It was 2 years ago that we realized we had foundation problems with our house. We had bought the house 2 years prior and rebuilt the kitchen from the ground up. However, about 6 months after finishing the kitchen overhaul, we noticed cracks in the walls and everything in that room seemed to roll to one side of the room. We hired a company to come out and look everything over to determine what was going on. This specialist walked us around the house and pointed out things I had never noticed. Things like cracks in the brick, shifts in the concrete, and slopes in the floor.
We found out that the foundation of our house had some substantial problems which had caused our house to quite literally, sink. In a matter of days, we went from thinking our home was fine and stable, to learning we had major problems that needed addressing as soon as possible. Luckily we could immediately take care of the problem and our house is now firm, stable, and strong.
To start our discussion on foundations in ministry, let’s read Matthew 7:24-27:
24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”
All of us can make our lives look sturdy, but Jesus calls us to go beyond the perception of a solid foundation, and put in the work to have that firm foundation.The solid foundation for your life, your ministry, your family and everything in between is Jesus. WIth that in mind, it comes down to the question, which builder are you?
Which builder am I?
Jesus doesn’t pull any punches when he describes the two builders: Wise & Foolish. I believe Jesus wants to make this point very clear. He is telling all those listening, you have two choices moving forward from today. One choice is to listen to the message, then move on with life and do nothing with what you have learned. This would be the foolish builder. The other option is to listen to the message, and act on it, practice it, do it, follow it, and obey it. If you want to be the wise man in this parable, intellectual understanding is simply not enough. Having it in our heads alone gets us nowhere. We must transition it to action to be wise builders. Hearing and not doing can apply to many things, but I believe we as pastors have the potential of falling into one of three categories of hearing without doing.
Apathetic – A builder who is apathetic simply doesn’t care. Some would consider this builder as being lazy. They know what to do and how to build properly, they just don’t seem to care that much. An apathetic pastor says the words, but doesn’t do the work. They tell others what they should do, but don’t follow through themselves. They talk about the importance of daily prayer time, but don’t make it a priority in their own lives.
Appearance – A builder who cares only about appearance finds the shortcuts to make it look right. The biggest problem with the appearance builder is the home can look totally put together and perfect, but hiding under the paint, and fancy fixtures is a problem that can be dangerous. A pastor whose focus is appearance can look like they have it all figured out. They can say all the right things, pray those perfectly worded prayers, and love pointing to all the ways God is blessing them and their ministries. But if you peal back the facade, you will find a pastor who may be hiding some major foundation problems that can be dangerous to them, their family and their ministry.
Accolades – A builder working for accolades will do anything to hear, “You did great!” Whatever it is, they will take any shortcuts necessary to get the pat on the back and the award. The pastor who wants accolades will say and do whatever it takes for their peers, congregation, or co-workers to step back and say, “Wow, look what amazing things you are doing!” An accolades pastor shifts the focus off of God, and onto them.
I know I have fallen victim to being each one of these builders throughout my life. Every time I try firm myself on something about me, the storm is ready to knock me off my feet. It’s easy to say, “Jesus is my firm foundation.” It’s something totally different to actually live with Jesus being that foundation. When my foundation is relying on me, everything from financial difficulties, to sickness, to a harsh word can knock me down. But when I have Jesus as that solid rock, I am reminded that I am His, that He cares for me, and that in Him I find peace. Storms don’t knock over houses built on Jesus. I appreciate the fact that Jesus doesn’t tell His audience that a wise builder looks at weather patterns, and tries to build where storms happen the least. Jesus instead gives an implicit guarantee that the storms are coming, and the way you and your family withstand that storm is all about your foundation. If you want to overcome the storms in your life and your ministry, do the work now.
Our Next Step: Building a Healthy Foundations in Ministry
What is the work? What’s our first step? I think we do the same thing I did when I realized the foundation of my home was sinking. We inspect the foundation. We take a step back from our day-to-day and look for cracks, shifts, or separations. Have you tried to build your ministry on the wrong foundation? Do you see some of yourself in one of the three foolish builder categories? This isn’t easy work and sometimes we can’t do this on our own. I know I couldn’t fix my home’s foundation on my own. Instead, I had to bring in a professional who had seen this problem before. If you need help surveying your foundation, then reach out to a trusted advisor, mentor, or your Pastoral Support team here with Pastor Circle. Your foundation affects more than you. Your ministry, your family and your relationship with God are all affected by your foundation. Take the time to be sure it’s solid. A solid foundation is a trustworthy foundation, and a trustworthy foundation can be built upon. Let’s take the time to check that our foundation is ready for all God has planned for us.
Watch the full message here:
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