job done. It’s not easy, but it’s not to be burdensome, either. The ultimate goal is ministry shared, even if it means ministry that looks different or iterates in ways that leaders that cannot necessarily see from our vantage point – or even imagine in the moment.
I don’t expect this to happen overnight. In fact, I can’t expect this to happen overnight. Equipping one another for this ministry we share is a process, and if it’s done correctly, it takes time, commitment and intentionality.
This is going to be my Lenten discipline: do it myself less, equip more intentionally; do it the way I want it done less, and delegate more faithfully; holding it close less, and discipling more effectively – even if it would seem “faster” to do it myself.
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. –Ephesians 4:11-13