Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Acts 20:28 - Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

    Paul’s address to these leaders, spoken so many years ago, has given many ministers since, much encouragement and guidance. What a treasure to have this rare glimpse into the heart of Paul as he shepherds the overseers of Ephesus, and gives us much needed admonishment and instruction for our lives today. There are some strong words of exhortation and warning telling us that we must take heed. What does it mean to take heed? It means to be aware and alert and to take special note of something. When a sentence is prefaced with these words then unusual attention is required. This word is used elsewhere in scripture warning us to beware. To take heed, then is to beware. What are we to beware of? We are to beware or, be aware of ourselves. First and foremost we are to guard over our own lives as leaders. The obvious tendency, for those who have been charged with the care of a flock, is to put others ahead of themselves. That almost seems correct except that Paul says that is not the way to go. We must have the wisdom to see that if we do not take care of our own lives first, eventually there will be no one to care for others. We can be of no good to anyone if we neglect our personal lives to the point where we begin to breakdown. Call it what you will; burnout, compassion fatigue, running on empty, or just simply worn out, we are not designed to constantly live our lives at break-neck speeds, while bearing the load of ministry. There is another aspect of this, as well; we must take heed that we are not being negligent, lazy or possibly even, over-bearing or dictatorial. Take heed to yourself. Be aware of your own propensities and tendencies. Be self-aware. There is a big difference between being self-aware and self-conscious; one is a blessing and the other is a curse; one will give me the tools that will free and enlarge me, and the other will take those same tools and tighten the chains that bind and restrict me. Self-awareness is a blessing, because if I am not aware of my own patterns, habits and tendencies then, I can never change them.  It is only as I am aware, taking heed, and keeping a close watch on myself, that I can observe objectively and change accordingly.

    George Mueller said something along this line that has pertinence for us today. He said that the first thing that he would do in the morning is take some time to meditate on the word of God. He would do this not for the purpose of preaching but for the purpose of feeding his own soul. He stressed the fact that if his own soul were not well fed then the work of God could be done in a wrong attitude or spirit. This certainly seems to answer many questions for us. How many times has the work of God been done in a wrong spirit and done more damage than good? We are spiritual beings and we communicate not just in words but in spirit as well. Attitudes are transferable by association and contact. Someone has once said that some things are better caught than taught; and of course, in a positive sense, this is great. We catch a right attitude and posture from those around us; however the opposite is also true; we can catch a wrong spirit or attitude from others. As leaders it is so vital that we take heed to our own spiritual health and to keep a right attitude towards both the work that needs to be done and the people that are involved with us in it.

    This exhortation of Paul may also include a broader sense of taking heed to ourselves as a team of leaders. Elders, overseers, board members, department heads, worship teams, home group leaders and all the many volunteers are joined together crucially to facilitate the work and ministry of the local church. Our relationships with our ministry teams are so very important and vital. The enemy is always seeking to divide us and to stir up strife and hurt feelings amongst us. Paul wrote to the Philippians commanding them to, ‘let nothing be done through strife or vain glory’, which, as one minister said, is about how most of the church work gets done. James also said that where envy and strife is there is confusion and every evil work. Take heed; be aware of the strife that will inevitably surface in an attempt to destroy the work of God. Let us not continue to shoot ourselves in our own foot and become, as Jesus said, the foes of our own household.

    After we have paid attention to our own lives, as leaders, then we must not be neglectful of the condition of our flock, who are the ones whom the Holy Spirit has charged us to oversee. In our roving culture and non-stopping society, it has become increasingly difficult to gage the status and spiritual condition of people. Those who are regular and consistent attenders of our weekly gatherings can be more easily cared for because we see them and interact with them every week. However there are those who are not always in our Sunday morning gatherings due to a number of reasons. Take, for one example, the issue of employment. Years ago most of us worked regular daytime hours with at least Sundays off, but now we have a twenty-four hour, seven day work week. For many, there is no such thing as a weekend, the week actually never ends. Soccer, hockey, dance, extra-curricular school activities for the children, keep today’s families on the go constantly. I’m almost getting worn-out just writing about it. The beautiful people and families of our churches are feeling haggard and weary; some through a lack of knowledge; some through pressure from the workplace; but all of it is still a choice. One of the best things we can do for our congregations is continue to teach and preach on Biblical priorities; encouraging and exhorting people to take back their lives and bring them under the authority of God. I have a book in my library entitled, ‘In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed’. Just the title alone blesses me.

    Take heed to yourself, take heed to your flock. Whether its eating a meal, a morning devotion, a conversation with your child, or kissing your wife; slow down. Enjoy the journey, stop and smell the roses, pace yourself; the race of life is not a one-hundred yard dash; it is a long distance, cross-country marathon. Let’s be healthy and finish well and let’s finish well together!