What's the point?

Working in ministry, there are so many motivations and reasons for doing what we do ... we're all in the same boat as far as that goes, i guess. We can look good on the outside, but what's the real point ...

Here's what I'm talking about: This morning Brad read some MacArthur comments about the state of the church and it's leaders... "The surest road to a church's spiritual stagnation, to the pastor's burnout, or to both is for the pastor to become so engulfed in activites and programs that he has too little time for prayer and the Word... it is lack of knowledge of God's Word and obedience to it, not lack of programs and methods, that destroy His people. When they fail it is not because of weak programs but because of weak teaching."

We are at the beginning of a new school year - talking with our staff about what we need to tweak to really meet the needs of the new "kids" we have coming. I automatically think methodology - what we need to "do" to keep their interest, to keep them coming back, to get them interested in the message and thus communicate Christ to them. This really pulls me back ... makes me examine not only my personal life, but what I'm communicating to these youth. Especially at a time when much of our focus is trained on the ministry center, we must work especially hard at maintaining our true purpose, to immerse ourselves in the Word of God and to hold it up high for others to see...

Following on the heels of this, I happened across a bit written by George Muller (in an appendix to Andrew Murray's With Christ in the School of Prayer) right at a time when he was expanding his orphanage to a bigger facility. (Very similar to where we are at with the ministry center process). This is a fairly lengthy quote, but worth sticking with. He says one of his main objectives in this was to prove the faithfulness of God to his orphans and others involved in the process. "My spirit longed to be instrumental in strengthening their faith ... to show them by proofs that He is the same in our day...
"When I began the orphan work in 1835, my chief object was the glory of GOD, by giving a practical demonstration as to what could be accomplished simply through the instrumentality of prayer and faith... this my aim has been abundantly honored...
"All this leads me to desire further and further to labor on in this way, in order to bring yet greater glory to the Name of the LORD. That He may be looked at, magnified, admired, trusted in, relied on at all times is my aim in this service; and so particularly in this intended enlargement. That it may be seen how much one poor man, simply by trusting in GOD, can bring about by prayer; and that thus other children of GOD may be led to carry on the work of GOD in dependence upon Him; and that children of GOD may be led increasingly to trust in Him in their individual postitions and circumstances, therefore I am led to this further enlargement."

All the perspective I need. Lord, make it stick!