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The abundant blessing at the end of Ephesians 3 is epic. So many people have memorized it!
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us; Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21 (I first heard and learned this in the King James Version so I shared it that way).
This scripture declares and describes God. God is more than able. God surprises us beyond our own imagination. And God is worthy of glory now and forever.
How do you and/or your team describe God? What experiences of yours or others have shown God to be an Ephesians 3:20-21 God? On Sunday mornings I huddle with the volunteers and staff. It’s a time to hear stories and seek prayer. Leading teams requires us to create space to celebrate God’s work and surprise in our lives.
The huddle is key to gathering up the team. Speaking so that everyone hears the same thing and is on the same page. It’s also a time to hear from each other. Matt Miofsky, the lead pastor at The Gathering, where I serve says that a team is only a team if it meets. Simply put: if a team is not meeting then you don’t have a team. You have people helping out but they’ve not identified as a team nor understand they’re part of a larger goal and group.
It’s in those huddles and meetings where you can introduce the exceeding abundant God. Here’s one way to do that: Invite everyone to think about one thing that the church/team needs or desires in this season? However make them to be specific. For example, "We need more team members" isn’t specific. Rather "We need 5 more people on the team."
After everyone names the need/desire. Ask them to 10x it. 🤯 If it was 5 people, repeat the goal as 50. They might say something like; "With an exceeding abundant God I expect 50 new people to serve on this team and form new ones." If the original goal is related to time shorten it. You get my drift. Now, all goals are not quantifiable you may have a goal of transformation in which case capturing x number of stories could be one way to quantify it.
Speaking these aloud expands what we say about what’s possible. Our goals tend to be human-driven not God-driven. But the question is, what can we do with God? With an exceeding-abundant God blessing us and our teams in qualitative and quantifiable ways? By huddling and meeting, along with sharing God-sized goals, we’re creating a shared language of expectancy while glorifying God.
Action Brings Clarity:
Try the above exercise with your team. No team yet? Try this exercise yourself! Share a comment below about how it went. Expect some fear, doubt, but also hope and new energy. Doing new things is scary at first.
“Fear is excitement without the breath.” Taken from The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks.
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