How to Try Really Hard, Fail, and See God Use It Anyway

Planting a church means there is an ability to make big changes quickly. A new church is more adept and flexible for change, as the weight of institutionalism hasn’t yet come to bear upon the institution. There is an advantage in this in the time of coronavirus.

On the other hand, resources are scarce in a new church. There are less people, less connections, and there’s less money. So even though we can move quickly, there are its own challenges.

For Redeemer (a church in Chorlton, Manchester) I am simultaneously re-writing the playbook and executing on these newly laid plans. I don’t have other staff to take care of the tech stuff, I don’t have someone else communicating these changes, and whatever time I did have in my weekly schedule for preparing Sunday messages is now squeezed more than ever.

Trying hard and failing

My typical response is to throw time and effort at it. I go into Winston Churchill mode and say, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” Working hard is what I’m good at, I think, so work hard I do.

Often this fractured system of tackling problems can have successful outcomes. A new small group, a successful outreach programme, a good sermon series. But when confronted with the tidal wave of a pandemic, my broken system of dealing with the little wakes of ministry’s circumstances just won’t do.

I will try. I will try really hard. I will put in the hours. And no amount of blood, toil, tears, and sweat from me will be enough.

How will our people, some of whom are in very difficult circumstances, be pastored well? How will we care for those in our neighbourhood who don’t yet have a relationship with Jesus or His church? How will I juggle caring for my own family and my own soul with the care of others in a time of crisis?

For me, there is always the temptation to work more than I have to. For others it might be giving up and letting that tidal wave overwhelm everything.

Psalm 121 tells us

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121.1-2

Where does my help come in times of peace, in times of anxiety, in a pandemic? Not from the mountains, not from technology, not from money, not from my own hard work. My help comes from the Lord: the maker of all things.

But how will my people be pastored well? 

“…he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Psalm 121:4

God will watch over His people at all times. God doesn’t need breaks, doesn’t need rest, is never overwhelmed. He is over all.

But how will I care for myself, my family?

“The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life”

Psalm 121:7

It is God’s job to be God, it is ours to be human. To be human is to surrender to the loving care of our Lord who keeps us from all harm. 

Times of crises, like the coronavirus, reveal where we place our hope. My default position is to start with myself in that place. When I surrender to the Lord’s care, though, I am freed to be who I am: a created being meant to find my hope in the Lord. It’s when I work out of this wholly integrated mindset that I can work hard, but out of the loving care that comes from my Father.

God will use it

The book of Acts contains some of the most exciting stories of how Jesus continued His work on earth through His people, the church. The church did not advance out of the hard work of the few. It advanced through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sent by Jesus, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live on the mission that God has called us to. In Acts we read amazing sermons, and sometimes thousands come to faith, like the 3000 in Acts 2. Other times, only a few believe, as in Athens in Acts 17. In Acts 6.1-7, the church grows when healthy leadership structures are put in place. In Acts 8, the church grows after religious persecution requires people to flee their homes.

We are not guaranteed growth in numbers in our churches. We should work hard at it, but it’s not worth our hope. Many people in ministry bow down to the god of ministry success and we wonder why we’re weary, burdened, anxious, and distressed. No amount of success will relieve our burdens, only Jesus promises that. 

  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

This is exactly what the people in our churches need. People in Redeemer don’t need an omni-competent-type-a-ferocious leader, they need someone who surrenders. They don’t need a tech guru, they need someone who will model faithfulness to Jesus.

“My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.”

–Robert Murray M’Cheyne

Jesus promised it

My own blood, toil, tears, and sweat can only go so far. Jesus bought the church with His own blood. His mission while on earth was full of toil. In the Garden of Gethsemane, His sweat was like drops of blood as He prayed to His Father. And on the cross, with a tearful cry, He cried out to the Father, “Why have you forsake me?”

Jesus was forsaken so that we would never be. Jesus gave His blood because He knew our own would never be enough. When we follow Him, we aren’t on our own missions of ministry, we surrender those and join Jesus’ mission.

Now, at this moment, the resurrected King is in heaven reigning over His creation, singing over us. He is praying for us, always seeking our good in all things. Jesus was honest with us, He never said following Him would be easy. But He did promise that following Him would be better.

So we continue to work, and work hard. We continue to make plans. We continue to love people well, continue to study for our sermons, continue to lead our people. We get to serve in this way because it is Jesus who leads us. Where does our help come from? It comes from the Lord.