Until you know your assignment, you have limitation in understanding alignment. If you base alignment on any other foundation, it is, at best, temporary, or utilitarian – that is, you use or even abuse alignment instead of submitting to alignment.
While we maintain more than one alignment, given the multifaceted complexity of an international ministry with multiple assignments in multiple locations, every alignment is strategic to those assignments.
- An alignment is itself an assignment, and the alignment either feeds or frustrates your own assignment. That is, misaligning frustrates what God asks you to be and do. Authentic alignment feeds what God asks you to be and do. Alignment can be confrontational, gut-wrenchingly so, because alignment always moves you toward your assignment to be and do in transformational ways.
Never give up on alignment because surgery must be done! Never give up on alignment because confrontation with your immaturity occurs! Never give up on alignment even when it fails to meet your demands, since alignment doesn’t alignment with you but with your assignment.
- An alignment comes from God more than you. Usually it is a joy to align. Sometimes is a chore to align. Sometimes it starts out great and becomes something else because the leaders with whom you align lack integrity, demand warped levels of honor, or generally fail at fathering at some level.
You are not the one in charge of your redemption or your destiny. God is. He assigns because of what He wants for Himself and what He wants for you. Attempting to be the one in control will always make you double minded and codependent of soul.
Even this failure may not be a “run for your life” indicator. I have had some alignments that God used to teach me “what not to do.” I cried out to Him, and He said, “See that? Don’t ever do that. I want you to see and feel how that appears and feels to others. Whatever you do, don’t do that.” Of course, I knew then the alignment wasn’t permanent.
Such alignments also help you honor the healthy ones, but God may not always ask for your opinion about alignment, and God may also use you in alignment, with others, to speak into leaders wounded by previously dishonoring participants.
- Every leader should be in alignment with other leaders in ways defined by God, defined by aligning assignments.
One thing you can never tolerate, even when you are used and abused yet remain in place because of God’s timing, is for an alignment to alter your personal commitment to obeying God in personal assignment.
That doesn’t mean that you develop so much pride that you think you deserve perfect leadership and alignment.
What that means is that even in alignment, you must remain faithful to God’s assignment for you and His assignment for your alignment. You will not always be in “happy, happy, joy, joy” with the ones with whom you align. You will observe their weaknesses as well as their strengths. You will observe them doing stupid. It happens!
You will be disappointed because of false entitlement sentiments: “I thought they would make me more famous and open doors for my ministry and leadership.” (Duh.)
You will be disappointed because of false equality distortions: “I think we should all be treated the same and honored at the same level, as if we all have the same authority and anointing.” (Duh.)
You will be disappointed because of false expectation delusions: “I thought this would all be wine and roses (not whine and poses), but now I am being expected to grow, change, treated like I have something to learn…” (Duh.)
That is, alignment isn’t hiring a spiritual career consultant.
Alignment is submission of your assignment to a greater assignment in terms of scope, construction, influence, and sacrifice to God.
Alignment costs more than isolation but isolation is just plain dysfunctional.
