Once
upon a time a novice evangelist contacted a pastor friend to request the
opportunity to speak at his church. Of course, the minister allowed his friend,
of so many years to come.
The day arrived, and the young evangelist
pulled into the parking lot of the Beulah Baptist Church. He quickly got out of
his car, and walked inside. Reverend Stephens greeted him warmly, and
introduced him to his son.
Little Johnny watched Brother Smith’s
every move. He had always been the observant type.
The service began and Pastor Stephens
introduced the evangelist to the crowd. Brother Smith stepped to the podium and
began to “wax eloquent.” As the sermon progressed, he was rather proud of
himself, and perhaps he showed it.
Little Johnny continued to watch the evangelist’s every move.
The sermon concluded and Brother Smith
moved to the second pew and sat down. The pastor replaced him in the pulpit,
and encouraged the crowd to give a nice monetary gift to the speaker.
The ushers passed the offering plates down
each row, and the evangelist saw one coming his way. Though the offering was
designated for him, he felt a little insecure not contributing, and so he put
forty-seven cents in the plate. All the while Little Johnny watched with
fascination.
After the service Pastor Stephens walked up
to his old friend, and placed that night’s offering in his hand. With that, the
evangelist peeked into his palm to find a grand total of $2.47! Shock
registered on his face. And then he felt a tug on his pants leg. Little Johnny
looked up at the young preacher with mournful eyes, and smile on his face, and
said,… “Reverend, if you had put more in, you might have got more out!”
This little story holds such import for the
children of God. I’m convinced that ten percent of church members do ninety
percent of the work. I’ve seen it too many times. The minority among us hold
down three and four positions. It’s not only not fair, but to be blunt; it’s
stupid. Yet it’s totally understandable that pastors have come to depend on the
minority of people that are willing to work, and work hard.
Perhaps it will always be this way.
Perhaps an admonition like this won’t make a difference. Perhaps my agenda is
to inspire Guilt. I’m convinced that if every Christian performed one ministry
very well, whether in or out of the church, it could and would make all the
difference.
We are at our best when we focus on one
major ministry at any given time. I’ve seen too many Christians worn out, and
not doing any of their several tasks very well, because they’re just too spread
out.
Someone needs to remind “the ninety
percent,” “If you’d put more in, you might get more out.”
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