As we think about ministry, I hope we understand it as partnership between God and us as He calls and empowers us and we serve faithfully, relying on Him. Reflecting on this partnership, however, prompts some questions.
What is our understanding of that partnership, and where does depending on God come in?
What assumptions inform what we think depending on God means, and what experiences guide our thinking?
What does God do, what are we to do, and where is the balance of personal initiative, ability, and effort on one hand and depending on God on the other?
How much of depending on Him looks like mysterious, supernatural work on His part, and how much involves practical wisdom and knowledge, which also can express dependence on Him as Creator and the Source of knowledge?
The idea of depending on God can be a conveniently and troublingly vague notion. When we are confused, want to avoid accountability, or want to sound spiritual, we can play the “depending on God” card and shroud our work in enough mystery to placate our confusion and hold detractors at bay. Alternately, when we honestly seek to honor the mysterious nature of ministry, acknowledge our inadequacy apart from the Lord, and figure out how to serve well, we need more clarity than a blurry admonition to depend on God. It seems, for the most part, we are talking about three main areas when we talk about depending on God – guidance, resources, and results.
Depending on God for Guidance – I have seen people over-spiritualize and under-spiritualize this aspect of depending on God. Some pray and think without any outside research or counsel, while others act solely on human knowledge, assuming God has left things entirely in our hands. In reality, I believe the truth is somewhere between the two.
Guidance Through the Word – Leaving our Bibles closed in the name of depending on God misses the mark. As long as we use the Bible according to sound hermeneutics, in humility and openness to God’s Spirit, searching and obeying the Scriptures is an expression of depending on God.
Guidance Through Research, Wisdom, and Counsel – Although God is capable of giving miraculous insight, He has given people knowledge in many areas, expects us to grow in wisdom, and has given us other Christians with to help us. So long as we do not operate from a desire to be adequate apart from the Lord, discovering good sources information can be a form of depending on God.
God’s Guidance in our Spirit – I suspect God prompts and moves (or would like to) more than some allow and less than others claim and want. A caution is that the subjective nature of this guidance allows for abusing the claim of God’s leading, as well as confusing our thoughts, fears, desires, and prejudices with what we think is God’s leadership.
Depending on God for Resources – A second thing we may mean when we speak of depending on God is relying on Him for resources. These may be organizational or personal resources, and they may be material or intangible resources.
Organizational and Personal Resources – It is easy to see our organizations need resources with which to advance God’s Kingdom. Lean times and difficult days make us more acutely aware of the need for God’s provision, but I believe we always should remain dependent on the Lord for church resources. Additionally, we, as ministers and leaders, need the Lord’s provision in order to serve effectively – protection, wisdom, power, renewal, etc.
Material and Intangible Resources – It may be easier to think of the material resources we need (money, facilities, etc.), but there also are intangible resources, and we must cultivate dependence on the Lord for these on both the organizational and personal levels.
Depending on God for Results – As I think about Biblical and extra-Biblical instances of leadership and ministry, I see faithful examples of ministry with obvious results, as well as faithful but seemingly unfruitful ministries. The question arises as to what defines success. Another question concerns whether a seeming lack of results is an indication of God not blessing, an instance of failure on the minister’s part, or simply resistance in the recipients of ministry. Evidently, success can look like faithful obedience alone, and results looks like faithful Christ-followers. A couple of expressions of failing to depend on God sometimes emerge in ministries and churches. Sometimes, we change the definition of success and results so we can accomplish results without God. In a related fashion, we may trade spiritual dependence and Biblical faithfulness for mechanizations and gimmicks. Here is the call and caution – we have to strike a balance between good knowledge about what helps connect people with Christ and dependence on the Spirit that is beyond our control and explanation.
What do you think it means to depend on God in the ministry, and how do you do that? Allow me to remind you of just three of the many verses of Scripture that encourage dependence on God.
John 15:5 (ESV) – I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Zechariah 4:6 (ESV) – Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (ESV) - For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.