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What is Outflow Anyway? (Part Two)
By Steve Sjogren

An Interview With Steve Sjogren About Outflowing

PART TWO

Serve - For an overworked pastor who’s struggling to get by financially, as many do, what words could you offer to get him or her to take that first step toward “outflow” in their own approach to life and to ministry?

SRS - First, I have been for a long time that exact pastor.

More than one-third of my time in ministry has been spent living below the poverty line as it is defined by the IRS. I don’t just understand this situation, I have been camped out there for a long time.

Great churches come in all sizes – small, medium and large. But Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the heart of the Father is for his family to be continually growing. He wants all churches to be growing churches – not that all churches will be eventually any particular size. If your church is average, this year alone 15% will leave by one means or another. That means, you are not simply a maintenance – settler leader/ pastor. There is at least an element of “Evangelist” in all leaders who are going forward.

Throw off all of the “undoable” definitions that have been falsely place upon your shoulders of what evangelism means.

Two simple ideas that will launch you forward to heights you have only dreamed of:

Network. Don’t picture an over-eager insurance salesman (the ineffective kind, by the way) with a polyester suit… Jesus was the world’s best networker. He loved and accepted all who came to him with a desire to move forward in life. He left the work of change up to God’s Spirit. Acceptance is not the same as Approval in the least. As we connect with those we meet – more will come across our path. Pray daily, “God, send lots of new people my way – and I will, with your power flowing through me, include them.”

Part B of that is to steadily train your people to be networkers in turn – pass on to them what you are learning about how to network in your city, in that context, for each place is unique.

Don’t own the responsibility to “Pastor” or “Heal” all who are coming your way.

There is a big difference between being a pastor and being a leader.

Many reading this are frustrated I suspect because of what “isn’t” happening. But as soon as God begins to bless, send newcomers your way, add momentum, you pastor the daylights out of them and keep the lid / ceiling so low, you self-sabbotage what God desires to do.

Your role is to develop leaders.

You raise up lots of “pastors” – you don’t need to call them that or even give them a title. There are likely in your midst several “pastors” who are more skilled at caring for others than you. Let them loose! Bless them! Don’t wait for permission. I grant you that now! Jesus has granted to you to in many many passages in the scriptures.

After you have grown your denomination will come around and ask how you did it. Then you can figure it out – but it will have a lot to do with this simple simple idea here.

Serve - In your own spiritual leadership, can you recall a few specific instances in which outflow was especially effective and rewarding for you and the Kingdom?

 SRS - I could give literally hundreds of examples.

Here is one for brevity’s sake:

As I walked into my official “office” (My real office is a toss up between Starbucks, Panera, Borders Café – I am committed to spending the majority of my time where the people are – not behind a desk where people have to find me – “among the people” is the operative phrase in the gospels and Acts), and I noticed a guy was pacing back and forth smoking cigarettes.

I thought to myself, “Something great is going to happen here.”

This guy that I had never seen nor met said, “I have to talk to you Steve…”

I led him back to my office.

He proceeded to tell me that he was having some sort of “conniption” as he termed it.

His family was falling apart:

he was long divorced
his daughters hadn’t talked to him in two years
he had a chronic pain situation that had caused him to begin smoking marijuana – a LOT of it each day to keep the back pain down

What should he do?

He said he had asked Jesus into his life some years before but nothing much changed.

I explained that he needed an intervention from God – something only God could do. He needed to relinquish is whole life to Jesus, and I explained what the meant in detail.

I told him that this addiction thing was obviously self-destructive but he would find it impossible to do much about it without either outside help or a move by God or medication or all of the above…

He agreed.

He begged to pray. We prayed.

Of the many thousands of one on one people I have prayed with to come to Jesus this one was memorable.

He got up, said “I feel like something physical has happened to me… don’t know what it is but something has happened.... also I need to serve somebody…”

I laughed and told him that was a line in a Dylan song.

That was 5 years ago.

Without seeing a drug specialist, he broke free from smoking, he has become an amazing leader of other servers, and is now a highly successful businessman.

That is the power of Outflow!

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