(Note: I recently tacked this piece on the end of an E-mail I shared with a good friend. In his reply, he encouraged me to put it up here on “Inside Out”. Here it is. Thanks, Eddie!)

A dear friend recently called me. She had held a particular position in her local congregation for a number of years. As she sought the Lord, she felt it was time for her to have less stress in her life. With God’s blessing, she resigned her position. A month later, a Slot Filler called and asked her if she would reconsider and resume her former position. She felt a little pressure. There were some vague feelings of guilt. She asked my advice. Here’s basically what I shared with her. At the end of the article, I’ll share my final advice.

What is a “Slot Filler”? A Slot Filler is a person, usually in a leadership role, who has the responsibility for finding people to fill certain “slots” in the local church. I picture them sitting at a phone with the latest printout of the congregational directory. Let’s see, they’ve got to find four Sunday School teachers, one deacon, two ushers, six greeters (preferably couples), and, oh, yes, someone to work with the youth department. They start punching the cute little phone buttons, mesmerized by the staccato beeps. Finally someone answers the phone. “Hello, is this Jane? Jane, we really need someone to work with the kindergarten children. I know you’re soooooooooo good with children. It would be a great blessing to the kids, and God would be soooooooooo proud of you. Good! I’ll just put your name down and you can start Sunday. Thank you.” Next step? Write Jane’s name in the slot, go down the list and find the next slot that needs filling. Work through the directory. Start punching buttons. “Hello,…..”

I have a theory about how these things happen. For Slot Fillers to exist, there be must what I call “Automatic Yessers”. An Automatic Yesser usually operates on the basis of at least a couple of flawed suppositions. First, the fact that someone in authority, whom they respect, has asked them to fill a slot in the Kingdom, causes them to believe that being asked is synonymous with God’s will. After all, “If it weren’t God’s will, why would brother or sister so-and-so ask me?”

The second flawed supposition is that if one has a gift or well-developed talent in a given area, then they are obligated to answer “yes” every time someone asks them to fill a slot in that area. Many, many times I’ve seen folks of average talent and ability left on the vine to rot because a superstar or two were filling all the slots. I am personally blessed by those who possess average talents, but are in the slot which God asked them to fill. A few well-placed superstars can certainly keep a lot of fine people from further developing their gifts and talents.

How would I like to see it done? First, I’d like to see those in leadership begin their search by asking God whom He wants to do specific “works of ministry” in the local church. Second, I’d like individual members of the local church to ask God what specific “works of ministry” He wants them to do. I’d like to do away with “Slot Fillers” and “Automatic Yessers”. I’d like to do away with the demeaning ritual in which leaders feel forced to participate in order to “fill slots”.

Does my way work? Early in my ministry, our little family moved to a small town to help complete the planting of a new church. I was a Slot Filler. I’d grown up observing other Slot Fillers in action and thought it was the only way to accomplish the Lord’s work. When the young classes needed teachers, I begged from the pulpit. I used every trick in the book. I made people believe that they were doing God some enormous favor by condescending to respond to my pleas. God helped me understand how backwards my thinking was.

The next Sunday I announced that the three younger classes were going to meet with our adult class until everyone prayed in some new God-called teachers. Within two weeks, all our classes were staffed. When we moved ten years later, we had a waiting list with the names of people who wanted to teach. Does it work? The answer would be a very emphatic “YES”.

By the way, what did I advise my friend to do. I asked her one question: Has God given you any different sense of direction in the month since you resigned? Her answer was: “No”. “My response was: “Isn’t He the one who should ask you to resume your job if He wants you to?”

If you don’t want to fall into this ancient trap, either as an “Automatic Yesser” or a “Slot Filler”, give the thoughts in this piece some serious consideration. I’d love to hear about your experiences in this area and any changes you might decide to make.

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