Pastor Ben Davidson is guest blogging this week for me...thanks, Ben!
They say that “confession is good for the soul”. I must confess something to my beloved church family—I love my to do list. I get great joy out of checking tasks off the list and moving onto new ones!
On this note, I have recently been challenged by a book I am reading for a seminary class. Although I do not agree with everything in the book Cross-Cultural Servanthood, it has challenged my to do list mentality. The author, Duane Elmer, challenges the reader to consider how important relationship is in ministry and for our to do lists.
He states two primary ways we serve others. The first is by entering into “a relationship of love and mutual commitment.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8 states, “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”
The second is our need to adjust to the patterns we learn through that relationship. These two primary ways then allow us to perform the right kinds of God-honoring tasks for our to do lists. Instead of filling the list with the wrong kinds of tasks, we take the position of learner and lover of people and allow that to help us make wise decisions for our to do lists.
Let me ask you church—how much of your tasks for this week involve entering into relationship with others, encouraging the saints and ministering to the lost? Join with me in making a God-centered, people loving list!
Pastor Ben
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