Ministers Desk 11 December 2011

Jesus tells us “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24).  These words tell us that being a disciple of Jesus is not a life a pleasure and ease.  There is a call to service, a call to hardship, a call to sacrifice.  Many Christ-followers struggle with how to interpret the call that Jesus makes on their life.  There have been people who have worked themselves to the point of collapse, exhaustion and burn out.  They have become so involved in their church activities that they have ignored family and friends.  They have believed (wrongly) that the future of the church relies on them.  Others have taken an easy route and avoided or minimised their service in the church.  They have wasted the gifts and opportunities that God has given them and arrogantly thought that the church can do without them.   

When we talk about Growing Disciples who Embody we want people to find the area of service that God calls them into, and do no more than this and no less.  As the example of Jesus shows, service to God is never without its hardships, and can come at a significant cost.  One of the questions that this raises is how to know when to pull out of serving, and when to push through.  An answer that I have found helpful is to ask whether something is doable hard, or destructive hard.

Doable hard is that which whilst it’s hard, gives us life, captivates us, causes us to want to continue giving and developing and growing.  Despite the hardness we want to continue because we believe passionately in what we are doing, we are gifted and talented to do it, it’s what God wants from us at that season in our life, we have control over what we’re doing, we have challenges before us that we want to achieve, we can see the results of our efforts, we have support mechanisms around us. 

Destructive hard on the other hand are those things that are soul destroying.  We get no joy out of them, they’re a drudge, they are destroying the work of being a new creation that Jesus is making in and through us.  They are destructive hard because we’re not gifted or talented, we’re not supported, we’re not committed, we’re not passionate, it’s too easy for us, there’s no challenge.

When we serve in an area that is doable hard, we grow as a disciple of Jesus because we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to get us through.  If you are wondering whether something is too much for you, I encourage you to try the following exercise:

1.      Get out a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle and write down the reasons why something is doable hard and destructive hard and decide for yourself which one it is.

2.      If it’s doable hard talk to someone who can provide support, give you encouragement, reflect on the good news, build you up.  If it’s destructive hard, talk to someone who can help you manage a way out of that ministry.  Not just throw in the towel straight away, but in a timely, appropriate, non-destructive way, move away and find something new.