The Staff

[Sam Park]

As I was reading the description of the staff, I couldn’t help noticing how similar it was to the job description of the “church staff,� and for that matter, everyone actively involved in ministry. Two things absolutely fascinated me. First is how it was made. It wasn’t something that came off a tree or even sold. It was painstakingly made. Servants of God don’t just happen. Time is invested in, as are sweat, tears, and sometimes even blood. Once the time and effort is put into a staff, it’s meant to be used. I wonder how many people in leadership roles are reluctant to use these new staff for “fear� of “breaking� it or actually discovering how good it really is… even better than the leaders themselves. In any case, those in the staff are in the care of the shepherd so that they would one day have the chance to discover its purpose and how good they really are.

Second thing that caught my attention is the amazing variety of its functions. I can’t imagine employing God’s children with only a cookie-cutter approach. Those in ministry are so unique, with amazing backgrounds and gifts, it would be a shame to plug them in to areas where they are not optimally utilized. It may help short-term, but in the long-term, have devastating effects on the church and definitely, the staff.

I guess that’s where much of the shepherd’s energy needs to be used. Maybe we need to refocus our attention from the many things that we have our hands in (probably out of our need for control—driven by fear) and begin to lead the staff in the way that they deserve to be led.