9 – What Moves Christians

We’re committed to the idea that God is at work in the heart of believers. We want people to love, serve, and grow because they are responding to God. We can get people to do things by making them feel guilty or pressured, but those actions will have little value in the long run. Our goal as leaders is to open doors for people, help them see what they can do, help them understand the love of God, and to recognize the gifts that are in their lives.
A Christian who is motivated by fear, guilt, social pressure, or selfish ambition will become a “high maintenance” Christian. Someone who recognizes that God loves them, has gifted them to serve, and who can see that they are growing strong, will keep growing even if they move away or if this particular fellowship ceases to exist.
Our role as leaders, then, is to tap into what God is doing in the heart of a believer. This makes it important to consider whether a person has actually received Christ. It is not too hard to go through the motions in a Christian fellowship without really knowing the Lord. We need to give people the opportunity to receive Christ. This can be done in our weekly fellowship meetings, in team meetings, or in personal conversations.
We also need to listen to people enough to understand what motivates them. God did not make us all alike. He says that we are members of a body with differing gifts. This means that some form of service that is exciting to one Christian may not be to another. If you make a practice of listening to people, especially when they offer new ideas, you will learn what is in that person’s heart. You won’t be able to adopt every new idea your team members offer, but you can make it a point to listen to learn what they are thinking.
We learn how to use the members of our human body by trial and error. The members of the body of Christ need to do the same. If you give people the opportunity to serve in various ways, you will help them discover what fits them. Don’t be afraid to allow someone to try something new.