Dealing With Media OverloadSample

Expectations

God has not called me to shepherd the world; He has called me to shepherd a specific church. That’s where my focus has to be. One day we will all have to stand before the Lord and have to give an account. Hebrews 13:17 makes this clear. When I stand to give that account, it won’t be for all the churches in America or for churches all over the world. God will ask me, “Richard, what did you do at Founders Church with your responsibility to share the Word of God with the teams that were entrusted to your care? What did you do there?” I want to be able to say that I was focusing on what He gave me. This means intentionally tuning out a lot of other things, to give my attention to the tasks God has called me to do.

Often, especially in leadership positions that seek to have a positive, God-honoring influence in the community, there’s this expectation that you must respond to everything that happens around you. But something’s happening all the time. How are you determining what is essential for your church, for your family? How do we view what we are doing here, and the way we are doing it?

In general, we want to be edifying. We want to be a general voice of edification for believers in a world full of information. We want to help them know Scripture. We direct people to their churches, to their body of elders. God has placed you in a local church. In that context, you are to be submitted, to thrive, and to grow. We are jealous for that, meaning we want to betroth people to Christ through the means that He has ordained for their well-being.

Some of that expectation that we’re going to comment on everything going on the world really flows out of an overestimation of who we are and what we are meant to do. We know God has called us to a specific ministry in this local fellowship. We have a job description for that task. In other realms of life, we have other responsibilities, such as those of a parent, a grandparent, a spouse, a friend. Seek to be faithful in every realm. Regardless of media overload and others’ expectations, you do not need to comment on everything. That is a misunderstanding of your responsibility.