One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then some strange prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, “What have we here?”
Those prints are large and round and neat,
“But Lord, they are too big for feet.”

“My child,” He said in somber tones,
“For miles I carried you along.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait.”

“You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt.”

“Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand.”

Anonymous

Rev Magazine’s Brian Proffit recently interviewed Ed Stetzer about the age old issue of a handful in the church doing the bulk of the work.  I have been very convicted that I’ve fallen into the same trap.  This is a great introduction for the need to build an equipping culture in the church.  Read more here:

rev.org: The Biggest Sin in Your Church.

If this is something that grabs your attention, I’d also suggest reading Alan Nelson’s great book on moving from a pastor-centered model in church to an equipping culture that empowers everyone to become involved:  Me to We: A Pastor’s Discovery of the Power of Partnership