As I kick off this 60th blog post, the idea of obsession is on my mind – because I follow a legacy of spiritual leaders who learned to obsess about the right things.
It’s exciting to write blog post #60, because, God willing, I am just getting started. You see I obsess over the church. I obsess over God’s bride – I am obsessed with caring and developing and seeing her become all that God intends for her to be. And I am convinced at my core that she (the Church) cannot become all she is supposed to be without two key elements: the favor of God and the sweat of His people.
What do you obsess over?
I am captured with a desire…an obsession…that God would give us great favor and that our people would be fully engaged in building His Church.
The Favor of God
No matter how much leadership skill, spiritual desire and physical momentum you have – you aren’t going anywhere worthwhile without the favor of God. The favor of God is the intangible force that makes ordinary people larger than life. It often overrides our incompetency and allows us to experience the height of Kingdom impact. The favor of God is second to none – therefore, I obsess over seeking His favor for our volunteers, our teams and our mission as a church.
The Sweat of His People
Nothing of great value is easy to come by. If you want to build a great church and have a great impact in your community it will require hard work. If you are not serving in your local church – get off your butt and serve. I do not say that to be unkind. I believe God builds great churches through willing servants. We are dependent on God to do what only He can do, but it matters that we invest our time and energy and do all that we can do.
These two things matter much, therefore, I obsess over them. When we obsess, pursuing the favor of God becomes a daily focus and helping people jump into serving in the local church becomes part of our call as leaders.
Join with me and obsess over the Church. When I was first called to ministry it was during a talk where I heard Bill Hybels deliver his famous line, “The local church is the hope of the world…”. If that is actually true (which I believe it to be) then the church deserves our attention. It deserves our obsession.
Cory Lebovitz 