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| Pastor Mike Slaughter |
Several
weeks ago, I had the joy of returning to my home church for a leadership
conference. Among the many blessings of
the day was the opportunity to hear from Mike Slaughter, Lead Pastor of
Ginghamsburg UMC in Tipp City, Ohio.
Over the past 33 years, Mike has lead Ginghamsburg Church from a typical
small town congregation of 90 worshippers to a vibrant, missionally-focused
congregation with several thousand
worshippers.
In his
presentation, there were two phrases Mike repeated over and over that captured me: “I don’t have time to play church.” and “There are no quick wins.”
“I don’t
have time to play church” means that there ought to be an urgency to the
church’s ministry. We don’t have time to
waste with institutional structures and church programs that hold us back from
reaching the world Christ came to save.
Now is the time to get serious about reaching the least, the last, and
the lost with the radical grace of Jesus.
With this
sense of urgency in mind, “there are no quick wins.” In other words, reaching the world with the
good news takes patience. Disciples are
not made overnight. Congregation’s are
not revitalized in one month. Vibrant,
faithful, fruitful ministry takes a long-term commitment – in the case of
Ginghamsburg Church, about 33 years.
As I’ve
been reflecting on these phrases, I’m realizing how true they are. Jesus’ own ministry began with an urgent plea, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). Jesus didn’t have time to play games. He was about the work of the Kingdom and
would not allow anything – especially the religious institution - to distract
him from that work.
At the same
time, Jesus’ ministry exemplified patience.
“There are no quick wins.” Jesus
demonstrates an amazing amount of patience with his disciples, who are very
slow to realize what the Kingdom is all about.
The Kingdom movement that Jesus began with urgency doesn’t really take
off until after Jesus has risen and ascended into heaven. In short, Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom now, but
knew that realizing the Kingdom in fullness would take patience and long-term
commitment.
As we move
forward in ministry at Faith UMC, I hope that we can sense the urgency of God’s
mission. There are people in our community
who are hurting and who need the good news of Jesus RIGHT NOW! We don’t have time to play church! We’ve got important work to do!
At the same
time, I hope that we will be patient.
The fruit of our ministry will not appear overnight. Seeds sown today may not take root for
years. It’s okay. As long as we’re being faithful to the work
of the Kingdom, we can stay the course.
We’ve no time to be impatient.
