When its all about me

Sitting in a passionate meeting after church one day I got a surprised dropped on me. The discussion rolled around to the children's program for Easter. At that moment an individual chimed in that they wanted to see us have Sunday School that day. I explained why I did not think that this was a fruitful idea. The person continued to push, so I opened the door for them to take the bull by the horns.

I learned from previous jobs that if someone is passionate about something then have them take a part in the solution. That is what I attempted to do in this situation. I said that there needed to be volunteers (as I had explained before) and that I would want them to be one of the volunteers along with helping me find others. They agreed and so I let it go.

A few weeks later the individual backed out because the children they were going to bring were no longer going to make it. The result was that we would go with my initial recommendation. The sad reality though is that this was another case where it was not about the needs of students, helping others grow with God, but about the individuals desires.

This happens a lot in church. We get great plans and ideas, but they are not about the bigger picture but about our own needs. The church situation becomes about our own needs rather than God. I see this all the time in the many churches I have been in. Well meaning individuals that let their desires for their children to take center stage, or drop out of a mission trip at the last minute cause it is inconvenient to their beach plans. These situations all take the focus from the true purpose of things to being about our needs.

My wife and I recently joined a small group. This is something we have been wanting to do for a long time. We needed a place to grow spiritually where I would not be on staff. Our desires entering were about our own needs. However, through the course of the small group we have made the point to lift others up, compliment others, go the extra mile to support the leaders. These things have not been about our desires, but serving God through the small group.

I wish there was more of that in churches. If only we could see the larger picture (myself included) more often and not our own selfish needs for a quick fix, a easy answer, a child to be center stage. If only we could put our own needs down and get to what God and his children may need in this situation or that.