I am so grateful for an amazing staff team. Who you do ministry with determines how much you enjoy ministry. That is why having the right staff on the team is so important--it is a major key to church culture and church growth. You've got to get the right people on the bus - people who are passionate about Christ, have a sense of humour,; people who have a natural chemistry with one another; love what they do, have good people skills, and self-motivated. I am just so grateful to God that He has blessed Agape and blessed me with all those ingredients in the staff team that we have.
One of my great joys in ministry right now is seeing our staff come into their own. It is pure joy watching the pastors preach; watching the staff disciple; create; administrate; and serve. I am so very proud of them. I often feel the cumulative stress every time I pray for them to reach their highest potential in Christ. But then again, that is part of being their boss and senior pastor.
But they take so much pressure off of me, really. I hardly need to look over anyone's shoulders at work. And they make me look so good by taking care of all the details of ministry, administratively and pastorally. They have such an ownership. Last December, I was gone three weeks visiting my daughter in Europe and Agape didn't skip a beat. They did so well!
This afternoon at our regular staff lunch, they asked if they could take me out for lunch on my birthday. I am rather protective about who I spend my actual birthday with, especially when this year I will be half a century old. I always like to be alone with God for most of that day and spend the evening with my family. But this afternoon, I readily said yes to my staff because I really don't mind spending meaningful time on my birthday with some of my most favourite people in the world - my staff!
I guess what I'm saying is this: I am so grateful for my staff team!
