Who Says I Can’t?

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Jim Walton

I have heard more than one Christian leader lately say “I can’t….” and all that comes to my mind is “What?!?!”. No where in Scripture does Jesus ever say “I can’t do that for you.” and that should be our guide as to how we should respond to people.Sure, Jesus can always be there and help out and provide support, He’s Jesus! Ok, that’s weak, at best. It seems that when we, as leaders in our churches, say “I can’t do whatever it is that you are asking of me.”, that we are actually saying “I don’t want to be bothered.” There may be a legitimate reason why we can’t do something a certain way, but that’s not the end. Find an alternative, find a way that we can get it done.

From my observation, true servant leaders are looking for a way to help and a way to get the task done. I was at Church of the Resurrection last Friday and I love talking to Clif Guy, his mindset is focused on how we can help the ministries in our church and he doesn’t say “I can’t help you.” and he doesn’t let anyone on his team say that. Their attitude is to figure out how to make it happen.

The best way to change an attitude of “I can’t” is to set the example and be the one to step up to the plate.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Post to Twitter Post to Digg Digg This Post

Other posts by Jim Walton

»

Comments

This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.

3 Responses to “Who Says I Can’t?”

  1. clint on July 11th, 2007 1:06 pm

    There are certain situations in which I can see the attitude outlined in your post as a prescription for pastoral burn-out. Sometimes it is best for the pastor NOT to take on each and every task brought to him, especially if the pastor is neither gifted nor led in the area/direction to which he is being asked to go. Often it is best for the pastor to say, “I can’t do that right now, my ministry plate is full, but may I perhaps help you to minister effectively in that capacity?”

  2. Clif Guy on July 11th, 2007 6:14 pm

    You’re making me blush! Thanks for the kind words.

  3. Users or Customers? : Church Tech Matters on April 4th, 2008 2:44 pm

    [...] he was going to do this.  He referred to a series of posts I wrote last summer that started here, then went here and here.   This series actually began with Clif and it is a constant theme of [...]