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“Christ gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers — to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
— Ephesians 4:11–12

🕊️ Continue the Journey

Now that we’ve reflected together on what realignment means — moving from doing to discipling — let’s slow down and look deeper.
The article below explores how this shift affects our leadership, our families, and the way we shape ministry together in Billings and beyond.
Take your time as you read; pray, pause, and listen for the Spirit’s invitation to lead from overflow instead of exhaustion.

Introduction: When the Doing Becomes the Distraction

If you’ve served in the church for long, you know how easy it is to get busy doing ministry.
Meetings. Lessons. Music. Maintenance.
Before long, your calendar is full but your soul feels thin.

We don’t mean to drift this way. We love our church, and we fill the gaps because we care.
But over time, the work that once flowed from love can start to replace the love that once fueled the work.
And that’s when it’s time to realign.

This lesson isn’t about doing more.
It’s about rediscovering why we lead at all — and how to lead in a way that multiplies disciples instead of multiplying exhaustion.

1. The Problem of “Faithful Busyness”

There’s a subtle trap in ministry: the more capable a person is, the more likely they are to get asked to do more.

Elders especially feel this.
Because you’re dependable, you end up leading Sabbath School, running sound, teaching youth, visiting members, and serving on multiple committees.
You’re the “yes” people of the church — the ones who can always be counted on.

And yet sometimes, that faithfulness comes at a cost.
Your evenings are full, your phone never stops, and your family quietly adjusts to your absence.
Many of us have been stretched thin, not because we love too little, but because we love too much and say yes too often.
We overcommit to the work of the church, and in doing so, we unintentionally under-commit to the people at home who need our presence most.

But here’s the truth: God never called you to trade family for ministry.
He called you to model wholeness — to lead from a place of spiritual and relational health.
When your family is tended, your leadership gains credibility and depth.
When your home is whole, your ministry bears fruit.

Realignment, then, isn’t just about church systems — it’s about your soul and your household.
It’s about learning to serve from rest, not exhaustion; from order, not chaos; from overflow, not depletion.

2. The Theology of Realignment

To realign means to return to the pattern God designed.

In Ephesians 4, Paul shows us the order of ministry:

1. Christ gives leadership gifts.
2. Leaders equip the saints.
3. The saints do the ministry.
4. The body of Christ grows.

Somewhere in history, the order flipped: leaders started doing the ministry, while the people watched.

Elders are called to turn that back around.

• Your primary calling is not to fill roles, but to form people.
• Your primary task is not to manage ministries, but to mentor ministers.
• Your primary goal is not to run programs, but to raise disciples.

That’s the shift from doing to discipling.

3. The Example of Jesus

Jesus didn’t fill every gap — even though He could have.
He trained, delegated, trusted, and released.

He told His disciples:

“You give them something to eat.” (Mark 6:37)

And even when they failed, He didn’t take the ministry back.
He kept forming them.

That’s what leadership looks like: not control, but cultivation.

When you step back from doing everything, you make space for others to step up.
That’s not losing control — that’s multiplying capacity.

4. Realignment in Our Context

Here in Billings, our church has been richly blessed with capable, committed people.
But sometimes our strength — our willingness to serve — can become our weakness if we never pause to disciple others into the work.

That’s why, as elders, we are making a conscious shift.
We’re saying:

“Eldership is not one more thing we do — it is the thing that gives shape to everything we do.”

You may still sing, greet, or teach.
But those acts now flow from your primary calling:
to lead spiritually, mentor intentionally, and shepherd the teams that make ministry happen.

You’re not just a part of the system anymore.
You’re helping build the system that disciples and sends.

5. What This Looks Like in Practice

Realignment doesn’t mean doing less — it means doing different.
You’ll still serve, but you’ll do it through people, not positions.

🧭 Practice the Shift: A Realignment Workshop

Take 10 minutes with a notepad or your phone.
Draw two columns and fill them out honestly:

Now, prayerfully circle one name — just one — and make it your “first disciple.”
Reach out this week to encourage them, pray with them, or invite them to shadow you.

That’s how the shift begins — one relationship at a time.

6. Realignment Requires Patience and Courage

This isn’t a quick change.
It’s a cultural shift that will take time — and it begins with trust.

That’s why we’re slowing down.
Before we make decisions about worship structure, programs, or schedules, we’re taking time to pray, to study, and to align our leadership with Scripture.

We want every change to flow from conviction, not convenience.
Because when people understand the why, they’ll gladly join the what.

7. Reflection and Discussion

1. What activities fill most of your ministry time right now?
    How many of them are about doing, and how many are about discipling?
2. When you picture the people you lead — are you doing ministry for them, or with them?
3. What would it look like for you to spend less time running ministries and more time mentoring leaders?
4. How does the image of Jesus releasing His disciples into ministry challenge your own approach to leadership?
5. What fears arise when you think about “doing less”?
    How might the Holy Spirit want to replace those fears with faith?

8. A Final Word: The Peace of Purpose

Realignment brings rest.
When you rediscover what you’re truly called to do, ministry stops feeling like a treadmill and starts feeling like a mission again.

You’ll notice that the Holy Spirit does more with less — because now, you’re no longer carrying the whole weight alone.
You’re leading others to walk beside you, shoulder to shoulder, as fellow ministers of grace.

So, as you continue this leadership journey, remember:

You were never called to do everything.
You were called to equip everyone.

And that — not the endless activity, but the Spirit-filled alignment — is what builds the kind of church Jesus envisioned.

📖 For Personal Study

• Acts 6:1–7 — Delegation and Spirit-filled administration
• Exodus 18:13–27 — Moses learns to share leadership
• Ephesians 4:11–16 — Equipping and building up the body
• Mark 6:30–44 — Jesus empowers His disciples to serve
• 2 Timothy 2:2 — “Entrust these things to faithful people who will be able to teach others also.”

🔍 Elder Realignment Check

• I can clearly articulate my primary area of spiritual leadership.
• I am mentoring or preparing someone to serve alongside me.
• My family rhythm feels healthy and sustainable.
• I am doing ministry with others, not for them.
  (Rate each from 1–5 and note what needs prayer or change.)

💬 Comment Prompt

Where do you sense the Holy Spirit calling you to realign?
Is there a ministry you’ve been doing that God may now be asking you to disciple others into? Drop a comment below.