The harder you try to replace yourself, the more irreplaceable you become! The benefits are huge. What if God is wanting to greatly increase the size and scope of your ministry, but like a Good Father, is refusing to do so because you feel like you’re the only person who can manage it all. God loves you and will not curse you with success when it would only kill you. Replace yourself and receive the blessing of God.
4. Rest, You Idiot.
Perry has said this before and it’s so true: God calls those who won’t work “lazy”; but he calls those who won’t rest “disobedient.” If you won’t obey the fourth commandment, it’s likely that you will commit all the others. Time works like money in many ways. If we tithe, the other 90 percent of our income is blessed.
If we Sabbath well on one day, the other six days are blessed. Live in blessing. Ministers often have Messiah-complex issues. You ain’t Jesus. So, take a break before you break. Also, working 52 straight Sundays in a year isn’t honorable. It’s dangerous, unsustainable and stupid. See lesson #3 and take a much needed breath!
5. You’re Too Famous for the Club.
If you’re a young worship leader, you’re in a unique position. You are probably adored by everyone in your church and are given local celebrity status. So, if you decide you want to go downtown after work and have a few drinks, keep this in mind: Everywhere you go, people don’t just see you … they see your pastor, your staff, your band and Jesus. Congratulations. Welcome to the spotlight.
You have to remember who you are and what you’re responsible for … come on, you’re too famous to even be rude to your barista at Starbucks let alone lose control at a bar. You’ll find more freedom in being the same person everywhere, including your stage. Choose your lifestyle wisely. Jesus is the perfect model for how to live and whom to associate with.
Bonus: The Way Up Is Down
All of us have big dreams. We want to be great, because Greatness has been placed inside us! The hardest lesson for me to learn was that in God’s economy, exaltation comes after humiliation. “Whoever would be first among you must be slave of all” (Mark 10:44).
Jesus marked out the path for us. He was given the Name above every name because he gave up his position and emptied himself to serve us. Want to be great? Choose the path of humility. A mentor of mine has a wonderful prayer that we often pray before we go on stage: “Jesus, we don’t have to be great, just please make us useful.” That’s my prayer for all of us today.
