I have some seasoned advice for the
young, overly-enthusiastic children’s pastors who think they can take
children’s ministry to a higher level. You know who you are. You tend to
bite off more than you can chew. You always have some new idea. You are
idealistic. Your head is in the clouds. Your enthusiasm exceeds your
ability. Put bluntly, you think you can do this better than us older
folks.
My advice is: Go for it! You are
probably right.
The truth is that most of what happens
in children’s ministry today is business as usual. Puppets, take-home
papers and a summertime VBS does not always translate into vital,
life-changing ministry. We need a generation of young children’s
ministers to shake things up. After all, Jesus told parables that often
illustrated that the kingdom of God moves forward, not sideways. If God
is going to use anyone to move children’s ministry forward it will have
to come through someone bold enough to ignore the detractors and stroll
boldly to the front lines.
But like young David, you have to keep
your focus when well-meaning people try to "talk some sense" into you.
David heard that he could hit the
Israeli jackpot by killing Goliath. King Saul promised a package deal
including riches, the king’s daughter and tax-free status for life. So
David started asking questions and made it known he was considering
entering the ring with Goliath. His older brother, Eliab, quickly
attacked the ambitious idea with a three-pronged weapon designed to kill
David’s enthusiasm. It is the same three-pronged attack detractors today
use to slay any ambitious vision. Eliab’s assault unfolds in 1 Samuel
17:28.
First, Eliab challenged David by
asking, "Why did you come down here?" The implication is that there was
no need for David. Detractors will explain that everything is fine the
way it is. You are not needed, so stop making a scene. They have become
so comfortable with mediocrity that any show of enthusiasm threatens
them. Don’t get upset. Be kind. Listen. And then proceed forward.
Second, Eliab asked David, "With whom
have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?" Eliab’s condescending
question was an attempt to lower David’s vision to something less
ambitious. It was as if to say, "Fine, you want to do something; then do
something you can handle." Don’t let the detractors steal your focus.
There will always be people to tend a few sheep. Few are those who will
march down the valley and face Goliath. It never dawned on Eliab that
walking by faith often requires us to take on a task too big for us.
Third, Eliab then pulled out his
biggest weapon, the one that destroys most potential visionaries. He
challenged David’s motives. He said, "I know your pride and the
insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."
Detractors will always try to get you to question your heart and
motives. Heaven forbid that there be some personal benefit from
accomplishing what God sets before you. It never bothered God that David
wanted the reward for killing Goliath. Personal benefit always bothers
people more than it bothers God. Don’t let the prospect of reward
challenge your motives (Heb. 11:6).
Eliab was a soldier. He was an expert
at war. He was older, wiser and cautious. And he was wrong. If he had
successfully held David back, the nation would have lived for years
under the tyranny of the Philistines. David marched down into the
valley, told Goliath what he thought of him and killed him on the spot.
A young visionary with unbridled enthusiasm won the day.
If you believe the Lord has put
something new in your heart that might impact boys and girls for Him, be
slow to let others talk you out of it. Be cautious. Consider the risk.
Don’t be so overconfident that you don’t listen to all the people who
say it can’t be done. There will be many, and one of them may even have a
good point. But at the end of the day, let the Holy Spirit lead you to
do what He puts in your heart. If you don’t know why it can’t be done,
then maybe it can be done. Maybe, just maybe, you might succeed. And
when you do, don’t expect the Eliabs of the world to pat you on the
back. You just proved them wrong.
