Being present

Dear pastor,

What if your presence with them was enough?

• Have you ever struggled with the idea that you have to have something super profound to say when you are meeting with people or preaching & teaching?
• Have you ever felt like the only way to be a successful pastor is to be super creative?
• Have you ever felt the pressure to measure up to some standard or live up to certain expectations that seem nearly impossible?

But what if your presence was enough?

What if God is simply asking you and me to be present to the person in front of us?

I believe that we set ourselves up for failure and place unnecessary, unrealistic and impossible expectations on ourselves because we think that if we are not clever, entrepreneurial, fascinating, fun, cool, engaging, etc then we will never succeed as a pastor.

But God really isn’t interested in our success (at least not the way we think of it).

God wants us to be available to Him and available to the people He places on our path.

God wants us to be present to His Spirit and present to His people.

And when we are present and available, God can use that. God will use that.

So when you are at church this week, or leading a Bible study, or listening to a parishioner, or making a phone call or grabbing lunch with someone…be present.

Be present by listening carefully. Be present by leaning in and noticing the person in front of you. Be present by speaking what God nudges you to say and by being silent until/unless He does nudge you.

I really think that in preaching, teaching and leading we “accomplish” far more by being present than by any number of other “impressive” things we think we could say or do.

Be present, be a conduit for God to flow through. And then watch God work!