Healthy OR Cancerous?

I am Spirit filled.
I am a person who is lead by the Spirit.

Holy Roller. Super spiritual. Mystical. Weird. Hyper-emotional.
I am not.

With so much misrepresentation about the Holy Spirit from the charismatic world, it's no wonder we live in a culture that wants nothing to do with Him.

Yes Him, not It.
So you probably guessed I'm not a huge fan of the lyrics, "send it on down, send it on down, Lord let the Holy Ghost come on down."

I've even discovered with well meaning church leaders; when it comes to things like: church growth, strategy, direction, casting vision, or structure there are some who play the "just be lead by the Spirit" card.
In fact, I'm sure there are those who think I rely too much on leadership tactics and books instead of the guiding of the Holy Spirit. The reality is, that is the furthest thing from the truth.
Why the confusion?

Because when it comes to leading, we tend to think in an "either/or" mindset.

Are you Spirit filled OR structure oriented?
Are you "sensitive to His guidance OR strategic on your own?
You're EITHER lead by the Spirit or by man.


Whenever I'm asked, "Pastor Vince, do you believe I should just rely on the Holy Spirit for direction OR really be strategic and read leadership books and explore different structures to lead my ministry?" I always just answer, "yes."

Leading a church or a ministry is not an "either/or" issue when it comes to the Holy Spirit and structure.
It's an "AND" issue.

Before God created man, He created the sun, stars, moon----we call this the Solar System. Scientist today have discovered there are billions of little details in the universe that enable life to exist on Earth. Everything from: the color of the sun, to the tilt of the planet, to the amount of salt in the water, to the carbon in the air. There are so many, and if any one of those were just a few points off, life could not exist.
God created a system so man could have life.

Jesus feeding the 5000 had his disciples first get the people in groups of fifty. (Luke 9:14)
And there are many, many, many other examples to give, but long story short---God is a God of order.

One last thought as you pray and seek God to give you wisdom and breathe on your ministry, and then make plans, set strategies, cast vision and set up structures for the upcoming year---

Having structure in a church is like having healthy cells in your body, after all we are referred to as "the body of Christ."
If you look at a healthy cell under a microscope you will see clean lines of the membrane making up the cell, it will look very much like a honeycomb; each one in order and connected.
If you look at a cancerous cell under the microscope you will see the membrane looks a lot like a lava rock; no clear lines or clearly distinguishable sub-system.
What's amazing about the healthy cell and the cancerous cell is that scientist tell us it's not what's "in" the cells, it's how they are "structured", that makes them different.

Wherever God breathes His Spirit into lifeless clay, both life and form spring forth. To operate a ministry with life (Holy Spirit) but without form (structure) you're producing a fast growing carcinoma. (cancer)