After multiple delays of a short flight home to Miami, I was upset as I lay back on the bed in a small Cuban bed and breakfast close to the Havana airport. After over an hour of self-pity, I suddenly saw the incredible beauty and intricacy of the 70- to 80-year-old sculpted ceiling that had been above me the whole time.
Who had so beautifully crafted this? What tremendous creative and constructive excellence, to build a home ceiling so as to be perfectly intact decades later! Amazed at my prior blindness, my heart was touched and my soul elevated by the unexpected gift and grace.
As usual, the Holy Spirit was sovereignly and gracefully at work, surprising me, and creatively transforming loss into life and negativity into learning. In just a few seconds He took me from “airport grief” to the contemplation of beauty and the remembrance of Bezalel in the book of Exodus.
I began to read, and was reminded that in the several times he is mentioned in Exodus 35–38, Bezalel and his team were filled by the Holy Spirit not to pray for the sick or plant a church (wonderful pursuits), but to use their marketplace crafts and skills in a way that greatly reflected His glory and served strategically.
It fascinated me that they were probably not “full-time” or career church leaders. In today’s terms, Bezalel, Aholiab and their team were probably not even “credentialed”! Yet it seems they were quality professionals in the marketplace, chosen and filled by His power, and released by their leaders to serve and create. And then, in chapter 37, they had the incredible privilege of building the Ark of the Covenant!
While it might be a small hermeneutical stretch, I would suggest that Bezalel and team were both fulfilled and transformed by the supernaturally empowered services they rendered, and by the strong affirmation they received from healthy leaders who released them to do so.
Prayer Points
As I meditated on these texts, I prayed that, as a Foursquare leader, I would do the following:
- Use every opportunity to open doors, commission and release modern “craftsmen” (and women), from plumbers to bankers and teachers, to use their great creativity and abilities in their kingdom ambassadorial roles everywhere.
- Publicly celebrate, value and honor Foursquare servants who labor during the week in “secular” environments, not as the unfortunate ones who are stuck in an unholy place, but as laborers called and sent by the King into the harvest. Maybe we could even follow the example of Old Testament leaders and write some beautiful verses about them?
- Not to be afraid to invite lay servants of all walks of life to help in even our most holy and “sacred” church activities and liturgy. Who knows, they might make them even more beautiful?
- Walk in and lead others in the discovery of the wonderful biblical balance of calling, competence and (supernatural) community. Bezalel, even as one of the best craftsmen in the world, served on a team!
Our Foursquare pews are full of called and anointed talent. May we as leaders grow in our ability to commission them, just as Jesus would, in 2017!
Share your thoughts. See comments below, and add your own.
