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This from Regi Campbell in Next Generation Mentoring Blog


I learned a long time ago….I’m always leading. I’m leading people toward success…or not. I’m leading my kids toward independence from God….or toward dependence on God. I’m leading every person I encounter toward God…or away from God. 24/7/365. There’s no “neutral” when it comes to God. Silence and inertia are negative, not neutral.

So when the people in our everyday world look at us – look to us - where are we leading? Yeah, we can say all the church words and do the “Godspeak” thing. But when it gets down to what we’re DOING, how we’re acting, how we’re relating, where are we leading? What are we leading them toward?…or away from?

We’ve created institutions to tell us what to do, so we’re relieved of the requirement to act on our own initiative and follow God personally. We can put our “God stuff” in the church box, cracking it open ONLY on Sunday morning and in small groups. It makes it pretty easy to avoid the tension that comes with following Him during the rest of the week in less user-friendly environments.

But if we recognize that we’re always leading…that people are always watching what we do….then we have a choice to make. Will we remember that we were created by God for one purpose? Will we choose to start loving and serving people minute by minute, purposed to show them Jesus by how we live and act? Or will we fall in line with everyone else…look out for ourselves, do what’s asked of us, keep our mouths shut, and avoid the inconvenience of bringing God into life outside of Sunday morning and the holy huddle?

Wake-up call: God is already in everything. He’s made it clear what He wants us to do…how He wants us to lead (clue: be a servant).

The question is not will we lead, but what or who we will lead people to.

Self reliance, “happiness”, “success”, and pride? (”Look at me…look what I’ve done”)

Or…

Surrender, joy, humility, meaning and fulfillment. (”I love you, because God first loved me. Look at Him”)

You decide.