It’s amazing what two weeks will do. You see staff meeting used to kill me. I work at a church which should be so interesting and fun but I can’t pay attention for two hours to stuff that doesn’t concern me. Not that I don’t care about children’s ministry volunteers and the like - it just doesn’t interest me for that long. Then something happened, staff meetings became staff worship times. I was glad. But it was hard to focus because I couldn’t help but remember all the things that I could be doing to get ready for Sunday. I was torn. Eventually I lightened up and became free to worship after a few weeks. Then prayer became a bigger part of staff meetings. We were singing, praying, and discussing the overall direction of the church. We moved the individual ministries’ discussions to other times so we could focus. Oddly, I actually liked staff meetings. I eventually quit calling staff meetings “staff infection”. I looked forward to every other Tuesday.
We believed the lie that serving God can replace knowing Him
Fast forward to two weeks ago when our pastor, after a week in prayer up at IHOP in KC, comes back broken and changed. He confessed that he as a leader hadn’t led us as a staff to seek God first, then do ministry second. When your church is getting so big and then moving into a brand new facility while still trying to keep up with making sure Sunday happens, it’s easy to forget the relationship for the sake of the ministry. We all had done it in some way. Many of us, as a staff, unknowingly believed the lie that serving God can replace knowing Him.
During that staff meeting we read the Bible. We talked about seeking God FIRST. We talked about the One Thing… God. It was the best staff meeting yet. We spent an hour and a half talking and praying and reading Scripture. Then David dropped the bomb.
For two weeks, our first hour at work was to be spent seeking God. No discussion. We were to shut our door and pray, read, sing, whatever. He realized that we as a staff could not serve God unless our relationship with Him was in order. He wanted us to give God the first fruits of our time. It’s been amazing.
In those two weeks I prayed more than I had in years. I read more of the Bible than I had in years. I got to be in God’s presence each morning for a solid hour. It has changed my life.
When we met again for staff meeting after those two weeks we were all thinking the same thing but someone piped up and asked it, “Can we keep doing it?” So we are.
Our stress level is down. I seem to be getting more done in less time. I feel at peace. I’m just randomly talking to God. Scriptures are coming to mind more frequently in situations where I need them. Praise Jesus.
My pastor told us to work less so we can seek God more. Where else can you find that? We’re blessed, lucky, whatever. Praise God for the leadership He’s put in place.
So I encourage you, if this testimony get to your heart at all, spend an hour with God each day. It will change you. Of you want those Scriptures David gave to us they are:
- Psalm 27:4
- Luke 10:41-42
- Philippians 3:13-14
- Isaiah 64:4-5
- Matthew 6:6
- Matthew 6:33
- Hebrews 11:6
In my time of prayer I chose to put on some background music and it tended to help me tune out distractions outside my door. The two albums I listened to were The Mix Up by The Beastie Boys (iTunes / Amazon) and everything by Explosions in the Sky (iTunes / Amazon).
Friends, go after the One Thing.
Tomorrow’s gonna be a busy day. 
A friend on Facebook asked me today for some photography tips. Honored, I wrote her a quick reply (below). They’re in no way a complete list of tips but they’re a start. 
