Sincere Vs. Spectacular

A challenging post by Dave Kraft!  Think it through for yourself and be ruthlessly honest about your own ambition!  

"Are we trying to pat ourselves on the back? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart before God."2 Corinthians 5:12 NLT

Jesus, Wow! Having a sincere heart as opposed to having a spectacular ministry.

It's nice to be fruitful and see You do awesome things, but not at the expense of being sincere (without wax) before You. It really comes down to being all about You…me being all about You…everything being all about You. 

I am okay with the ministry You are accomplishing through me to look like whatever You want it to look like and not trying to impress others or prove anything. Oh, the harm done by trying to look important, be important, feel important!

Jesus, Help me to be biblically content with: Who I am, where I am, what I’m doing and what You choose to do, and to make sure You get all the praise for what happens.

I have written previously about the word sincere, Simplicity and Sincerity, so you can check that out.

My simple observation after 48 years of vocational ministry with 15 different churches is that there is too much spectacular ministry (at least trying to be spectacular) and too little sincere heart behind it.

I fear that Christianity in the U.S is becoming a celebrity-seeking culture where we bow before the writings, teaching and books of well-known, famous and perceived successful Christian pastors and are invited to visit their churches so we can learn how they did it and replicate it in our own context!

May I humbly suggest a sincere heart that leads to a Spirit empowered ministry (not spectacular to impress people, but Spirit-empowered to honor Him) that is all about Jesus and not the leader? Nothing is more dangerous to the body of Christ than leaders who want to feel important, look important and be important at the expense of sincerity, integrity and humility!

“As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything’s going your way?"-1 Corinthians 3:3, The Message