In May 2006, my fire department purchased its fully operational first Class A Fire Apparatus. In layman's terms, it was a fire truck-- red and shiny too. It was 23 years old, but it was new to us. Prior to that year, we had been using large water tank vehicles, such as those you see on construction sites, with portable pumps and a few cabinets to store equipment. But no... this was a real truck. A real, highfalutin, water-squirtin', siren-squealin' fire truck. We were on top of the world. We had big plans. We were going to use this truck to be the best-trained, most equipped, most professional volunteers in the area... so we bought some stuff. Then we bought some more. It didn't take long before we filled all that cabinet space we never thought we could fill. What's more, there was equipment bungy-tied to the top, the sides, and every other part of the truck. But it was the best we could do. You see, when we bought this truck, it wasn't purchased to just fight fires. Sure, it could do that, but it also responded to all medical emergencies, vehicle accidents, rural rescues, bee calls, structural protection on grass fires, assist neighboring departments, parades, community events, and so on and so forth. It was called upon to do so much more than just fight fire.
It was overloaded and soon became cumbersome to navigate on scenes. Some equipment always had to be removed to get to other equipment, and it was just inevitable that there was always something hanging in front of the item you needed.
Later in 2006, a large tanker vehicle was purchased that took some burden from the truck... then we bought more equipment to fill the empty cabinets. In 2008, it became clear that the vehicle was being overworked, so a Fire SUV was purchased to respond to medical calls and act as a command vehicle on large scenes. Yet still, the cabinets remained full or were soon filled with more equipment. Again, in 2009, a new fire truck was donated by the City of Abilene with the support and unanimous vote of the Taylor County Rural Fire Committee. This truck further lightened the load, and for the first time, our first-out fire truck has space in the cabinets. Items are no longer bungy-tied to the outside of the rig, and everything can be reached without having to reach around, over, or behind other equipment. In short, we emptied ourselves in order to be more functional.
In Darryl Tippens' book Pilgrim Heart, an entire chapter is devoted to the discipline of emptying. It is described in Philippians 2:7. Often called Kenosis, the concept is simply this: overfill yourself and become too burdened to operate. Empty yourself--or make yourself nothing-- and become what God truly desires from us. He further goes on to describe a life of self-sacrifice in the true spirit which God intended.
Many Christians, including myself at many times, have taken to the habit of attending every single ministry event, leading ministry campaigns, and filling ourselves up with good deeds. Much like in the example of my fire truck above, the intentions are good. People start out saying "yes, I can do that...and that...and that...and...." You get the picture. But soon, our schedules are full and we find ourselves being unfulfilled. Again, like the fire truck, we find ourselves strapping on more good deeds-- each righteous and holy in their own right-- until we are beyond capacity. Something has to give.
After spending some time in a house church setting, where few people are forced to spend entire work-weeks preparing for the gathering, I have come to appreciate simplicity. It's not that I have a theological reason to dislike larger gatherings, but my fear is that we are creating an environment which tells the lay-people that they are good for one thing: to sit there and watch the people who have filled up their weeks preparing for a perfectly conducted one-hour stage show. Once over, the ministry team retreats to their offices to prepare for next week's showing. As leaders, what are we telling people when we say that it takes a full-time ministry staff an entire week to prepare for ministry? Are we filled up, fed up, or both? Continuing to operate over capacity is not only wearing us out, but it is a sure fire way to miss great opportunities just outside our front doors.
Whether in big church, house church, or no church, I challenge each of you to try a new method of life this week. Empty yourselves in such a manor that we can reach our full potential.
Question for the week:
What in your life is driving you over capacity? If you were a fire truck, what could you remove and still operate effectively? What would have to stay to maintain essential, Christ-like operations?
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