Have you ever lived in a house where you could not control the temperature? I am not talking about a day or two with power outages – I mean like an extended stay sort of scenario. I, along with a friend of mine, had this unfortunate experience 10 years ago. We lived in a 3-story townhouse and the AC unit went out in late April. That unit remained broken all summer. All summer in Georgia. All summer in Georgia with no AC. I am lucky my friend still considers me a friend after that brutal summer.
It was frustrating living in that townhouse and not being able to do anything about the temperature. What made things more maddening was the thermostat still showed the temperature. I woke up and that little digital screen would show 91 degrees in my room. Not having the right temperature in the house was bad – but the fact that this expensive thermostat was relegated into a thermometer was even worse.
You know the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat right? “A thermostat shapes the climate…a thermometer just reflects it.” – Cornel West.
Reading the temperature in a room is not difficult. A person can walk into a room and instantly tell whether it is hot or cold. However changing the temperature in that room is more difficult – it requires you to leverage a thermostat.
If you serve you carry some level of spiritual influence. That means you need to trade in your thermometer for a thermostat. Whether you are new to serving or are a seasoned leader you are called to do more that read the environment, you are called to affect it for the better. Here are 3 ways you affect the temperature where you serve:
- Spiritual Intensity – you are called to positively affect the spiritual intensity of the environment where you serve. Bring the heat! Do more than observe the spiritual temperature on your team, work to raise the heat when it comes to prayer, worship and dependence on God.
- Competence – you have the ability to raise the bar when it comes to skillset and capability on your team. Do more than simply match the competence of the people around you. Seek to grow and equip yourself so that you are always better today than you were yesterday.
- Intentionality – you were created to make an intentional difference in the lives of others. That requires a constant desire to move from organic to intentional. Organic is great when it comes to food, not when it comes to your actions and intentionality. Are you as intentional as possible to listen for God’s voice and obey wherever you serve?
