It is difficult to propose that God's leaders should do less. Everything within us spurs us forward, demanding our best for the God of Heaven. Our culture has imposed upon us the imperative of more. Additionally, we have been trained to believe we are essential to the victory. There is not a scenario, in our minds, that would justify doing less for a God who has given His everything. We cling to that narrative. God wants it all! We find ourselves compelled to give it all. We are driven to it. Here is what we have failed to grasp: sometimes, many times, less IS more. Less of us leaves more for Him. Less of us allows God to shine through. Our less is God's opportunity to reveal Himself in ways that our actions tend to overshadow. For a lack of a healthy ethic of less, we incorrectly conclude that our victory is contingent upon our wisdom and efforts. That is why God sends Gideon out to battle without so much as a sword. That is the reason people march around Jericho blowing horns and why a no-name shepherd boy struck down the most imposing warrior of his generation. Time and again, God pushes Israel (and us) to the brink of absurdity just to prove His point: He, the Lord of Hosts, IS the victory. When Less Is More challenges us with a God who is sufficient. It posits that our efforts are more about aligning ourselves with God's will than tipping the scales in God's favor. Our challenge is to be less present and less essential to the work. It is to trust God with His church. We question: what does ministry look like when we lead less and follow more? Can it be that less of us lead us more readily to God's success? It is a hard conclusion to like, but, like John, we may need to decrease so that God can increase. Why? Because less (of us) is more from God's perspective.
About the Author: K. Paul Dawson's journey in ministry consists of two decades of mission work and an additional fifteen years of church renewal. His work has stretched from the Amazon jungle to the Arctic Circle. He has served as a church planter, educator, evangelist and author. While his path has been unique, the process hasn't. Like others before him, his spiritual identity began with a naïve trust in what was known. The problem, however, is that one never knows what he doesn't know. So, knowledge is compelled to yield to mystery and Paul's appreciation of God grandeur came to exceed the scope of his knowledge. Next came a certain pride in what had been achieved. That too was revealed to be vanity-for reasons too numerous to mention. With a touch of maturity, he began a focus on what he was becoming by the grace of God. That was a positive step. Lastly, he arrived at life's defining question: what motivates and consumes us? Does God stand at the center of our life or not? That represents a common spiritual trajectory. It begins with the arrogance of knowledge and ends with a God that transcends it. Hence, we start ministry full of ourselves-but conclude it, hopefully, filled with awe. What qualifies Paul to write on this specific theme is his keen awareness of how unqualified he is to do so. Paul, at long last, grasps the irony of ministry: We go out by the power of God's intent on changing the world. Yet, ministry anticipates the transformation of just one individual: YOU! Paul submits this volume hoping that his journey and story can help transform yours.