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Have you ever just yearned for a sense of balance in your life?

That’s me. Right now!

It seems we are living in a world of extremes. Just take a few minutes reading the latest political opinions, and extreme is the narrative. Everyone seems to take an opposing side from one another. There’s rarely a balance in our interactions and debates.

And then we have this tolerance movement where no one can have a different opinion or at least we are not to share it.

It’s like we have forgotten to add the balance of reason, knowledge, kindness, and humility in our interactions with one another.

But how do we hold on to our convictions, stand boldly for truth without tipping the scales?

Is it even possible?

I recently went through an experience that I want to share with a questioning and prayerful heart. I am writing from a place of I don’t have the answers. But maybe my need for balance will answer the question indirectly.

It has to do with ministry and evangelism.

It was a seven-week training session to counsel women in crisis. I learned so much. I began to understand how to effectively minister to women and share the love of Christ without manipulation. No judgment. Just loving and comforting women in need and ALWAYS sharing the gospel by asking permission first. Not imposing my beliefs but sharing out of love and concern.

Yes, yes, yes!!

You see, I have seen ministry done the wrong way. I know the negative and intimidating effects of what “gospel” manipulation can do.  It’s devastating. And it is not the gospel as Christ teaches us through Scripture.

I soaked up this training, and it felt like I needed this in my life. If you are a part of any faith-based ministry long enough, you can get a bit jaded and hurt.

I’ve learned to navigate the stings and scars in ministry by always diving back into the word of God. And the Bible continually teaches—it’s not about me. Pour into others, Julie. Bitterness is a seed that takes root to manipulate and destroy your ability to minister.

I have witnessed others—more deeply scarred than me— soothed and healed by the power of God from their painful ministry experiences. It’s awesome when God balances out the extremes and heals the devastating effects of sin.

But my seven weeks ended with an unfortunate revelation. A woman who had been counseling other women in crisis pointed to her cross necklace. “See this,” she said. “I never wear this in the counseling room. I don’t want people to feel I am biased or manipulating them in any way. We minister, we don’t manipulate!”

My thoughts: But, wait! Isn’t this a faith-based organization? The cross around your neck is a representation of your hope. It’s your life. It is why you feel called to minister to other women in need. You ARE biased as a proclaimed follower of Jesus Christ.

I walked away from that training a bit jaded, again, but this time by the other side. That balance between ministry and manipulation was tipped the other way, and that side felt wrong too.

So you see, here I am— a follower of Christ—yearning for that balance in ministering to others.

How do I share the gospel of Jesus Christ in today’s society of extremes?

How do I balance not tipping the scale toward the devastating effects of manipulation or to the other side of timid evangelism that so often is overly concerned with tolerance and offense to others?

The only answer I keep coming back to is the word of God.

Scripture is the perfect balance in our lives. It is the resource that teaches us how to minister without manipulation but it also strongly compels us to walk with boldness; shining the light of Christ— that miraculous transforming power of the Cross—for ALL the world to see.

The balance is in putting the gospel first as the stable foundation of our ministry. For when you take away from that in any way—on either side—you lose your witness and effectiveness in ministering to others. The scale tips and you become an extreme—too assertive or too weak.

I have now witnessed both extremes in ministry that lead to unbalance. But look at this image. Where is the symbol of the cross? Smack dab in the middle. How about that?!

So I circle back to my question.  How do I become an effective witness for Christ to a hurting world in need?

I am reminded of this Scripture, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

Help me God, to always minister to others from the balance of Scripture and never be ashamed of the Cross that sets the captives free!

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As soon as I said it, I knew it wasn’t the best way to promote my book.

I was being interviewed about my recent book, Giving Hope An Address and I was asked the question, “What do you hope is the most important message readers will takeaway from your story?”

I answered, “That in the greater scheme of things my story is not that important.” I back peddled my words quickly because even the interviewer looked a little perplexed.

I tried to restate with more clarity, “What I mean to say is what I have written is just a small fraction of the story of the ministry of Teen Challenge. But God has written a greater story that no writer will ever be able to capture about what Jesus Christ has done in the lives of people who have found hope through the doors of every Teen Challenge program.”

Phew! That was better and cleared up a few things for the interviewer.

My answer to that question was a lesson God had recently taught me about what it means to be followers of Christ and to serve in ministry.

You know that saying, “There is no I in the word TEAM.” Well, here is the thing. When God calls you into ministry: be it a church ministry, non-profit organization, or the mission field. There is no “I” in the word gospel. In other words, it is not about you!

When God calls you to reach others with the gospel message, you have to leave your pride at the door. You have to lay down the world’s ambition of success, popularity, loyalty, and recognition.

In other words, it’s God’s story. You are not the author.

Let me use my own family’s story as an example. Through my family, God used individuals to start a faith-based rehabilitation ministry to reach those addicted to drugs, alcohol, and people broken with life-controlling problems. Then God called others to build onto that ministry. He used the faithfulness of not only my family but many others who were called to reach those lost in addiction with the message of hope.

That single ministry grew exponentially for sixty years through thousands of people, each with their individual stories. The Adult and Teen Challenge ministry is now in 125 countries and directed and led by leaders all around the world. And guess what? Today if you ask many staff and residents of a Teen Challenge program, they have no idea where, how, or even who began the ministry of Teen Challenge.

Why?

Because the author and sustainer of Teen Challenge is God, it is not my family, it is not any director or leader of any program, but through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ who transforms lives and sustains the message that brings hope.

Now as a family member connected to the founding of Teen Challenge, I take great pride in knowing my family was used by God to begin a ministry that is now throughout the world.  It is why I wrote my book so that I could tell a new generation the founding story.

But here’s the lesson; we are not called by God to write a ministry story that we take credit for. We are called to give him the authorship of all of it.

Now, this is easier said than done. We are all human. We work hard in the kingdom of God just like in the business world. And we like recognition for our efforts even on behalf of God. But our objective as followers of Christ is to always point to a bigger story. The gospel story. The “author and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews12:2)

In my book, I quoted my uncle David Wilkerson who founded Teen Challenge. He said simply, “Give the ministry away.” He didn’t mean to let go of the calling on your life that brought you to your particular church or ministry. What he was implying was not to hold your ministry vision so tightly. If you release control and allow people to feed into your ministry with their gifts and talents, God will grow your ministry exponentially.  

So if you are feeling rejected, tired, overwhelmed, or unrecognized in your particular calling, remember that you don’t own the rights to the gospel message. It’s not up to you to write your ministry story. You will never properly serve people with the message of Jesus Christ if you are continually looking for self-recognition or feel it is all up to you.

To keep using the writing analogy: stop self-publishing!

The story has already been written. You are called to bear witness to that story of who the Author is. It’s only by God’s grace that He will sustain and grow your ministry through the people you serve and who serve along with you. The pressure is off. Your only responsibility is to promote God’s message faithfully. Let Him write the bigger story through you and beyond you.   

Don’t ever fall into the trap of taking credit for a ministry that was never yours to begin with. Then maybe one day, you’ll have the privilege of writing a book where you realize your name is on the cover, but God is the true author of that ministry story.