By Jeremy Linneman, pastor of Trinity Community Church in Columbia, Missouri

In the fall of 2019, I began to hit a wall spiritually and emotionally. I was tired from two and a half years of church planting, and my spiritual life was weak and cold. Things in the church were going well, yet I still had the sense we weren’t seeing the spiritual fruit I hoped to witness. Most of all, I was frustrated that I was doing everything I could to manage it all—the church plant, my family, my other responsibilities—and yet felt like I was failing.

Perhaps you know the feeling.

In that moment, the Lord graciously showed me that my problem wasn’t that I needed to work harder. My issue was that I was working too much. Or rather, that I was relying on my work to grow and lead the church. I was controlling my ministry, managing it, and stressing over it. God invited me to instead release it to him. The church belongs to him anyway. These are his children, the flock of his pasture. He’s the Good Shepherd, not me.

This breakthrough drew me into a season of prayer and renewal that was more powerful than any other season of personal growth I’ve experienced. It also led to a deeper prayer life and totally new way of doing ministry. I later discovered Francis Schaeffer said it better than me:

The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism, nor . . . postmodernism, consumerism, and other more contemporary isms. The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually or corporately, [tends] to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit.

As we approach another beautiful Holy Weekend—Good Friday, Silent Saturday, and Easter Sunday—let’s rest in this truth: Our Father cares more for our churches than we do. He’s infinitely more powerful and wise than we are. His ways are better than ours. We can rest in his power and love, releasing our innate desire to control, protect, and strive. This Easter, let’s enjoy the first-time visitors, evangelistic opportunities, and baptism celebrations. Let’s pour our hearts into them. And let’s also not take it upon ourselves to make things happen. We’re merely messengers and stewards. The pressure is off. The Father loves us. The Spirit will move. And Jesus will keep building his church. Let’s seek his face, pray for his will to be done, and trust him with all he wants to do this weekend. To him be the glory! Amen and amen.

—Jeremy Linneman