Monday, September 23, 2013

Who's the backups in ministry?

Who Is Waiting to Step Up in your ministry?

Gator fans now know the value of the backup after our starting Quarterback Jeff Driskell went down with a season ending break of his leg in the first quarter of our game with Tennessee on Saturday. The Backup had to go in and play the rest of the game. Now he will have to play the rest of the season. His name is Tyler Murphy and until Saturday, he had never taken a snap in a real game for the Gators. There were those who wanted him to after Jeff didn’t play very well against Miami, but the coaches were not about to go there. That is until the injury forced them to play him. He did well in relief and in many ways was the reason the Gators won a very ugly football game on offense. Now time will tell if Murphy is really ready to be the starting QB, but unless something happens to him, he is going to be for the rest of the season. Now the question becomes who is the new backup? The coaches will have a plan and they will get either Skylar Mornhigweg or Max Staver ready should something happen to Tyler.

A facebook post by my friend Kevin James about his episode of a dislocated hip during the middle of his sermon made me wonder just who do we have in place in our ministries if something happens to us? Do we have a backup preacher or BCM director? Are we getting them ready in case something happens to us and we can’t go? While I don’t think many of us think we are indispensable, most of us don’t think we won’t be able to fulfill our duties either. So often we do ministry as if we are the only one who could possible get it done. That’s just not a smart way to approach it really. We all need to be working ourselves out of a job. Could your ministry not only continue but continue to thrive if you were absent for an extended period of time? If you are not building up leaders underneath you to even do a better job without you, then in my opinion you are not building up the kingdom and maybe you are just building up your own. Maybe they can’t do it as good as you could, but are helping them close that gap each and every week?

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the home of Elna and Bert Harris after preaching about the Maguire State Mission Offering and the BCM ministry at Faith Baptist in Lake Placid led by my old friend Bill Cole. Bert is 94 and Elna is a young 85! She leads their WMU organization and they always exceed their goals for all the mission offerings. After meeting her, I can easily see why. She is charming, direct, tactful and a true Southern lady in every respect. I doubt anyone could say no to anything she asks! This morning as I was reflecting on the day and meeting this godly couple who have served the Lord and His church so faithfully for so many years, I couldn’t help but wonder who will take their place when the Lord calls them home? Then I began to wonder not just about their church but in so many of our churches we have elderly saints that have carried the load for many years and who is going to take their places?


Young men and women who have served with me through the years in the BCM, I believe it is you! So many of you are already serving faithfully in your local churches and I am encouraged by that. If you aren’t, then why aren’t you? Our role as a leader in the church is to make sure you are fully engaged and equipped for ministry. If I have failed to prepare you, then I am sorry. But you still have to get in there and do what the Lord needs done. Just like Tyler Murphy stepped up for Gator Nation this past Saturday and will now be looked on to carry the load the rest of the season, the Kingdom of God, needs many of you to step up and carry the load for all those Saints who have gone before you. I believe in our backups! I believe in you!