Love Is A Big Word

LOVE is a BIG word. It demands so much of us even though it totally accepts us.
Another area under the topic of believing in people is, I think, you’ve got to be quick to realise which people issues are issues that are potentially very dangerous to the individual concerned, to your team, to the church etc... OR, if they are just simple mistakes that require a hug, a giggle, and an “it will all be fine mate” response.

I have had some absolute shocks to my system when it comes to people and ‘secret’ behaviours. But again, going to the Word, taking ALL our concerns to God in prayer, COVERING people as they go through times of having to make changesin their own lives and just believing in them on the road to recovery is critical. There have been times when walking through hard times with someone has taken weeks or months, other times it has taken years.

We have tapped into some amazing counselling programmes for those dealing with anything from marriage issues through to the outfall of sexual abuse, to deal- ing with the brokenness that results from SO many curve balls life can deal you. SO get good at not feeling like YOU need to know all the answers, but make use of the community and Christian-based services in your area. Again, this is what the body looks like, each of us taking our place for the benefit of others.

OK while we are talking about NEVER discounting people OR ourselves for that matter, a sense of humour is a must, and if you don’t have one, this is an area you can and must work on.

The last few years we have worked closely with Dave and Joyce Meyer, leading the worship for some of their events and missions endeavours and it is a huge, huge, honour. They are one great couple, and what you see presented is TRULY who they are.

Anyway, we were in Nashville, leading the worship, and we were having one of those amazing meetings where you seriously feel like heaven is in the room and you sense such a liberty with the worship, a real freedom and joy. The team travelling with me from our church have all travelled with me over many years and we have a certain flow and trust when we are leading people in worship that we definitely lean into when playing. So, at such a critical moment during one of the songs, I called for a key change (a musical lift) and half the band saw me signal this, and half didn’t. The music was loud and confident and heading for such a powerful crescendo and - *#!*#! - you guessed it, we hit with cyclonic strength a crescendo of musical mess, played with such confidence and volume that even the stars in the sky made a slight adjustment!

After we recovered we nervously laughed, waved goodbye to the Holy Spirit (jok- ing!!) and kept playing. Later on I commented and said, ‘well, maybe people just didn’t notice??’ The band just looked at me and said, ‘Darls, we are in Nashville!!’ (music capital of the world), and sadly, with MySpace videos, it was no time before many others saw the moment. (At least these moments have a great way of keep-
ing our pride in check!!)

But, as bad as it was, in the scheme of things, it was nothing but a really bad memory! A long time ago, I don’t think I would have let it slip through my soul so easily. I would have beaten myself up for not leading the band well and letting down the people who had invited us. But thank God for a little bit of maturity, time and a sense of humour. Now I can even write about it, laugh again, and just smile at God’s sense of humour that he would even use my life at all!!

Once I was speaking at the Billy Graham Training facility in Ashville, USA, and right at a pivotal, passionate moment, my shoe got caught in the hem of my jeans and I literally fell flat on my face! The band were sitting there not knowing whether to laugh or cry, when one of the guitarists turns to the production manager and says, and I quote, ‘Should we go help her?’ ‘NO’, he answered, ‘she doesn’t like fuss. But I will just go quickly and make sure I got it on video!!’

We laughed so hard that night (and so did everyone else who was at The Cove Training Facility). I am actually getting embarrassed again just typing this onto my computer!!

These kinds of mistakes hurt our pride rather than our future, and as leaders of others, just always be growing in your maturity to know quickly what kind of mis- take you are dealing with, and treat it appropriately.

There have been times when, as a leader, I have made incorrect and soft decisions about getting people up on the platform to minister when maybe their life choices were not God-honouring, and other times when I have been too hard on people, making the entry point for service just too high. But as long as you are able to say sorry and admit mistakes, as long as you have a heart to gather and not condemn, as long as you truly do know that as a Christian, what God is looking for is all about the heart and not about the gift, as long as you are all about inclusion and not exclusion, then all will be alright. I just thank God for the Holy Spirit, leading and guiding, teaching and speaking. Where would any of us be without friendship with God?

1 Peter 4:8 ‘Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.’