As I talk with other pastors and church leaders, I am finding out that one of the things that we struggle with is comparison. I guess it is pretty obvious. Sometimes it is easy to look at someone else’s ministry and wonder why God is “using them” or “blessing them” more than my ministry.
The natural thing to do is to start mimicking them or even implementing things that have worked for the other ministry. The scary thing about this is that we can do more damage than good.
When I look at my journey, I realized that there were many times when I wanted to be like someone else. On one part, it is understandable because I was still trying to find my identity and discover more of how God wired me up. Then on the other hand, I found myself with the need of repentance because it was just my desire for fame and glory that fueled the comparison.
Now, I am slowly realizing that the best “sweet spot” in ministry is when we are able to know who we are and then flow out of that security. It is amazing to see how “different” so many pastors and leaders are from one another. In fact, this adds to the mosaic of the Body of Christ. If we were all grey in color, how dull would that be? We need some neon blue and hot pink.
I came across a video that Ed Young, pastor from Fellowship Church made that included Joel Osteen, pastor from Lakewood Church. It was emphasizing the important point of being who God created you to be. It is very clear that Ed Young cannot be Joel Osteen and Joel Osteen cannot be Ed Young. They are from the opposite ends of the spectrum but they both have high respect for one another.
Check out this video. Ed does a hilarious impersonation of Joel.