Just found out that another church is 'tapping' up one of the youth 'leaders' to serve in this person's church ... Yes , ala Maurinho and Ashley Cole. haha . It does give me a tinge of sadness and to think of another Norwich City vs Chelsea scale of comparison . Sometimes ironic that small churches end up fighting to retain their small resources that God provides. And the rich gets richer. But of course unlike the economics of football , God's 'economy' may not be a common 'sen'se and ringgit that we humans reasons. Perhaps that is the sunshine in this situation.
This youth was very accountable in explaining the invitation to go to the other church , due to the relationship the person + friends have. And i think that is very worthy conduct in this modern times. And i alllowed this person to go as i think trust is an important element in any ministry. But after some chats , do 'feel' that something is just 'not right' but i kept quiet. Just got a confirmation on my gut feeling . that the leader is persistently asking for commitment to help out in that church. And the youth is currently having a dilemma of what to do , yet not sure how to say no. I guess there will be another long chat this weekend .
Certaintly , it brings about the question of how 'forceful' one should be in the ministry. I remember having a chat with Eric and he shared on his dilemma in presenting his sermon - rational based or excitement based. Not fitting exactly in this scenario - but it is a dilemma. I have a dilemma on being forceful in this area, and i believe that at the end .. people will decide based on what God wants them to do. For me to influence them other than encouragement and prodding , I might end up being the "God" that provides them with the illusion of ministry. Yet , this is the 2nd time this week that i am faced with this question.
The first one being a good session i had with a brother when we chanced upon the topic of a common friend who is deciding to serve in a presbyterian church in Klang valley. When this friend asked me , i told him that we would welcome him gladly and need servers in our small church , but asking him to decide after he viewed both churches ; esp as he was staying near to the other more notable church. And on the other side , apparently they are very aggressive in getting him .
I guess my dilemma would be in 2 fold . One , is if i should change my approach and be more forceful in the ministry . In fact , i think that it brings the result and the people in short term and potentially long term. Secondly , can God's purpose of another person be more than what is available in the church or organisation that we are tauting / selling ?
So perhaps it has to do with an understanding of the difference between 'God's ministry' and 'Church / organisation's ministry' . With a clear understanding , maybe we can approach people differently in respecting their calling in service. I remember this sharing by another KL thinker - Seng Ghee on leadership . That leaders " point people to God". Perhaps this is only what is expected to be done.
