The hole you leave

It was a vivid lesson. I still remember it and have shared it with others countless times over the years.

I was in a seminary classroom in Fort Worth, Texas. The prof was speaking to a room full of aspiring pastors, ministers and spiritual leaders. We all thought we were going to change the world church for the better. His words were grounding.

“It’s not your church. No matter how much ‘success’ you think you’ve had, you’re on assignment. It’s the body of Christ. It’s Jesus’ church.”

Then to hammer the point home, he spoke bluntly. He told us that some of us would become deluded, thinking that we were the anchor, the hinge, the great visionary or leader who held things together.

“Think of a bucket of water. Put your hand in it and pull it back out. The hole you leave there is the same that you’ll leave when you exit your church.”

The lesson I learned that day was invaluable. God is perfectly capable of tending to His church. It’s not about me.

It’s also a lesson I’ve applied to other areas of life, and may I encourage you to do so as well. We are all on assignment. We are on loan. May we see ourselves as stewards of our lives rather than owners.

This perspective relieves our frenetic drive to maintain and to innovate. We can rest, knowing that God is in control. It frees us to simply be faithful where we are.

A shameless preacher analogy

A famous professor, a preacher, and a teenager were flying in a small private plane. About an hour into the flight, the pilot comes out of the cockpit, soberly announcing:

“Guys, the engine’s gone out. The plane is going down. Bad news—we only have three parachutes and there are four of us.”

The pilot then grabs one, says, “Sorry, I’ve got a wife and kids,” and jumps out.

The professor immediately stands up and says, “I’m one of the smartest men in the world! The world needs my brain!” He grabs a pack, jumps out, and is gone.

The preacher looks at the teenager and says, “Son, I’ve lived a full life. You take the last parachute.”

The teenager smiles and says, “Relax, Pastor. The smartest man in the world just jumped out with my backpack.”

“Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves...” (Romans 12:3 NLT)