"Platform" and "power" are two very different aspects in a call to ministry. A man or a woman in ministry should never settle for "platform" when it is "power" to which we all have been called.
Oprah Winfrey has "platform" in the media domain; Nancy Pelosi has "platform" in the world of politics; Gwen Stefani owns a massive "platform" in the entertainment industry. However, unless these famous women know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they will never experience the power that the precious woman who works in your church nursery has on a daily basis.
It is time to stop yearning for platform and begin to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit that we have been given. As women of the 21st century, a magnificent platform should never be the driving goal of ministry but rather at the heart of all of our lives should be a dynamic and visible power that is birthed from intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
When a man or a woman chooses to live in the daily power of the Holy Spirit, platform may present itself; however, the motivation of ministry should never be about being well known simply for the sake of notoriety. The most recognizable aspect of our lives should never be attached to book deals, TV shows, or name awareness. As modern-day Pauls, Peters and Deborahs, we must be so filled to overflowing with the power of the Holy Spirit that it is noticeable to everyone who observes our lives.
When the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is oozing out of our human pores, the world will stand back in awe and wonder. If your goal in ministry is to write another book, or to preach at a well-attended conference or to garner tens of thousands of followers on social media, perhaps it is time for you to set a more eternal goal.
I long to pray the prayers that heal a generation whether or not my books ever make Amazon's best-seller list.
My heart's desire is to preach the gospel messages in small churches, in obscure villages and on street corners even if I never appear on a popular Christian talk show.
I want my life, like the life of Paul and Silas, to turn the world upside down, even if I only have a handful of followers on Twitter.
When people watch my life, I want them to experience the greatest power in all of eternity. If God opens doors in the arena of platform, I will walk through them, but those doors are not my goal. My goal is to be a human vessel of God's healing, sustaining and empowering Holy Spirit. When the world observes my life, I simply want them to know I have been with Jesus.
"When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were illiterate and uneducated men, they marveled. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).
Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books: No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman's Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book is Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire. Her teaching DVD, The Rooms of a Woman's Heart, won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming.
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