In The Gospel-Driven Church, Jared C. Wilson tells the story of a church he served that had been around since the 1780s. He writes that looking back at a notebook with a list of all the pastors, deacons, and board members who served, “was a constant reminder to me that one day my name was going to be a barely legible entry in a dusty book covered in mouse droppings” (p. 190). His bigger point is that our ministry as pastors won’t last.
He reminds us that God promised to build his church and that the gates of hell wouldn’t over come it (Matthew 16:18), but that doesn’t mean God will build our ministry empire.
If we get into ministry thinking it is about us and our legacy, then we’ll be sorely disappointed. We’ll also lead the church in an unhealthy direction. Even if we have a charismatic personality that attracts a crowd, one day our bodies will be buried in the dust and someone else will follow behind us. What they do with “our” ministry will be completely out of our hands.
But if we get into ministry seeking to build a legacy of pointing toward God’s grace and love in the cross of Jesus, then we’ll be adding to a lasting reality, even long after we’re forgotten. “He must increase, I must decrease,” John the Baptist said of Jesus. It is only when we have the same attitude that a true legacy will be born.
Photo by Michael Morse: https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-person-standing-near-white-church-1533913/
This post originally appeared at Thoughts from the Hills.
Mike is a small-town pastor and founder of Ozark Hills Church Consulting.