This past weekend we kicked off the first week of our At The Movies series at 12Stone Church. This series always includes high fun, creativity and compelling avenues for delivering the word of God through the lens of Hollywood’s biggest hits. One of the things I love about this series is that it engages so many people in our community. Typically our At The Movies series pushes our buildings to the max as we serve huge crowds at our weekend services.
It is on weekends like this past one that I find it helpful to pause and ask myself “why does this matter?”
Why does it matter that people fill the church building? Is it because I want to work for a successful organization? Is it because I want the excitement of the big crowd? Or is a big series important because it makes the Word of God accessible to many? Sometimes I have to ask myself, “Am I motivated by what best serves others? Or by what best serves me?
It is wise for leaders to take time, pause and ask, “What is my motivation?” Leaders seek accomplishment – but we must make sure we want accomplishment for the right reasons. Ask yourself why the next person matters. Why does it matter that they walk into your church? Join your team? Attend your event? Do you want them there because you will feel accomplished, or because they will benefit from it?
It is not bad to want big results and large numbers. What is destructive to the soul is to push for those things because they will help define you. We must watch our motivation for two reasons:
- If you need large numbers for you to feel significant you will crumble as a spiritual leader. (click to tweet)
- When you care more about your accomplishments than others betterment you are exploiting people, not helping them. (click to tweet)
Cory Lebovitz 