Home Pastors Articles for Pastors Could Your Church Use Some Good Luck?

Could Your Church Use Some Good Luck?

Is there such a thing as luck? Some Christians say they don’t believe in luck. Some pastors lament, in their quiet moments, the good fortune of other churches while questioning why they haven’t received such blessing themselves. “How come they’re so lucky?” they wonder. By “luck,” they are usually referring to some coincidence that happens to one’s advantage.

Well, if one doesn’t believe in luck, perhaps it’s OK to attribute these fortuitous happenstances to God. So the question the pastor’s soul asks becomes that of Esau: “Have you no blessing for me?” But this leaves a question dangling: if it comes from God, why does God bless some with these holy happenstances more than others? Is it because they are more faithful? Is it because He is random with His favor–as some believe Him to be in blessing Jacob over Esau.

I don’t know.

God’s ways are mysterious. However, my experience has been the more ready you are, the more “lucky” you become. Even as we ready ourselves for Christ’s return, we need to ready ourselves for mission. Perhaps we can even say faithfulness in mission is part of readying ourselves for Christ’s return. The Parable of the Talents would suggest so. What we believe is “luck” is usually God blessing those He hopes will be faithful in using that blessing to advance His Kingdom.

We can’t expect God to entrust His precious lost to churches in constant turmoil, that treat people poorly, or are inwardly focused or lazy. We can’t expect God to pour out generosity if we’re misspending the money we have, lack faith God could do it, or have no plan for what we’d do with it if it happened.

Over the years, all churches receive what might be called random acts of blessing. However, they don’t all handle it the same.

Some aren’t ready for it. Their lamps aren’t lit. They are caught off guard by it so they watch it pass or get a poor ROL (return on ‘luck’–as Jim Collins refers to it). Others, I believe, handle blessing so poorly God begins to withhold it. “To whom much is given, much is required” and “He who is faithful with little will be given more” deserve some serious reflection by every church leader. Taken alongside the Parable of the Talents, it seems God doesn’t promise equal blessing. He seeks equal preparation for and faithfulness in handling whatever blessing He provides–even as He admits a preference for good stewards in whom He chooses.