Does Your Net Work?

A few years ago, I was working on a special project. As a part of that project, I proposed the notion that one of the reasons that some people in ministry don’t draw or attract is in part due to “using the wrong technique, being in the wrong location, using the wrong bait, or operating in the wrong timing.” Today, a question that I’ve been pondering is whether your net works. This isn’t just something that can be applied to ministry but it can also apply to business, personal relationships, and more. Ask yourself, is the net that I’ve been using working for me?

In business, people are often encouraged to “network” in order to make the connections necessary to promote themself, get a job, expand or broaden their reach, or grow in an area where there might be some stagnation. However, Jesus’ net-work was strategically cast widely but designed to draw with a degree of specificity.

Jesus cast a wide net to draw the hungry and thirsty souls, those neglected by the religious, the wounded and weary, the poor, the captive, and the brokenhearted. This wide net did not ignore the rich or powerful but did put a demand on the draw.

So, ask yourself first, the question of whether you’re casting a wide enough net to draw those you desire to reach. Whether your net is a book that you’re writing, a business that you’re running, or a speech that you’re giving, you’ll want the net that you cast to be wide enough to reach the most people possible but specific enough to draw the ones you really have the greatest heart for. It’s plain to see that Jesus’ heart was for the world but also had a great disdain for evil and those who exploited the people. Ensuring that your net has been cast wide enough helps to maximize reach.

However, there can still be a measure of specificity in your net cast. That’s where timing, location, and bait play a unique role.

It’s interesting that when Jesus commissioned the apostles, he made sure that they began saying, “you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). This speaks to a strategy of where and in what order to casting the net. In a sense, there is a beginning with an area that is closest and branches outward. This speaks to familiarity and then broadening to places that may be outside your normal grid of operation.

The military, when conquering territory often begins with the place that is most advantageous and then branches out from there, making sure that they have a strong base of occupation. Business often employs these same strategies when they franchise or establish a new territory in other regions and nations.

If you want to know if your net is working for you, you’ll have to do some inspection. That’s one of the things the disciples who were fishermen did after being out on the water. They actually took the time after fishing to inspect their nets to make sure that the net was not tangled, was not ripped, or had gaping holes that could lead to them not catching the fish they were expecting.

As we’re coming to the end of the year, it may be somewhat of an unofficial tradition to do some introspection and reflection to see how your year went. You may ask yourself how effective you’ve been in accomplishing the goals you’ve set for yourself. Did you reach the people you wanted to reach? Jesus called the ones he had the most influence with apostles because they would be sent to reach the people in those other areas beyond where he’d been sent to go.

In this day in which we live, we too are being looked to in order to reach and draw in a very distinct way. As followers of Christ, we’re called to be disciple-makers, culture healers, and ministers of reconciliation. Now is the opportune time to do some net inspections to see if your net actually works, or if you need to do some mending. It’s my prayer that over the next few weeks, you’ll find ways to ensure that your net works.