by Bill Joukhadar
A successful cell leader is not someone who believes “they” have it all together – “they” alone can do the job. How sobering it is for church leaders who meditate on Acts 17:25, which says, “… human hands can’t serve His needs – for He has no needs. He gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need there is” (NLT). Yes, that’s right … the Lord doesn’t need our service – we need His!
We must be careful not to honor leaders who think it meritorious to “burn the candle at both ends,” and at the center, through their leadership in the cell group or larger church.
The cell leaders we need to honor are those who follow the modeling of the Lord, who’s practice it was to meet alone with His Father at the beginning of each new day (Mark 1:35), and not rush about at a hectic pace throughout the day “trying to do everything for God.”
We know that if it was up to the Lord’s disciples, they would have mismanaged His teaching and miracle working ability for eighteen hours each day, without morning and afternoon tea breaks – squeezing out of Him every ounce of grace and power.
We must watch out for our hardworking cell leaders – stopping them from making this common mistake. We need to honor them by “directing” them to set aside time to practice “waiting” on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31) … to set aside time to be alone with Him … to set aside time to be with their families … to set aside time for holidays, for rest and refreshment.
We want them to slow down to be able to smell the roses, instead of rushing about with a constant blurred view of the wonders of God around them.
Do you love your cell leaders? Do you really want to honor them? Then make sure you give them opportunity to rest, revive, reflect, and refocus before reengaging.
