I urged my seven-year-old daughter to paint me a masterpiece this summer, complete with my promise to frame and hang it on my office wall. The art enthusiast in her immediately embraced the challenge, meaning I had to invest in a new easel, acid paper, paints, and a dozen brushes that real artists use. After she commissioned me as her assistant, the work began.
My primary role was to clean brushes and hold vials of paint. Every time I gave suggestions, Erin reminded me that the artist determines what goes on the canvas, and my job was simply to hold the paint. She even warned me, “Don’t even think about picking up a brush, dad!” So we filled a portion of our summer with treasured hours of conversation as work on the masterpiece progressed. And during that time, a valuable ministry insight also became clear.
Many times, I’m not satisfied to simply and quietly hold the paint for someone else. I wondered, “With volunteers and staff, do I set them up with an opportunity to win and then stand to the side out of their way, or do I continually look over their shoulder and coach every brush stroke?” Too often it’s the latter, which must change. And just in case you don’t hear this from your ministry, I want to tell you “Well done!” whenever you create an environment generous with freedom for people to fully use their talents.
This analogy also applies to kids. Their faith must be a masterpiece created by them and God—don’t even think about picking up a brush and doing it for them! You deserve to hear “Well done” again if your ministry deliberately uses language that makes sense to children and if you teach highly relevant lessons that kids can immediately apply to their lives. Kids generally don’t thrive with gray. So when you commit to creative Bible lessons using words they understand, faith in full living color will emerge.
As I watched my daughter turn a blank page into a piece of art all on her own, I understood that ministry must never be a paint-by-numbers program that ends up looking the same every time. Each of us has the opportunity and challenge to create a ministry that supports “artists” of all ages and sizes, so I’m sure you’ll see several masterpieces in the months to come. And God gives us the privilege to stand real close to all the action. After all, we get to hold the paint!
And by the way, don’t forget to clean the brushes.
Copyright © 2005 Promiseland.
