Balance

Balance is not very sexy, or cool. What is deemed newsworthy is often extreme in one direction or the other. This is true in ministry, as well. The ministry that is extremely (and then fill-in-the-blank)….evangelistic, Calvinistic, dogmatic….gets noticed. But for long-term effectiveness balance yields the best results, in your personal life and in your ministry.

Here are some areas in which to strike a balance:
*Broad *Deep

*Fellowship *Worship

*Freedom *Accountability

*Grace *Holiness

*Evangelism *Discipleship

*Community *Outreach

A wise, older leader once gave me a good piece of advice: “Lean against the prevailing wind.” If you find yourself preaching about grace all the time, maybe balance that with a message on holiness, etc. So much of spirituality is both/and.

One of the things I like about our mission statement at CTK is its sense of balance. Our mission defines who we want to be, and what we want to do. It calls for us be an authentic Christian community that effectively reaches out. It balances community with outreach.

It was said of Abraham Lincoln that he was “a man of steel and velvet.” That is the same sort of balance we see in Christ (full of grace and truth) and in His expectations for His church (speaking the truth in love).

Why don’t we see a greater emphasis on balance in the body of Christ?
In what areas of your personal life do you need to find a better balance?
In what areas of your ministry are you seeking greater balance?



Read the following excerpt from Mark Eberhart’s book Why Things Break, discussing “what went wrong” in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. What application does this have to your ministry?

When ignited, each section of the booster expands in response to the tremendous heat and pressure of the exhaust gases produced through the burning of the solid rocket fuel. During this expansion, something has to seal the joints between the sections of the booster, if hot gases are to be prevented from pouring through the joints. Two quarter-inch rubber O-rings were used for this purpose. They were to expand rapidly, sealing any gaps between the sections.

For about six months before the Challenger explosion, Roger Boisjoly had been concerned that as the O-rings became cold they would expand more slowly than required to seal the booster sections. If this were to occur, the escaping gases could burn into the external fuel tank containing the liquid hydrogen and oxygen, causing it to explode.