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One distinctive of an old-fashioned Navigator conference such as the one I attended last week, Key Men’s Invitational (see the previous two blogs), is that you hear challenges you don’t often hear.

Steve Presswood, Nav Rep at Oklahoma State, delivered the last sermon Sunday morning on the topic “Why don’t we have more laborers?” Jesus defined a laborer in Matthew 9.35 – 10.5 as someone who is actively shepherding people:

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”…These twelve Jesus sent out. (Matthew 9.36 – 38, 10.5)

Here was my key takeaway from Steve: We have tolerated mediocrity instead of training for maturity. 

I was just starting to work with a man and had introduced him to the daily quiet time. He said, “Bob, I want to hit my marks; how many days per week are we shooting for?” My response was, “How many days in the week are there?” Of course, I believe in grace (and practice it!), and I am well aware that we are not saved by having seven quiet times per week. That said, why we would set the expectation for less? 

Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators, in his classic sermon, “Born to Reproduce,” listed immaturity as a cause for not reproducing (physically and spiritually). Leroy Eims, a Navigator patriarch, in a sermon entitled “How to make an Impact,” told how his ministry teams had standards, and you couldn’t be on the team unless you met them. (Both these sermons are worth your time (48 minutes for Born to Reproduce and  74 minutes for Leroy’s How to make an Impact). 

In the meantime, let’s press on to maturity and help others do the same!

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4.11 – 13, NIV, emphasis mine)

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.13, 14, NIV)