READ: Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” – Ecclesiastes 1:9
Copying is the natural way to increase. The natural way that all of creation multiplies is by producing another of the same kind.
The natural way that the church will grow from glory to glory is to shamelessly learn from those ahead. I do not dispute that there are other ways to move forward. But I can share what has worked for me. Copy! Copy! Copy! Become another of the same kind. I want to be like my fathers who have gone ahead of me. I want to be exactly like them. I want to be like Jesus. I don’t need to have any unique characteristics.
Copying causes you to discover that there is nothing new under the sun. Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun. This is a fact that you must accept. You have nothing new to offer and your life will not introduce anything special.
Like most ministers, I once thought I was introducing something new. I thought I had some new gifts and ideas, which no one else had ever had. With time, I discovered that all that I was doing had been done before. Every single thing I am doing and saying I have found people who did them and said them before I did.
The truth about my ministry is that I am simply following hard after others I genuinely admire. I want to be like them and I am not ashamed to say so! I like their spirit! I like their flow! If I can be a copy of something that is working it would be a great achievement for me.