I believe we need to jump into ministry with both feet.

One of the challenges in ministry leadership is to encourage people who have only one foot in the water to get the other foot in. It’s not a new challenge but it’s something I’ve been thinking about recently.

As difficult as it is to swim with only one wet foot (I’m pretty sure I’ve tried it so I’m not speaking hypothetically here), it is just as challenging to grow in our personal lives with only one foot in the ministry of the church.

One-footers can be on two sides of the spectrum.

We’ll call them One-Footed Givers and One-Footed Takers.

There are similarities between the two:

• Both are committed.
• Both want to be right with God.
• Both have at least one wet foot.

But there are differences and those differences can be where problems arise.

One-Footed Takers…

One-Footed Takers are great at receiving and love to learn.  They happily attend church and procure the information of good teaching.  They might attend a small group, but only if it’s a good bible study where they can grow in what they know.  For One-Footed Takers, a big reason to go to church is to be fed.  After all, sheep need to eat.

However, the problem is that because they are One-Footers they aren’t very good at giving.  Giving their time to serve in the church is a challenge because there are other things going on in their lives.  It’s their son’s racquetball league or their wife’s work schedule, it might be their commitment to Monday night Bingo…and it’s not that any of those things are bad; they just get in the way.  There are other ways they can miss out on opportunities to give, whether it is financially or with their abilities but you get the idea.

One-Footed Givers…

One-Footed Givers are people who consistently plug into ministry and serve well.  They eagerly offer up their time to help make things happen at the church.  They are needed in their position and play a crucial role whatever ministry they participate in.

The problem with One-Footed Givers is that they are so busy serving in the church they don’t have time to receive what it is they need to grow.  They’re so committed to teaching their class, making their rounds, playing with babies, even helping out at other churches… that they don’t have the chance to sit and listen to what God might want to be telling them.

One-Footed Takers are pretty well known.  They’ve been criticized for a long time and are commonly labeled as “Consumers”.

One-Footed Givers are usually treated much differently.  They are honored for their service and receive much more favorable labels like “Committed”, “Faithful”, and “Dependable”.

Unfortunately, I think there is a danger in both extremes. Whether it is giving or taking, One-Footers are handicapped in their ability to move in the direction God has for them.  They may be active in their pursuit, but mere activity doesn’t always produce what we want.

As the Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden said, “Don’t mistake activity for achievement.”

In part 2 I’ll talk about why it’s important to jump in with both feet.  For now, take some time to think about which side of the extreme you might fall on.  We all know the importance of being balanced in our lives, which is why it’s so interesting that we can ignore our feet telling us that one of them is bearing all the weight.