Are You Doing Ministry From Memory?

by | Culture, Leadership

A few months ago I read Craig Groeschel’s new book, It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It.  In the book, Groeschel says “IT” is what God does through a rare combination of passion for His presence, a deep craving to reach the lost, sincere integrity, Spirit-filled faith, down-to-earth humility, and brokenness.  He then articulates a number of qualities that contribute to “it” in a local church including vision, divine focus, unmistakable camaraderie, innovative minds, willingness to fall short, hearts focused outward, and Kingdom-mindedness.  Throughout the book, Groeschel also highlights a handful of churches that God is using.  One of them is National Community Church.  He says, “The leaders of NCC fight against becoming what they call a closed system.  They never want to limit their learning to what they know.  The leaders of this innovative church refuse to do ministry from memory.”  


I love that statement!  Are you doing ministry from memory?  

Are the well-worn ruts of your methods leading to a slow death?  Here’s a wake-up call–leaders LEAD.  The responsibility falls on the shoulders of leaders to lead their churches and organizations out of the well-worn traditions that are ending in a slow death.  Even Jesus told the Pharisees, “You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matthew 15:6).  Stop doing ministry from memory.  Pray!  Dream!  Listen!  Learn!  and then LEAD.  Too much hangs in the balance to do ministry from memory.


And by the way…if you’re spiritually dry, the last two chapters of Groeschel’s book will rock your world in a big way.  
Stephen Blandino

Stephen Blandino

Pastor | Author | Coach | Podcaster

Leaders today are frustrated by a lack of clarity, ineffective systems, dysfunctional teams, and unhealthy cultures. I speak, coach, and write to help motivated pastors and leaders gain clarity, build high-performing teams, and maximize organizational health.

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