Eli Marez Proves There is Reward!

by Eli Marez (Phoenix 1998) 

In the mid-1990s, when the DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative was in the ideation phase, Eli Marez was one of the original voices that the DeVos family listened to before the program’s launch. In the company of the late Richard DeVos and other DeVos family members, Eli remembers hearing firsthand the family’s vision and their “heart’s desire to serve ministry leaders in urban communities across this nation.” That was more than a quarter century ago!  

“How time flies when you are having fun,” says Eli, Senior Pastor of Renewed Life Church in Peoria, Arizona. As one of the first four city coordinators to experience the DVULI investment, Eli admits the road to breakthrough and longevity was not void of personal and ministry surprises, hardships, and ultimate refining. In his own words, this seasoned DVULI alumnus opens up about what God allowed him to endure and the life lessons that would follow.  

I was once among the number of pastors and leaders you have heard of where God opened a wave of blessings that included notoriety, the applause of people, and financial increase. What I knew I could never do on my own, God provided.  

Then it came—little by little, at a pace that was undetected by me or even those around me. My heart began to stray, and before I knew it, I lost my marriage of 25 years and the ministry that God had entrusted to me.  

Then it came—little by little, at a pace that was undetected by me or even those around me. My heart began to stray, and before I knew it, I lost my marriage of 25 years and the ministry that God had entrusted to me.  

I will never forget the moment I was hit with the reality of what had happened. It was a day celebrating the part of the vision we had worked so hard for—the grand opening of an organization that would serve the families in our community. It was “my baby.” On this beautiful sunny day, I was invited to be there, not to participate but as a guest. I stood alone among hundreds of people in the back of the crowd. “Mr. Maryvale” (a title given to me by the local leaders), standing in the back? This encounter sent me on a dark road of seven long years of wandering and loss I never thought I would experience. Today, I am so thankful for God’s everlasting love and grace for me. He brought me through it all.  

Today, I am so thankful for God’s everlasting love and grace for me. He brought me through it all.  

After 48 years of pastoring, my views are different now compared to when I was just getting started. My life is not the same in many ways because God has restored me and made my life better, and I give Him all Glory. My hope is that my wisdom has increased in these older years and that I’ve learned through my mistakes. I want to offer those who continue to emerge and press forward in ministry some essential lessons from my own leadership trajectory. These may not be for every leader, but I hope some will find them helpful.  

 

1.) Make sure what you believe God wants you to do is a calling, not just an idea. 

I can look back when I was in my twenties and recall the men I was in ministry with, only to realize that less than half are still in ministry. Ministry is a call from God, entrusted to you, affirmed, and confirmed by those spiritual men who surround you. Ideas come and go, but the call of God remains. 

 

2.) Refuse the temptation to compare. 

When you’re young, you will face this one for sure. You’re trying to figure out many things, giving it your best, and even looking to others to find your way. Role models are a blessing, but don’t cross the line to compare yourself with them. You are uniquely you.  

 

 3.) Expect failures. 

I wish this were not true, but it is. Expect to be betrayed, even by those closest to you. Expect to get hurt many times over because when you love people, those closest to you will betray you. Expect to be broken. God can’t use you unless He breaks you first. 

  

4.) Remember, it’s not yours. 

This is God’s work, not yours. He chose you to entrust His work to you. These are not your people; they are God’s people. You were chosen to shepherd and love them through the good and the bad. 

  

5.) There are no quick successes in God’s work. 

Anything that will last will be a load of hard work and knee-bending moments crying out to God. You will face moments that cause you to second-guess God and yourself. You will face mountains in the form of problems, challenges, and roadblocks you thought you would never face. God’s greatest goal is different than yours. Yours may be to get it done, but God’s greatest work is what He will do in you. 

  

6.) Make sure you have dealt with your past. 

Your past will haunt you, and Satan will make sure of it. I have seen young men and women run headlong into great trouble while in ministry because they have not dealt biblically with their past. The sins of their youth have not been addressed with God and with godly men. To their detriment, the sins of their youth are unresolved in their adult life. 

  

7.) Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 

God must be your first love. God gives no room for any other kind of love in your heart. He is jealous for you. He will not share His love with anything else or anyone else in your heart. He wants your love to be for Him. If your love for the vision He has given you is greater than your love for Him, you are on a downward path of self-reliance. 

  

8.) Know when it’s time to sit and when it’s time to walk again. 

This is self-examination time. It takes a lot of courage to admit that things are out of line with you and God. The hard fact is that when you continue with a misaligned heart at home, in your marriage, or in other relationships, you do a disservice to the people you are called to lead. I’ve always said that one of the greatest gifts you can give to your people is a healthy leader—one who is open before God and others and knows when it’s time for a vacation, a sabbatical, and even an extended time to sit. I promise that if you do this and give yourself the time to heal and restore, God will let you know when it’s time to walk again. 

Someone wise said, “When God has a difficult work to be done, He will take a difficult person and crush him.” Stay close to Him. He is and will be your greatest reward. 

“When God has a difficult work to be done, He will take a difficult person and crush him.”

Eli Marez (Phoenix 1998) is the Senior Pastor of Renewed Life Church in Peoria, Arizona. By his side is his wife, Monique Marez, who serves as worship leader at the church.   

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Gerald Bell (Kansas City 2003) contributed to this article. 

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Eli Marez (Phoenix 1998) is the Senior Pastor of Renewed Life Church in Peoria, Arizona. By his side is his wife, Monique Marez, who serves as worship leader at the church.