A Desirous Calling

I was so excited about the idea of starting bible study that I hardly considered what obligations were involved. How hard can it really be to share fellowship and study God’s Word together. Not hard, until you are the person who is the leader. It seems like a desirous calling. Being able to show my love for God and my commitment to showing love for fellow believers, right?

And yet when considering the idea in the beginning, I didn’t question for one moment it was right for me. That was until the first bible study. I wasn’t prepared for the questions that would arise. I wasn’t prepared for answering the urgent needs that met me through the struggles that these women faced. That first bible study revealed my vulnerability and my incompetence as a leader. There are such complexities that each of us face that the only way to solve them is by seeking God through prayer. What I thought would be simply reading and sharing, became a time in which these women were searching for quick easy answers, and yet not realizing that sometimes it takes considerable kneeling before God that a bible study is just ineffective at curing.

Bible study is designed to become better acquainted with His Word, it's an informal way to really discuss how it applies to one's life and gives a springboard for how we can develop a practical way of applying the Bible's examples to our lives. It isn't meant to replace the depth of ministry that one gets when they visit the House of God or request time to counsel with the pastor.

And though a leader of bible study isn't meant to replace those who are pastors or leaders of the church, he or she must still have a ready answer in the event that the study reveals the need for deeper revelation. Yes, being a leader in any capacity of ministry is a position that requires dedication,submission to the Spirit and requires many hours of study and prayer. It requires those who desire to lead, to in fact be followers of Christ, have their own lives under submission, to have a servant’s heart and above all to remain close to God and ready to put down any vain imagination, ready to deny place for personal sin or behaviors that contradict a life that is marked by the Spirit of God. This responsibility isn't for the faint of heart. This kind of calling will reveal where one stands in their faith and will reveal ones own human weaknesses when the Word of God stands as a balance weighing the life of one who chooses to lead or minister truth.

Although it is desirous to want to serve God in the area of ministry it is an important role, too important to take lightly. Let us be found deserving of any call that requires us to touch other's lives as Christ's ambassadors by having our own lives under personal scrutiny and ready to put off anything that would disqualify us as Christ's example.