Two months ago I became the youth minister at Antioch
Community Church in Norman, Oklahoma. These first few months have been fun and challenging!
Most of the time I feel like I am just keeping my head above water, and yet, in
the midst of it all, God is moving. He has been teaching me so much in this
process. Recently I have been in the school of patience and long-term thinking.
God is so patient. Think about it. After the fall of man,
God waited thousands of years for His redemption plan to unfold. Are you
kidding me? Even after Jesus was born God waited an additional 30 years before
He released Jesus into ministry and then it was another 3 until Jesus completed
His assignment. What?! Now that’s a long-term mentality. It’s safe to say that
you and I probably would have done things differently. Most of us want things
now and we want it our way.
We must understand that we aren’t just called to bear fruit
but fruit that remains (Jn. 15:16). This should give us a different
perspective. We aren’t called to be a flash in the pan. We are called to
transform culture like leaven transforms the very chemistry of a loaf of bread.
Without leaven a loaf of bread is entirely different. Would our cities look
entirely different if we were removed? If our influence is to be as pervasive
as leaven, then we must free ourselves of short-term thinking. When you lead
from a long-term perspective you have a greater understanding that though
something might be convenient or flashy in the short-term, it isn’t worth it if
it doesn’t set your life or ministry in the direction God has called it.
Proverbs tells us that a good man leaves an inheritance to
his children’s children (13:22). That type of legacy doesn’t happen without
long-term leading and thinking. God is a generational God. Why else would those
endless lists of impossible names be included in the Bible? But seriously, He
is about lasting impact—fruit that remains. God isn’t as concerned with how
flawless tonight’s service or sermon was, as much as He is concerned with the
values and structures that are being implemented that will allow the move of
God to continue and increase.
The work that God has called you to is significant whether
it’s in the church, the classroom, or the living room. His intention is that
you would bear fruit that remains, that your children’s children would enjoy
the benefits of the decisions you are making today. Learn to think and lead
long-term. It’s the only perspective that produces lasting results.
