“3. I never became an official member of the church.”

Smart guy! Count your blessings!

Among the implications of this package deal were the following (whether they were explicit in the packaged instructions or simply interpreted that way, I don’t know):

1. Every person involved in ministry should be a member of the church.
2. Every person involved in ministry should have a job description for the sake of communicating expectations.
3. Every person involved in ministry should focus on that one specialty of ministry so they can do their best and not get overworked.

These bothered me in so many ways. The results for me personally were the following:

1. I backed off of youth ministry to focus on music.
2. I was given the title “Orchestra Director” with no real job description; I just pretty much kept doing what I was doing before.
3. I never became an official member of the church.

Loyalty is risky! Some leaders are easy to follow, some are hard to follow. David in the bible would be easy, Saul would be hard. I have a friend that I am loyal to. Come hell or high water, I am loyal. (I would hope). But what about those who are above us? Hmmm, this is where it gets sticky and dirty.

Why was David safe? One person said: “David was safe because he learned how to walk gracefully in seasons of loss or disminishment.”

I think NP will like this quote because of one word in it:

“When a leader remains lovesick for Christ in the midst of personal disminishment, you know he or she is safe to follow in loyalty because he or she is not motivated by personal ambitions but by intimacy.”