Hard work + walking with God= Kingdom Power

As a leader who has had to work hard to sharpen the few skills I have, it was refreshing to read the following post. Not only are we to hone the gifts and abilities He has given us, but we are also to be accountable to Him and to one another and remember that our power doesn’t come only from our hard work, but first, from our walk with the Father. All the hard work, conferences, leadership magazines, and training is nothing without His power. All the power is just not power without a fresh encounter with Him moment by moment. In some strange way, He asks us to do both…Work Hard + Walk With Him. Why both? Why not just Walk With Him, won’t He just produce it for us as we walk hard after Him? Mysterious Stuff…tracking with that?

From Tony Morgan this am…

“No one ever drifts to greatness. Want to be a great musician? Methodical practice is required. Do you long for athletic prowess? You must train, and train methodically. Building a great marriage, a great family, a great friendship or a great career requires the ongoing discipline of methodical effort. Wesley had it right; the methodical practice of scriptural holiness is the way to maturity. “Just as God calls us into community, Wesley called his “awakened” to live in community. Iron sharpens iron and Wesley knew the best strategy for discipleship included the honesty (and sharpening effect) of Christ-centered friendships.”
–Mark Beeson, senior pastor of Granger Community Church as quoted on LeadingSmart.com

In case you’ve missed it Tim’s blog has a series of posts taken from an interview with Mark Beeson that will challenge your personal spiritual development and your ministry strategy.
I know–megachurch pastors aren’t supposed to talk about discipleship and holiness. Let’s just pretend this didn’t happen that way we can continue talking about how big churches water down the Bible to grow their crowds. That’s a lot more fun.