Developing Leaders & Building a Legacy
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Other Works

Ministry is for Grown Ups

8/12/2019

1 Comment

 
Check out what one of my favorite Twitter follows, Josh King, has to say about pastors who use their social media to whine about how hard their job is.

Imagine what it'd be like if we got on Facebook and saw our kid's teacher griping about unreasonable parents, or our doctor posting about being inconvenienced by an emergency call in the middle of the night. Or the President using social media... nevermind. Not going there.
Picture
Seriously though, ministry leaders, we have to stop airing our grievances like every Monday is Festivus. Ministry, especially pastoring, is for grown ups. There's a biblical command for maturity to be entrusted with leadership in the church, and part of the expectations for pastoral leadership is that they'll be well thought of by those outside the church. That last one is where I believe we can find a direct principle link to how we post and how we talk about our jobs.

I love how Josh calls pastoring a "great privilege and honor." It truly is. It's incredibly humbling to be able to week after week stand and preach. It's even more humbling to be invited into people's lives during their worst (and best) moments. It's an honor when people share about how you have impacted their lives. Those are memories over the years I've treasured, and in many cases kept the cards.

When we complain about our job or about the work/task of ministry, we're doing dishonor to the high calling we've been given. God called you to be a conduit of His ministry and work among His people. It's incredible that God would use any of us to accomplish His work. And work it is. It's hard work. It's time consuming. Sermons don't appear out of thin air. Meetings don't plan themselves. Administration doesn't just fall into place. And developing other people doesn't happen in a microwave. You'll work hard. At least you should. But it's good work because it's the exercise of God's gifting and calling in your life.

It can also build contempt among the church. Can you imagine being in a church where the ministry leaders think everyone is out to get them (and post about it), or who complain about how their ministry obligations keep them super busy? Those church members who hear that are working 40-50 hours a week, balancing family obligations, and on top of that committing to attend and serve in the church. (chances are they don't get Fridays off) On a more pragmatic level, when we complain about the church, not just publicly but privately, we're breeding contempt among the people whose generosity and sacrificial giving enable our livelihood.

Lazy pastors foster a complaining culture. When I was a teenager I worked for my dad off and on in a warehouse. During the summer it'd be 130 on the top floor and I'd leave every day drenched. The complainers were usually the ones putting in the least work. Same principle applies in ministry: busy pastors don't have time to complain. I love how Paul admonishes us in Ephesians 5:16 to make the best use of our time. We don't have long. And we can spend that producing fruit in our ministry, or complaining that we got apples instead of oranges.

Here's what has helped me be more grateful as a pastor: taking 15 minutes every Monday to write 2 thank you notes to someone in our church who helped make Sunday better. Postcards are cheap to send. And it helps me be more grateful for the incredible privilege and honor it is to be a pastor.
1 Comment
dissertation writing services reviews link
9/3/2019 12:26:58 am

Ministry is for grown ups, but that is because it takes a lot of maturity to handle it. I am not saying that children should not get involved in them, in fact, I encourage children to be more involved in them. I know a lot of people will have different opinions regarding this, and I am simply giving my own take on this topic. I hope that we can all have a nice lengthy discussion about this at some other time.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Scott M. Douglas

    A blog about leadership and the lasting legacy of family ministry. ​

    Archives

    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    April 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    Book Review
    Burnout
    Change
    Crisis
    Delegation
    Digital Presence
    Family
    Family Ministry
    Finances
    Goals
    Leadership
    Legacy
    Manhood
    Networking
    Parenting
    Personality
    Planning
    Relationships
    Salary
    Social Media
    Starting Well
    Student Ministry
    Teaching
    Team Leadership
    Team Ministry
    Time Management
    Vision

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Other Works