FRESH BREAD or Moldy Ministry

"Fresh Bread." Those were the words from General Superintendent Thomas Trask as he began his sermon at an Oklahoma District Council. I was hanging on every word from his explanation. He had been awakened in the middle of the night with a "fresh word" from the Lord for those that would attend the morning gathering. As a matter of fact, he lifted it up to show that his notes were written on the hotel stationary. Needless to say the sermon became a message, and the inspirational challenge from his example stood strong among that room full of spiritual leaders.
From the last blog post, when we lose our freshness, we potentially lose effectiveness. When spiritual leaders lose their freshness, the least amount of impact can be expressed in missed direction and, the worst, catastrophic among those who follow. Being "awakened" from business as usual, from a well-crafted human agenda, from the comfort of favored relationships, from the feeling of being good at what we do, from a mind crowded with the noises of critics...is actually a primary expression of being spiritual. The flip side is what was mentioned in the last post - a stale witness- which easily can lead to moldy ministry, a leadership among others that becomes unhealthy. When God has the life of a leader, spiritual leadership is the byproduct.
Spiritual leader, let God have a say... He must, because He is the only One who can keep your leadership spiritual! And, that's good news!!!