Jeff takes us through the story of Israel and their travel from Egypt to the “Promised Land.”  During this time, Israel had multiple opportunities to trust in God’s plan and leading, and yet they consistently made the choice to grumble, complain and turn from God.  Jeff describes the “Land Between” as a place of transformational growth or a place where faith goes to die.  As Israel continues to make destructive decisions and responses to God’s leading, God continues to try and draw them to Him through provision and discipline.  Neither work, and as we know, Israel enters in to the 40 years on wandering in the wilderness.

Jeff shares personal stories, as well as stories from people he has encountered in many years of ministry that illustrate how the Land Between has the ability to shape us in to what God plans for us to be.  These times of difficult transition are what God uses in the stories of His people throughout the Bible to be used in a great way.

This book was certainly a great encouragement to me, and I know it will be to all who read it.  We will all go through these times.  How we respond will depend on whether we have transformational growth, or the death of our faith.  I choose to grow!

Eric says:

Often I hear deep lamenting from pastors and staff teams about the lack of volunteer engagement in their churches. And often I have discovered that the problem is not with the people but a faulty ministry culture that fosters low levels of volunteerism and perpetuates an unhealthy dependence on clergy. The typical approach to ministry in most churches stands in stark contrast to the biblical approach given to us clearly by God.

In the type of churches I grew up in, you had to have a “Pastor” involved in everything, and if there were too many things going on for one guy to do it, you hired another “professional pastor” to help out. That totally goes contrary to the Biblical model of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry! The church in America many times forgets that everyone within the local church has been gifted to serve, and if they are not serving, the body does not function properly. If we want to see our churches grow and thrive, we need to unleash the members to do ministry!

Now, go and read the rest of the article by Eric!

• If the ministries you are doing now are not producing any life change in people, you need to get rid of it.
• If starting a new ministry means another job for an already stressed out, overloaded staff member, you probably do not need it.
• If your idea of growth is doing something else, and not spiritual maturity in people, you likely do not need to do anything else.
• If you think that keeping your people busy is more important than letting them get out into the world to make a difference and have influence, you do not need another ministry.
• If you have to get up and beg people to attend a ministry event every time you have it, you do not need it because it must not be producing life change in people, or they would come.
• If you have to guilt people into doing something, you do not need to do it.  It obviously is not an effective means to life change for your people.
• Just because the church down the street does it, does not mean you need to do it.
• Just because you have always done it, does not mean you should still be doing it.

So, what are your thoughts?  Do you think less is more or more is more?

“Tired of divine delays?  Feel like your life is a divine detour?  Let me remind you of three things: (1) The longer you have to wait, the more you will appreciate; (2) sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is hang in there; and (3) a sense of humor can get you through just about anything.  And one more thing, no matter how crazy the Wild Goose chase gets, don’t forget to enjoy the journey!”

Sure, it is hard to enjoy every aspect of the journey.  There are times when you will feel mistreated, unloved and taken advantage of.  But here is the deal, it is in those times, the times that are tough, that we are able to grow closer to God.  The detour that has appeared in your life is not a surprise to God.  He has already been there, ahead of you, to plan everything as He wants.  We just need to change our perspective, and look at it as a divine detour that will ultimately lead us to be who God wants us to be.

“…I’m afraid we’ve turned church into a spectator sport.  Too many of us are content with letting a spiritual leader seek God for us.  Like the Israelites, we want Moses to climb the mountain for us.  After all, it is much easier to let someone else pray for us or study for us.  So the church unintentionally fosters a subtle form of spiritual codependency.”

This is why it is so important for the church to encourage and equip people to be in the Word for themselves.  It is also important for people to know that the church can provide opportunities for growth and equipping, but it is still up to the individual believer to take next steps in his relationship with God.  The church cannot make anyone do that, and the church is not responsible to do that.

What do you think?  Has the church made people spiritually codependent?