Remove The Ballast!
Hey Friends,
We have all heard the old saying: “You have to give up to go up.” I believe this is totally true. Sadly, many are not willing to give up what they have or where they are to go to the next level of leadership or ministry. Comfort can be a crippling disease for Christ-followers.
If you want to soar to new heights you have to remove the ballast. Ballast is weight that is used to hold down a helium balloon. The ballast must be jettisoned for the craft to go new heights. Rick Warren said, “The greatest detriment to tomorrow’s success is today’s success.” For many leaders in the ministry the greatest obstacles they face are their own achievements.
As a senior pastor, I have watched the church grow from 25 on the weekend to almost 4,000 today. The tradeoffs we have made over the years have been staggering. To be truthful, many have chosen to leave the church because they thought our tradeoffs were too great. There is no success without sacrifice and some of what we have to cut loose is loved by many.
I remember cutting Sunday night services loose when we moved to home small groups and did away with adult Sunday School. Wow, the ballast there was beloved. I can remember meeting with about 50 “not so happy” members about the decision to cut Sunday night. It was not a pleasant meeting. Today, 60% of our adults meet in homes for community and life transformation.
I could list many tradeoffs we have made, both corporately and personally, and I would do it all over again. Painful? Yes! Fruitful? You bet! You cannot keep growing and reaching an ever-changing culture and not change yourself and your ministry!
Too many today continue to do what they did 40 or 50 years ago without the same results. Do you want to reach the lost? Do you want to grow? Do you want to see life transformation? It’s time to cut the ballast that is tying you down.
Just a thought.
Love ya,
Pastor Chris
3 Comments
Ahhhh, yes Pastor…but to do this you have to believe that its not about us and here but about Him and there……
Now that…that is hard to convince people of…that the here and now is but as a blink of an eye……
WE are getting ready to vent our ballast…..Thanks for the great sermon on Sunday!
As a railroader, I also look at ballast as the crushed stone used to:
1. Support the ties
2. Distribute the load
3. Facilitate drainage
4. Keep down vegetation
As referenced in your posting, not only do we need to “Remove The Ballast” that is holding us down, we have to keep the necessary ballast clean and in good order.
Love your posts and look forward to them every day.
Isn’t it natural to tie God to OUR traditions? We take something that worked in the past and assume God will continue to use it. Besides, even if God does not show up any more at least we feel comfortable and remain in control of the outcomes … diminishing though they may be.
The Pharisees were the ultimate “ballast keepers” … not realizing they were invalidating the word of God for the sake of their traditions / comfort / control. They chose programs over Presence.
The tradition, then, runs the risk of trumping the call and presence of God in the ministry.