As I write this blog, I am on the balcony of an apartment in San Pedro De Marcoris, Dominican Republic. I am right in the heart of town next to a busy intersection. I am engaged in ministry every night and most days. However, my "down time" if there is such a thing, has been incredibly productive. Without transportation and with little command of the language, when I am not out ministering, I am like a bird n a cage, perched in a unique observation point. It has given me the opportunity to finish a book I am writing. It has also given me the opportunity to exercise the gift of observation. In a week, I have learned what vehicles belong here and and those that do not. I have learned the faces of the locals and even a dew of their habits. I know the routine of the local police in these few blocks. I know who works, who doesn't work and who pretends to work. I can see prosperity, mediocrity, and poverty all from the same balcony. I find myself amazed that on one corner in a city, if you are careful you can observe the balance of life.
In traveling through the city, my awareness of what I see from my perch has made me more acutely aware of what I discover in the rest of the city. All of this caused me to think about how people observe, and more importantly what they do once they have made an observation.
As a pastor, I used to face great frustration on the midst of certain observations made and brought to me by others. In my first year of ministry, I felt compelled to act on such observations because they always seemed to point to a need. As a traveling minister, my actions came at great personal cost, both financially and physically. When I embraced the responsibility of pastoring, I found the compulsion to act even more draining. It seemed that everywhere I turned, would encounter another observer. that observer would identify the need and bring it to me to solve or resolve. Each time I acted, people would be happy about it. But, each time I took my hand off the action, that which I had done to correct the problem would quickly disintegrate. It was very frustrating, so much so that I began to pray for a specific answer. One came in the form of a writing from Erwin McManus, the pastor of the Mosaic in California.
In his book "Chasing Daylight", he wrote:
"I couldn't begin to count the number of times people would come up and say, 'Pastor, something needs to be done about...' With every identified problem there was a program, service or a ministry that needed to be started. It seemed as of the congregations job was to find the problems and recommend the solutions and my job was to et them done. Somewhere along the way, out of desperation, I began to ask the people who identified the need to become part of the solution. The response was almost uniform. 'Oh, no, not me. I just felt that it was important to point out the need.' This is where side-liners are particularly lethal. They have so much time to watch life go by that they have a great view of all of the problems, which inspires them, especially when they assume that their role in life is to point out what's wrong. They conclude that their contribution is at best to suggest solutions and then
sit back and evaluate how we are doing."
Erwin went on to explain that "observers" like this can drain you of everything. They move you by need, control you by guilt, and are willing to leave you dead from exhaustion. He continued by identifying that he encountered the same problem I discovered that while people were quick to point out a need, they were unwilling to participate in that need. as a result, he could implement what was necessary to touch the need only to see it fail for lack of human willingness to see it through.
Shortly after reading this book I had a young man who had spent some time with our congregation. He was frustrated because I was not allowing his gift to flourish. When asked what his gift was, he replied that his was to observe the condition and need of city and point it out to the pastor of the church so that something could be done.
I offered to him that I had responded to his concerns. I had placed him in the position of reaching directly into the needs he encountered and was willing to back him with human and financial resource the moment he produced
some effort and momentum. Then I asked him,
"In the midst of all of that need, who have you reached?"
He then informed me that his was only the gift of observation. He was to call others to action, not act himself. Oddly the thought that crossed my in in that moment was William Wallace calling his men into action...seated upon his horse with a sword in his hand. The point is this. Created in God's image, you have the powerful ability to observe all that happens around you. If God stirs your heart about a need, then He is likely speaking to you about that need. If your compulsion to identify that need is strong enough to press someone for a solution, then you need to consider that God is pressing you to be a part of that solution. The call to action is only really answered by those ready to lead the charge. Hence, if it is yours to call, be prepared to lead he battle. The gift of observation is a tool of action. It only works when you act.
