'QUIT' with a purpose

One Sunday morning, early in my ministry, I overheard a few of the church workers discussing the possibility of quitting their positions. The conversation centered around being tired, and it being someone else's turn to serve. I was panicked because the ministry of a local church takes many volunteers -- the pastor cannot do it alone. All great churches, like any high-performing organization, has multiple people serving in various capacities. Without their support, failure is imminent. I scrambled to my office and put together a message to deliver within the hour.

The word that stood out to me was, "Quit." I decided to make an acrostic out of that word to communicate some actions we can take that are a better alternative to quitting. While I originally intended this message for local church workers, I believe it applies to many areas of life. If you feel like giving up, consider the steps in the outline.

First, the letter "Q" stands for "Quiet time." What I mean by that is to spend time alone in contemplation. For Christians, we pray, read the Bible, write in a journal, maybe even skip a meal to focus on prayer, aka fasting. Many of us cannot sit still and think. We must have the television turned on; we look down at our smart phones as we pass time until the next activity comes along. Psalm 46:10 tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God ..." We need to calm down, get quiet, and reflect on our faith that God is in control, and things will get better.

The letter "U" stands for "Unite." While we need time alone with God, we also need other people. Support groups may come to mind. As workers in a local church, we must remind ourselves that we are part of a community of faith. You are a vital part of the team. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 is a description of the church as being like a human body. It has many parts, feet, hands, ears, eyes, etc., but it is one body. Each person who serves in an organizational setting has different roles and all are important. We all need to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Do you attend a local church?

Third is the letter "I." It stands for "Invite." By this I mean that if we are struggling to accomplish a task, invite others to join us in the effort. While it may be difficult to ask for help, including others can help you, it can help them to develop skills, and it can result in greater ministry or productivity. When we get tired, it is good to have people around us to help us. In the Old Testament, we read of Moses who was spending a great deal of his time judging the disputes of all the people. His father-in-law Jethro saw what was happening and offered advice. He told Moses to delegate his responsibilities to others. He was to look for capable leaders, and invite them to be trained to handle cases, leaving the most difficult ones for Moses. This way, Moses did not wear himself out and this also benefited the people (Exodus 18). Are you wearing yourself out doing things alone when others would be happy to help?

The fourth and final letter in the word "Quit" is "T," which is for "Trust in God." If you are like me, there are some days where I am dissatisfied with my performance. Yes, preachers are aware that some of our sermons are boring. It is a rare gift to be able to perform with excellence each time you do a task. However, there have been times when someone would tell me that my message was life-changing, even though I felt like I had failed to communicate well. In those times I am reminded that I can trust God with the results if I am willing to put in the effort. Sometimes we want to quit because we focus on our shortcomings instead of God's sufficiency.

Remember to have a daily quiet time with the Lord, unite with others who are like-minded, invite others to help, and trust God with everything.