So You Wanna Be Starting Something . . .

There are people in Christian circles who are never happy unless they are starting a ministry. The excitement of the new beginning, the potential for greatness - the high - is an ever-elusive carrot that they chase. If something doesn't work within a few months, it's off to the next new thing.

The problem is that true success in Christian ministry is very rarely achieved in the first few weeks or months. True success is a lifelong commitment to someone or a group of people. It takes years of working through the highs and the lows to truly have an eternal impact on their souls. Jesus knew this - He worked with His motley crew for three years, even losing one in the process. He knew that simply pulling them out into the desert for a fresh start ministry wasn't going to produce the type of men that would be needed to withstand the persecution and trials that they would be facing. He didn't toss them to the wind after half a year saying, "Well, I guess that didn't work."

The disciples didn't understand this. They wanted immediate results. John wanted thunder from heaven. Peter wanted the continual high of the Mount of Transfiguration. Judas wanted the overthrow of the Roman rule. Each time Jesus took these men back into the long, dark valley road of discipleship.

If you want to have a true impact on people, you have to be prepared to be in it for the long haul. Don't bail out if it isn't 'working' in the first few months. Sticking it out in the dry times is the true test of a mature Christian. Anyone can be 'high' on the emotional excitement of a new start. Everyone is thrilled on the honeymoon! But just as a marriage must be proven in the long-term, so must a ministry. Leviticus is basically a one-month marriage ceremony between God and the Israelites. But He lost them in the desert when the talk had to turn into a walk.

Please - don't be an 'upstart' Christian. Be willing to walk through the valley with the people of God and be willing to prove yourself in the down time - which may take years and years.