It can get wildly discouraging very quickly when despite all of your efforts and talents you still face empty pews on a Sunday morning, or when you’ve been given a great and powerful vision by God that you have all this passion to bring to light only to have it questioned, picked apart or shutdown all under the “noble” banner of practical thinking. It is these types of experiences that can leave any Christian, pastor or teacher left feeling unheard, empty, isolated and even hypocritical when it comes down to it.
It’s easy for us to want validation and appreciation after all the effort that goes into making a ministry work, hey, it’s even logical to want that. There’s just one little problem with that, ministry is what we’re called to labor and suffer for as our own display of appreciation for what Christ has done not to showcase what we have to offer. We need to be careful about over emphasizing trivial things over where we have been called to.
Today, I am going to share with you all three tips that I received from God’s word that not only will protect us from these negative and pitfalls but will also give us a healthier perspective with our ministries as well as allowing us to enjoy the life the Lord has given us.
Remember to Smell Your Roses
We’re all guilty of looking at our workload and counting the expectations we believe others have placed on us and we use this to rationalize the thoughts of keeping our noses to the grindstone as we prepare even to sacrifice things that we would rather be doing which isn’t always a bad thing unless it always becomes an expectation for us to do so.
The moment our churches and jobs begin to expect us to always be willing to give up our personal things for everything, we know for certain we have developed an unhealthy working relationship that won’t just put strain between us and our families but also on our relationship with the Lord. We need to have our own private time away from our ministries not just to recharge our energy levels but so we can properly lead our own families.
This should include first a healthy intake of scripture and prayer time to receive our filling as we prepare to go back and fill others. Second, this private time should include your spouse and kids, or if you aren’t currently married that doesn’t mean that you have a free pass to this step but rather use this time to focus on your most rewarding, highly prioritized relationships.
Finally, and most importantly while you’re taking in this private time it’s crucial that you remind yourself that this is just a break not a distraction. The difference is a distraction is an escape from responsibility and a break as a short notable relaxation recharge with the attempt to get back to your responsibilities.
If we all can learn to follow Christ’s example of “Smelling Our Roses” I am confident that not only we will find ourselves renewed and ready to do our best work but that we will have stronger, more healthier relationships with our families as well as our Lord! Keeping our hearts burning with truth rather than burning out under pressure.
Become a Listener Rather than a Speaker
As a preacher I can attest to the very real issue of always seeming like I have to have a response to a topic of conversation. If we are aiming to be as effective for the Lord as possible then we need to stop having “clever” responses or trying to fix other people’s problems when they finally open up to you and learn to just listen.
Foraging long lasting relationships is exactly how Christ was able to effectively teach his disciples the Gospel. He never corrected or interrupted others in conversation to “tweak” their feelings but rather built relationships by listening to who his people were and where they were maturity wise. It was always after Christ had established this relationship that they would come to him and intentionally give him permission to teach them.
This is not just the example we have to look up to, but it is an absolute standard that every Christian, pastor and teacher needs to imitate if we want to be effective in sharing the gospel. Stop speaking when others need us to listen.
Dare to Be Foolish
Finally, after we have adapted the core steps we have begun to set up a healthier relationship between ourselves and our ministerial work life. Nevertheless, our new perspective will never be completed until we ground ourselves firmly in “being foolish”.
1 Corinthians 2:21 KJV
“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
Focus on being vulnerable and speak with the simple words that truly reflects your own feelings and experiences that have resulted in your personal faith in Christ. Don’t be fancy, just be the you Christ called in his ministry to begin with and let the Lord’s work be His work alone!
I hope this article not only has touched you in some way but has offered you a fresh sense of renewal. We don’t have to face the dreaded pain that comes with burnout or have to overwork ourselves in order to be the “ideal pastor”, we simply have to be real and genuine as we share the reason we love Christ, and let the Holy Spirit settle the rest. Don’t waste your energy on the battles that belong to the Lord and remember that it’s by the “foolishness” of preaching that men might be saved.
About the Author: John Ervin is a pastor and aspiring Christian writer who is currently serving as the pastor of Francisco General Baptist Church. He often loves to share the gospel alongside his wife and 7 year old daughter.