Intimacy with Jesus

In a world that is constantly changing, it’s important that, as ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we lead by example and prioritize our relationship with God. In my conversation with Dr. Creflo Dollar about pastoring in this new paradigm, we discussed a lot of the changes the body of Christ has seen over the past few years. Many people have lost loved ones, economies have been disrupted, and there has been an increase in violence and bloodshed. In times like these, people are searching for solace and answers. As ministers, our duty is to point people to a relationship with God, but we can’t do this effectively if we aren’t intimately connected to Him ourselves.

Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.” As the church of Christ, we need to take a step back and process the shifts that have taken place, both corporately and individually. We must seek God’s wisdom to avoid returning to the pre-pandemic hamster wheel. The truth is, there is no such thing as “church as usual.” Even though many of our lives are “getting back to normal,” we must face the fact that things have changed.

Ministers must lead by example by moving into an intimate place with God where we truly know Him. This means leaving behind the professionalism of church and reaching the end of ourselves, where our intellect is not enough to get us the rest of the way. We must allow God to change us from the inside out, deal with our hearts, reevaluate our doctrines, and cause us to rethink what we’ve been teaching people about the Gospel of Grace. As we grow in our relationship with God, we’ll become better equipped to minister to those around us.

Dr. Dollar put it best when he said, “Finally, the truth of the gospel is about to come forth and we will see a move of God like the earth has never seen before. When this happens, you’re going to see a powerful church return in the midst of all of the hell that’s going on. Once the church establishes itself in the true gospel and true intimacy with God, you’re going to see miracles, signs, and wonders, and things that you thought you’d never see come out of the church.” This is a powerful statement and one that should inspire us to strive for greater intimacy with God.

We have a choice in how we approach this time. We can choose simply to breathe a sigh of relief, say, “Wow, that was a crazy ride!” and go back to what we were doing before. Or we can choose to take the time to truly debrief with Jesus and ask Him for a new strategy for this new season. How we choose to respond will dictate how effective we are in our ministries. It’s important that we sit at Jesus’ feet, learn of Him, and move forward differently.

As we prioritize intimacy with Jesus, we will see a powerful transformation in our lives and ministries. We’ll become more effective in pointing people to a relationship with God, and we’ll see a move of God like the earth has never seen before. Jesus said we would do greater things than He did, and if we align ourselves with God, then it will come to pass. Let us strive for greater intimacy with our heavenly Father and allow Him to transform us from the inside out.