Does God ever ask you to do something that is way above your ability and life experience?
For the past two days, God blessed me with an opportunity to serve as a “Mentor Pastor” along with Pastors Greg Surratt, Larry Osborne, and Toby Sloth. We did this through Leadership Network , an amazing organization that equips leaders to lead more effectively.
I felt very inadequate.
Pastor Greg leads the 12,000 member Seacoast Church in Charleston, South Carolina. He’s been the pastor for over twenty years. Seacoast is only one of the most influential churches in America. They were one of the first churches to start multi-sites campuses. Seacoast currently meets in 14 separate locations. And by the way, he is the President of ARC, a church planting network.
Pastor Larry leads the 9,000 member North Coast Church in the San Diego, California area. He’s been a pastor for over twenty years. He’s known as one the leading thinkers in church organizational effectiveness and is one of the leading small group gurus in America. I’ve read His books, Stick Church and Sticky Teams.
Pastor Toby leads the 4,500 member Cross Timbers Community Church. He done this for twelve years. He has a wealth of experience and expertise in helping pastors with soul care.
And then there was me. By the way, all of the Next Generation pastors had been pastoring longer than me.
I was feeling very inadequate.
On the outside, I looked okay. But on the inside, where life is really lived, I was a mess. I kept hearing the voice:
“Why are you here?”
“Who do you think you are?”
“What do you have the offer?”
As I was under assault, I preached the Gospel to myself. I said:
“I’m a Beloved Child of God.”
“I’m here because Jesus wants me here to add value to these pastors' lives!”
“I’m here because I’m gifted by God, called God, and empowered by God for this moment!”
I overcame the fear of inadequacy by preaching the Gospel to myself through the Spirit’s empowerment.
God used me to encourage, equip, and challenge the Next Generation pastors.
I had a blast! I became a better leader as a result.
Imagine what I and everyone else would have missed if I would have allowed the fear of inadequacy to win.
Do you ever struggle with the fear of inadequacy? If so, preach the Gospel to yourself and rely on the Spirit’s power to see you through.
