DNA

I had another blog prepared entirely, but as the day went on I began to feel led to share something different. First let me state that I'm fairly certain Texas discriminates against people walking down the street because the sidewalks don't exist, plus the funny looks are priceless. I also think they measure distances much differently than we do because Starbucks did not look this far away on the map.

I've heard a lot of good word today & some incredible insights into leadership & worship in general, but the part I would like to focus on came during the final general session today. Pastor Sion Alford talked about the DNA of the church- the concepts that should be at work in every healthy, successful ministry. In Numbers 3 it lists the names of the sons of Levi & their responsibilities in the nation of Israel. Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, & Merari. The passage goes on the explain that the Merarites were called to strengthen & bless- they brought structure. The Gershonites were in charge of the coverings & systems that were put in place. Last, but not least the Kohathites were to oversee the articles & the sanctuary. In order to have a healthy, successful ministry you need all three foundations working in harmony- structure, systems, & sanctuary.

The structures that we put in place are determined by a clear vision (simple & constantly communicated), clear values, & a clear mission (how you get to where your vision directs). The systems are the processes set in place that run the ministry. Systems, when they're simple & reproducible, will run on their own. The third foundation is sanctuary, which is the time we spend in the presence of the Lord- making TIME to get alone with God. In Numbers 7:1-9 Moses is determining how many oxen & wagons each area is allotted. The thing to note is that he didn't give the Kohathites (sanctuary overseers) any wagons or oxen because Sanctuary is daily, it's something we can never put on a cart because it can't run itself.

The priorities of a worship leader are to first minister to the Lord & second help others minister to the Lord. Too often we become "I-focused" & we forget that worship is our ministry to the Most High God- it's not for us to receive, but to give all of us for all of Him.