Below you’ll find the show notes for episode 97, The Dangers of Spiritual Shortcuts, from the Women’s Ministry Toolbox Podcast and YouTube channel.

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The Dangers of Spiritual Shortcuts in Ministry

We’ve talked about loving our ladies with meal trains, newborn and grief baskets, Sonshine boxes, and hospital care packages. Today, we’re going to shift from the practical to the spiritual.

We love our ladies well when we avoid and discourage spiritual shortcuts.

What is a spiritual shortcut?

Shortcuts are a path we take to reach a destination faster. When we’re driving from one location to the next, there’s nothing wrong with taking the shortcut.

Spiritual shortcuts are the things we do to grow quicker faster, but they actually have the opposite effect. We miss out on opportunities to grow and people God placed on the path. We miss seeing God at work when we get off God’s path. We fail to enjoy the journey.

Before I unpack this topic I want to open God’s Word. God’s words are always more important than what I have to say on a topic.

As I thought about places in the Bible that talk about spiritual shortcuts, several people came to mind.

• Eve ate the fruit because she wanted to become wise like God.
• Lot chose the land he wanted to live in (next to Sodom and Gomorrah) without seeking the Lord.
• Sarah got tired of being barren and took matters into her own hands.

Let’s take a look at some key moments in the story of Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar.

We’re going to jump right into the story where God has come to Abram (as he’s called at this point) in a dream.

Genesis 15:4-6 says, “And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Up to this point, Sarai has been barren. Both she and Abram are past their child-bearing years. This was big news that would require a miracle.

Sarai apparently got tired of waiting for God to work and took a spiritual shortcut.

Genesis 16:1-2 says, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Abram slept with Sarais’s servant, Hagar, and a baby was born. He was named Ismael. Turn the page and we find God reminding Abram of the covenant He had made with him.

Genesis 17:6 says, “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.” God’s plan for these offsprings was not through Hagar but through Sarai.

Genesis 17:16 says, “I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Both Abraham and Sarah (God had given them new names at this point) laughed at God’s promise. No doubt it seemed incredible and unlikely.

A few chapters later, in Genesis 21:1-2, we read, “The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.”

According to Genesis 16:16, Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born. When Issac was born, Abraham was 100 years old. Sarah and Abraham waited 14 more years for God’s promise to be fulfilled.

Spiritual shortcuts can delay and sometimes remove God’s blessings.

Sanctification is for those who are saved. It is the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives that is leading us to become more like Christ. There’s no shortcut.

Spiritual fruit takes time to ripen. It requires abiding in Christ. That’s not to say God won’t use a video, book, person, or sermon along the way, but the Holy Spirit primarily speaks through God’s Word. That is the only source we can trust completely – when it’s rightly interpreted.

As we think about women’s ministry, where are some places we try to take spiritual shortcuts:

1. We borrow a devotional written by an author or a stranger rather than sharing about what God is doing in our own life or asking a woman in your church to share.
2. You may have heard me say we need to go to God before we Google. We also need to search the Scriptures and follow the Holy Spirit before we plug in our question to AI. (Artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT.)
3. Using AI to write a lesson or outline all of the plans for an event.
4. We might skip over leadership training or event planning because we don’t have the time or we think winging it is the same as letting the Holy Spirit lead. We miss out on sweet times of prayer and planning with the Lord.
5. It’s easy to outsource Bible study and retreat teachings. Videos and speakers aren’t necessarily outside of God’s plan, but if we never provide the women in our church the opportunity to use their gifts and grow in them, we need to stop and ask why. Are we taking a spiritual shortcut? Is it easier to outsource than to train our own women and review what they are presenting?

What are ways our women try to take spiritual shortcuts:

1. Watch the church service online
2. Read a devotional instead of studying their Bible
3. Do an online Bible study rather than attending in-person
4. Hire a Christian coach instead of seeking out an older, wiser woman in their church for wise counsel and prayer
5. Reading through the Bible in a year for the tenth time, but never slowing down to study scripture – skimming instead or saturating.
6. They choose to forget rather than do the work of forgiving. They hang onto anger because it’s justified. They are waiting for repentance, an apology, or acknowledgment that many never come.

If you are in the habit of taking spiritual shortcuts, ask yourself why.

• Is it an issue of over-commitment?
• Lack of capable women in your church? (Train them up! Teach them how to share a devotional, write a study, teach a Bible lesson)
• Is your personal time with God lacking? Is your to-do list taking priority?

Shortcuts almost always take us around the work that God is doing. Instead of relying on God, the Holy Spirit, or the Word, we rely on ourselves to make a better path.

Loving our ladies well means we don’t take spiritual shortcuts. We don’t outsource the things God has given us to do.

Today’s Toolbox Tasks:

1. Spend time with the Lord asking Him to reveal any area you’ve been taking spiritual shortcuts.
2. Prayerfully make a plan or list of steps to take.

God, help us to identify the spiritual shortcuts we make and help us to seek Your path and direction instead. We don’t want to miss out on the lessons and blessings along the way. Amen.

You may also want to check out:
Rethinking Fellowship: A Handbook for Hosting Meaningful Women’s Ministry Events
Loving Your Ladies: Organizing Meal Trains, Freezer Meals, and Funeral Meals
Hospital Care Packages and Sonshine Boxes: Showing Christ’s Love in Practical Ways
Newborn and Grief Baskets: Loving Our Ladies in Times of Joy and Sorrow
Leading Through Tragedy: How to Support Your Community During Difficult Times