By Dale Sellers
The Lord gave me a great example of the performance trap I’d fallen into through our pet cat, Charlie. In some ways, I was behaving just like him. Charlie is an outdoor cat that we allow into the house on occasion to be brushed and petted. From time to time, I’ll step into our garage and discover a freshly killed rodent that Charlie has left as a prize for Gina and me. I don’t know why cats do this. However, I understand it is normal cat behavior. I guess you could say cats are leaving us an offering.
I can now see that I allowed myself to become a lot like Charlie. I often left an offering of performance for Jesus in order to gain His approval. Deep down inside I believed I would get the big break I was hoping for if I could somehow offer some outstanding results. I thought I could unlock my potential by discovering that great idea that would finally validate my ministry. Or, like Charlie, maybe I could impress Him with my generous offering even though He never asked for it.
Can you see the destructive nature of performance? When ministry is based on your performance, it becomes more about what you can do instead of depending on Jesus to provide the plan and power necessary for sustained success. Operating this way leads to failure in some area. It’s only through complete dependency on Him that we can experience a lasting and fruitful ministry.
It’s only through complete dependency on Him that we can experience a lasting and fruitful ministry.
I have heard this statement many times throughout the years: “We have to start well, run well, and finish well.” The emphasis is on the importance of living a life of character and integrity throughout our journey. However, if we aren’t careful, we can inadvertently put the focus on ourselves. The focus should not be on our ability to start, run, and finish. It should always be on daily making the choice of getting to know Jesus better. Just like Mary, I’ve discovered that true purpose and power are found by choosing that one essential of spending time with Him.
Have you ever wondered why many successful leaders fail morally? Even leaders with long ministry pedigrees and international influence have been removed from their positions of influence. How could they build something huge only to lose it many years later? The answer is really quite simple. They got so used to relying on their own abilities that they became disconnected from the true source of anointing—intimacy with Him. Once this happens, it’s only a matter of time before things begin to unravel. It is nearly impossible to have sustained effective ministry impact apart from His presence.
They got so used to relying on their own abilities that they became disconnected from the true source of anointing—intimacy with Him.
Sellers, Dale. Stalled: Hope and Help for Pastors Who Thought They’d Be There by Now (pp. 49-51).
As bad as I hate to admit it, I still find myself from time to time placing more value on what I accomplish than simply in my relationship with Jesus. Do you ever struggle with this? Being unaware of this can led to a ministry filled with performance based metrics. That has never been His desire.
What are you doing that is working well? What is not going so well? Let’s connect and have a conversation about it. At 95Network, we are here to support and serve you in anyway we can. If you feel like you’re in a season where your stalled out and can see the way forward then please reach out to me at [email protected]
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