Replace Yourself

President George H.W. Bush (#41) tells the story that he woke up one morning to reach for a red button (while in bed) that usually notifies someone on his staff he wants his morning coffee (nice huh?). Well, all he did was wake up Barbra and she responded, “Get it yourself!” She continued to tell him that he was also not the president anymore! One day, it is all over. People get replaced ~ as ministry leaders we should take a cue from the former president. At some point, we are all going to be replaced in our ministries, for a variety of possible reasons. In response to this reality, it should be our goal to replace ourselves in ministry. How much better would our church be if the mindset of our leaders was to constantly be working ourselves out of a job? Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Always be looking for your replacement; build into others because it is the calling of those in leadership. Do not do the work of ministry alone; find someone else to do it with you! Think about how you can build into others so that they grow in their relationship with Christ. And if you are really feeling up to it, get them a cup of coffee while you are at it.