Jason Hatley here . . . Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey and Founder of www.WorshipLeaderInsights.com, with a reminder and some encouragement for you this morning.
“On it’s best day, ministry is hard.”
That is the advice my Lead Pastor, Nelson Searcy, shared with me when I was first starting in ministry.
What God has called us to do is no easy task. It’s hard work on it’s best day. And I don’t even want to talk about it’s worst day!
One of the biggest misconceptions about ministry is that, since it’s God’s work, it’s always fulfilling, fascinating and fun.
But a year into ministry and you realize that while it is all of those things sometimes, it’s not all of those things all the time.
When you’re short on budget, short on volunteers, short on time, and short on enthusiasm, ministry can seem anything but fun.
We all go through dark valleys in ministry. Some of them last a day; others last for years. But those who thrive in ministry over the long run, understand how to get through the dark valleys without losing their focus on what they’ve been called to do, and who has called them to do it.
Winston Churchill said, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
True in his life, and true in your ministry.
So, as you face the “hard days” of ministry (either right now, or next week), here are 3 ways that you can overcome the daily struggles, and stay fully engaged in ministry for the long run:
#1 – Acknowledge the Spiritual Struggle.
The work we have been called to is spiritual. So we should not be surprised that many of the challenges we face are spiritual as well. The devil knows that if he can turn you from passionate to pitiful, then he’s won the battle.
The best way to overcome these spiritual attacks is through keeping your own relationship with God and spiritual disciplines strong. It’s easier to feel defeated when your walk with God has diminished. And don’t be afraid to read on the subject of Spiritual Warfare. Brian Brodersen has a great little book called Spiritual Warfare and it’s well worth a read.
#2 – Keep a positive attitude.
The devil might throw some challenges your way, but he has NO control over one very important thing… your attitude and response to those challenges. You and you alone decide that.
John Maxwell says, “A person with an outstanding attitude makes the best of it while he gets the worst of it.”
You may not be able to control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond. If you allow a negative attitude to take root in your soul, then the challenges you face in ministry will only feed it, and the negativity will only grow. But if you decide to keep a positive attitude in the midst of frustration, you will be able to “get through”, while others are just “getting stuck”.
#3 – Don’t make it harder than it has to be.
As I’ve taught and coached worship leaders over the last 6 years I have found that oftentimes we are our own worst enemy when it comes to the difficulty of ministry.
- Our lack of time management skills means we work longer hours than we need.
- Our lack of a worship planning system means we’re living in the tension of planning the service week-to-week, always under the gun and never getting ahead.
- Our lack of an effective audition system means our teams are rarely adding new volunteers, and our current volunteers are burning out.
Listen – Ministry is hard enough; let’s not make it harder than it has to be.
By keeping your spiritual life strong, maintaining a worshipful attitude, and creating healthy personal growth and ministry leadership systems, you can keep the passion of ministry alive in your heart for many years to come.
Your partner in ministry,
Jason
Share This Post
© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.
About Nelson Searcy
