Whenever I bring on a new employee, I dedicate the first week or two to fully immerse them in the role—showing them the ropes, introducing key support partners, and equipping them with the training they need to excel. One particular employee had been with the team for a month and had completed all the necessary training for her daily responsibilities. This employee was ready to manage her own caseload.
One day we received a customer inquiry that the team had never encountered. The inquiry was assigned to the new employee. After reviewing the request, the employee wasn’t sure how to research the inquiry. For the next 20 minutes, we went over the tools that were available to her. The next few hours were used to guide the employee on how to work through the inquiry. The employee’s facial expression conveyed annoyance and frustration.
I had the employee to reach out to the analyst for additional assistance. Explaining the customer inquiry, what their research entailed, and where they were getting stuck. The analyst was a major help in that he provided additional resources and how to use those resources. While he didn’t provide the employee the “answer”, the tools provided helped her to build on her current knowledge and resolve the customer inquiry.
This situation got me to thinking about our roles within the community of Jesus Christ as believers, teachers, pastors, choir members, ushers, and any other roles. In the above situation you will see that I nor the analyst provided the employee with the answer. In using the resources that was provided to the employee she was able to provide the customer with an accurate resolution to their issue. As daunting as this task was it would have been much simpler to provide the employee with the answer and have her, the analyst, and myself continue on with the day.
While I strongly thought about doing that; this would have brought this employee too much comfort in the form of relying on us vs. relying on the resources available.
In modern churches today, we have become all about people’s comfort—offering quick answers and solutions to spiritual struggles without encouraging believers to seek God for themselves.
While it’s easy to provide a simple response, this approach can hinder spiritual growth, leaving individuals dependent on others rather than fostering their own relationship with God. Just as it’s important to teach someone how to use the tools at their disposal, it’s equally vital in our faith journeys to equip believers to search the Scriptures, pray for discernment, and develop a deep, personal connection with Christ.
Too often, we avoid discomfort and the stretching of our faith because it feels easier to rely on someone else’s guidance. But God calls us to maturity, to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). When we only seek comfort, we miss out on the deeper understanding, wisdom, and strength that come from wrestling with the Word of God ourselves.
In the same way that teaching employees to rely on their resources empowers them, encouraging believers to seek God in their struggles builds a stronger, more resilient faith.
Ease & Stillness,
Chetoca B.
Lena Walker
Amen to that! I never thought of relating that approach to encouraging believers as a means to strengthening their faith. As I think about the many interns I’ve had in my years of tenure, I wish I could have thought of it in this fashion. It may have gone a little different…I may have taught them a little differently. Nevertheless, they got what they needed to go forwarded as productive educators.
One thing for sure and two things for certain, going forward in my leadership positions, I’ll definitely use this approach. 💞