“I find that I keep offering God my service when what He wants is my fellowship.” ― John Paul Warren
Without deep community, ministry service will wane and become hollow. Burnout will occur. Joy will be gone.
John 15 tells us that apart from Jesus we can do nothing.
Phil 4:13 teaches us that with Jesus, we can do all things.
It’s too easy for ministry leaders, pastors, and worship leaders to focus on the outward. It’s difficult to measure fellowship with God. It’s difficult to measure or put into words time spent with God.
Church folks and the community are much more likely to enjoy seeing you express tangible love through your presence: being out and about and involved. The temptation to focus on service and ministry is real.
But what God really wants is our hearts.
This was His basic message to the rich young ruler: You are faithful to obey, you are loved by me, you are willing and you are reverent, but do I have your whole heart? Are you connected to me?
It was never the sacrifice that pleased God, it was the heart behind it. God has always been about relationship.
Deep down, we all know that fellowship must precede service. Indeed, how do most of us get involved in things? Someone we know and love asked us to get involved. But if the relationship became severed, we probably wouldn’t continue serving in quite the same way.
Fellowship is always most important to Jesus – His heart beats for us to be in community with Him.
Service without fellowship won’t last long, it won’t be as fruitful and it won’t be meaningful. Service to your church, as a result of seeking God and your fellowship with Jesus, will bear lasting fruit.
On my best days, fellowship with God is the foundation. On my worst, I must confess, I might try to squeeze in token time with God for the sake of effective outward service. That’s a mess… it always seems to fail.
I think this is why scripture highlights that, “in our weakness, He is strong.” When our service doesn’t work out like we think it should, we are vulnerable, and typically, for heartfelt ministry leaders, God again has our attention. We seek Him more diligently, we try to become more connected, we take comfort, we delight in His song over us. In a word, we’re in fellowship.
Does this quote resonate with you? How does it speak to you today?
“I find that I keep offering God my service when what He wants is my fellowship.” ― John Paul Warren
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Deep Work: Getting Valuable Things Done In a Distracted World