It’s true that we always want to be right. But we can’t always be. And that really should not be a problem for anybody, unless you plan to interact with other people from time to time. That could get a little frustrating.
We have to interact with people every day. That is unless you are “middle school Jamie” sitting in your bedroom learning how to hack your neighbor’s computers using a dial up connection and chugging a 2-liter of Squirt. Otherwise, you are probably forced to talk to, and maybe even work toward a common goal with, other people every day.
Well, at least this is a simple task at church since we all share the same common goals. Wait…what’s that? Church business isn’t simple? Ministry projects don’t plan themselves? People have different ideas about how to deliver the gospel? Yeah, right. Am I supposed to believe that there are Bible versions other than the King James, too?
Any time you get people together, there are sure to be several different opinions. That can be a problem if you are trying to finalize details of a project, set a balanced budget, or even decide on the start time of a potluck. For the record, they should always start at 5 p.m. That leaves room to eat the meal, have dessert, and get hungry enough for leftovers before bedtime.
But it is of the utmost importance that we all work to get on the same page. We need to be reading scripture, talking to one another, and spending time in prayer asking that the Holy Spirit lead us all in the same direction.
In the book of Acts, it is reiterated over and over that the early church was on the same page. In fact, the author makes this point clear by saying that they were all on “one accord” no less than ten times. That phrase, “one accord,” seems to come up almost every time that the apostles and their followers are about to see an increase in numbers. The author attributes a large part of their success in spreading the gospel to the fact that they were all on the same page.
If we can get an entire group of Christians moving in the same direction, without even so much as an unspoken objection, we will accomplish great things. Unfortunately, between our “me generation” mentality and our mega-churches, it would seem like a miracle to get everyone on one accord.
In order for us to get on the same page, we all need to take a step back from our own feelings, opinions, and even our own logical judgment to listen to the Holy Spirit. If we start getting our minds, our hearts, and especially our wallets involved, we immediately compromise the ability of our group of believers to follow the will of Christ.
We need to spend time in the Bible daily so we can better understand what ministry is all about. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us all in the same direction. We also need to pray that we will be able to leave our biases out of the equation.
Pray. Read. Pray. Plan. Pray. In that order. That’s our best chance at getting on one accord with one another.
Have you ever been completely in tune with a group of believers when spreading the gospel? How do you think that impacted your ministry?