“Most of the great transforming work in our lives happens in the routine, the regular rhythms of life.
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him,” (1 John 5:1). A leader who loves Jesus will look for ways to express love to his team. It is his joy to do so. This is a Spirit-filled leader who is being transformed into the image of God. God is supreme in love, and His children are becoming like Him, like His Son. In short, they love to love others in Jesus’ name.
An excellent way for a leader to express love to a team is to point out evidences of grace in them. He looks for God among his people, what I like to call “God sightings.” It is his joy to train his eyes to look for God. How does he do this?
First, he becomes familiar with passages of Scripture such as Galatians 5:22-23 on the fruit of the Spirit. This fruit, when seen in the lives of others, is evidence that God is on the move. For example, if a Sunday school teacher is seen to be patient with a disobedient child, the leader has just witnessed a work of God in a teacher. He has seen an evidence of grace. But just witnessing an evidence of grace in another person is incomplete. It must be spoken of. The second step is to bring this person’s attention to it by stating the truth, such as “I saw the Spirit at work in your heart today, sister. You were patient with that child as you were teaching. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. I saw God in you today. Be encouraged.”
What I have found is that when I speak of evidences of grace, people do not default to the regular rhythms of life. They think I am referring to something really big, like going on a mission’s trip to a hard place for example. Now, that is special to be sure, but it is also special to see God carefully and often slowly transform a heart from struggling with patience to becoming patient. Most of the great transforming work in our lives happens in the routine, the regular rhythms of life.
How do I start? Ask God for eyes to see hearts in the process of transformation. Look for God; look for grace; look for signs of life that are expressed in character. Then, tell people what you see, but do this with the spotlight on God. Remember, every perfect and good gift is from above (Ephesians 1:3; James 1:17).
A final note: A leader who has lost a measure of joy in the ministry might benefit by doubling up his effort to find God among his people, then pointing Him out to them. A steady diet of this service is bound to revive his joy. “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge--” (1 Corinthians 1:4-5).
Looking for God among His people with you,
Bud Burk
(Bud Burk is Pastor for Child & Youth Discipleship at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Downtown Campus. He is also the author of Utter Dependency on God, Through Prayer, and co-author of Helping Children to Understand the Gospel.)
