I'm in the Menace Tree...

Clever...ain't it?!?

Well, maybe not...but true for me, nonetheless.

See, ministry stuff is by FAR the greatest thing in the world to be a part of. Seriously. I know there is nothing greater to be involved with than ministry. I'm not saying it has to be one's vocation, but ministry as a whole SHOULD involve everyone who has accepted the fact that they are flawed beings in need of a redeemer. Does it always work that way all across the board? Sadly, no. But that's not for me to decide, judge, or harp on...not today, at least.

No, today is just one of those days that it's easy to be discouraged. I am thankful and forever indebted to those who have poured into and ministered to me, because their love and words have equipped me to go through days like these. But even still, the enemy still uses daggers of discouragement to distract me. Today, it happened a lot.

Of the bogillions of things I have learned (and still learning), one of them is that ministry is God's and God's alone. Everything within the confines of ministry is only successful within the parameters of God at work. Sure, it can look successful to man's judgment and sin-veiled eye, but the truth is that true ministry is ONLY successful when God is at work in the situation or circumstance. When we attempt to take ownership or claim a ministry or part of ministry as "ours" or "mine" we have severely cheapened said ministry outlet, eliminated the possibility for 'success,' and deceived ourselves into believing we're effective for the calling dealing with that specific ministry. Too often do we find ourselves (and I say that because I have been guilty of this) believing that "This couldn't have happened or won't work without ME...or without MY abilities/talents/availability/knowledge blah blah blah." Really? So, God couldn't pull this off without the help of an INDIVIDUAL...that He created, by the way?!?!?!?!?!??

The most unfortunate thing about this scenario is that its commonplace is the church. Folks love volunteering (which, in my opinion, is where the richest ministry takes place), but it's when we get self-focused and push our own agendas do we distort real ministry. What sucks even more is that real people get burned by it. They're the ones who lose out, get discouraged, become distracted...in a nutshell, DON'T see the love of Christ in the attempt, and walk away unaffected. And somehow, we (fallen man) have labeled it "successful."

I suppose that's where I'm at. Recently, I've seen examples of selfishness, both in my own life and at work around me, and I've been discouraged. I'm thankful for the mentors and saints God has put into my life to truly minister to me, but some days it's just too easy to see the fake and false 'ministries' people claim in their own name. I suppose that discouragement from a slight miss is why I once again find myself in the Menace Tree instead of the real deal.

So I pray that you, as a follower of Christ, find yourself immersed in true, real, life-changing ministry...and realize you have NOTHING to do with its success.

And if you're looking for one in the meantime, just look up. Some of us could use some help getting down.

Like I said: Clever.