Just a _____

For many years, my wife taught a Bible study class for young couples. Because of the church’s location, the class tended to be filled with high achieving young adults who were continuing their education in medical or dental or law school. There were even a few who were working on PhD’s in subjects that I couldn’t begin to understand. Because the population of the class was fairly fluid, they often started the class with some sort of introductory question to get to know each other. On one occasion, they went around the circle giving their names and what they were doing. After several impressive-sounding answers, they came to one of young woman who meekly said, “I pretend for a living.” She was a professional actress in a local, Christian theater company, and was quite good accomplished. But as she heard the others, she bought into the myth that certain professions are worthier than others. In her view, using her talents to glorify God on stage was a lesser career path. She was “just an actress.” Most of you who are in positions of leadership. You have formal and informal authority over a number of people. Some are staff members and others are volunteers. Some are in positions that are visible and highly valued by the people in your organization and on the outside. Others are in positions that are unseen or that are considered to be menial. If you gathered everyone that you lead in a room and had them introduce themselves, which ones would say, “I’m just a _____”? A custodian … a receptionist … an usher … a small group leader. You are in a unique position, because you have the opportunity to eliminate “just” from their vocabularies. You can make it clear that all positions are valued. Your words and actions can show that you truly believe the teachings on the body of Christ (Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12). What hidden talent and energy can be released in your church or ministry if no one thinks that they’re “just a ____”? It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>