It’s getting to be that time of year again in the Northeast when we leave our windows open.  The window unit air-conditioner gets stashed away for another year and is replaced by sweet drafts of cool Fall air.  As good as the cool air feels, there’s something we always do…we leave the screen in place.

Taking this idea a bit farther, how many of you would remove your windows and doors and leave gaping holes?  You wouldn’t.  The reason?  Our screens, windows and doors keep things out.  They also keep things in.  For example, we have a new puppy who is 10 weeks old.  At this point in time, we’re keeping our windows and doors.  Not so much to keep the boogie man out, but to keep his dog in.  😊

In fact, it’s natural to keep bad things out and good things in, right?  However, this becomes a bit of a gray area sometimes in our lives.  Along our journey, if we’re not careful, we can get to the point where we want to keep bad things in and keep good things out.  It may be the result of pride, or shame.

Today I want to talk with you about one particular thing that’s healthy to keep out.  If you let this idea in, it can wreak havoc with your soul and the organization you lead.  Keep it out at all costs and you will experience indescribable joy.  Are you ready?

The unhealthy idea that you need to keep out is the mantra that ‘bigger is better’.  Do you feel better now.  This mantra is very subtle, but it can have a deadly effect, not just on you but those you lead.

Now before you jump to conclusions, I am not against big.  In fact, I am not against BIG either.  Some of my closest friends lead big churches.  They’re wonderful.  Not only are they reaching multitudes, their congregations are dynamic and full of life.  The people who attend them are experiencing life change.  I’m all for it.

Here’s the problem.  Most of us do not lead large organizations.  Most of us lead in forgotten places.  Places where there are odd demographics.  Places that have become a haven for the elderly and the wounded.  Places where the forgotten congregate.  Does that mean they don’t deserve great leadership?  Does that mean the leaders who serve there are not in God’s will.

Case in point, one man told the story recently about one of the greatest speakers he ever heard.  The woman was a missionary to some cold, forgotten place.  I think it was in the Adirondacks…just kidding.  I actually believe she was a missionary in the arctic.  Any ways, he explained how after hearing her speak he began to feel sorry for her.  Then he realized that just because someone lives in a desolate area doesn’t mean they don’t deserve God or the most talented shepherd.

Let’s face it, all of us have the greatest shepherd in the world.  His name is Jesus and he is just as active in the micro places in the world as he is in the macro.  In fact, he never had a problem being a BIG fish in a small pond.  Jesus was never impressed with crowds, but he was impressed with individuals.  Is your sphere small.  Jesus focused on only 12 people in his lifetime and one of them was a fraud named Judas.

Jesus talked about this in his High Priestly prayer in John 17, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled” (John 17:12).  Just as a shepherd keeps sheep, Jesus kept the flock his father had given him.  He even kept Judas although he was a thief.  Did he love Judas?  Yes.

Just because a church is large or a pastor is popular that does not mean God is in the act of affirming them.  If we buy into the idea that God is into building bigger churches, rather than bigger Christians, we may find ourselves pursuing and achieving results no matter what it takes.  “If it works do it”, is just as bad as the saying “if it feels good do it.”  There are all kinds of shortcuts, especially in the world of church growth.

Likewise, we can be godly and build into people using scriptural principles and be miserable if the results are not as forthcoming as we would like them to be.  What was the secret of Jesus?  He always focused on the Father’s will.  With all of his talents and supernatural abilities, he could have easily gone on his own strength, but he didn’t.  Not only did he know the Father’s will, he knew the Father.  In fact, Jesus knew that his Father loved people, especially the lonely and forgotten.  God never asked any of us to build bigger churches, he asked us to build bigger Christians (Matthew 28:18-20).

Just as many of us know popular leaders who lead popular organizations, we all know of leaders in obscure places leading small organizations.  The good news is that none of us have to be popular or lead large organizations.  It doesn’t matter how many followers we have on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.  We don’t have to win awards or receive numerous invitations to speak in hip churches.  We don’t have to make a million dollars or have the greatest mission statement ever or an extensive five-year plan.  What matters is that we love God and love people.

The truth is that many of you serve in forgotten places but that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love you or is not proud of you.  The fact is he loves you so much that Jesus sacrificed all for you.  Maybe, just maybe you’ve forgotten how much he loves you because the church or organization you lead is not as you’d like it to be.  You may wish it was just a little bigger, or more popular, or the epitome of hip.  I want you to know that your organization is big, popular and the epitome of hip in God’s eyes regardless of what the world thinks.