Often, we make the same ministry mistakes again and again. But does it have to be that way? God's Word reminds us that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world (See 1 John 4:4). That means mistakes needn't be thought of as failures or as final. Instead, they're an opportunity to learn and to grow.
Here are three mistakes I believe the church is making and some thoughts on how we can avoid repeating them.
1. Putting new wine in old wineskins. The Holy Spirit not only is ministering in powerful ways to churches today, but also providing structures that are closer to New Testament principles. I'm convinced He has given us the cell- and small-group movements to prepare us for service and persecution.
Burnout—that's something that happens to other people in ministry, right? At least that's what I thought until a few years ago when it happened to me.
Like most good ministers, I was living my emotional life on the edge. An overcrowded schedule, unguarded private time and very few boundaries contributed to a severe case of burnout that eventually pushed me over the edge. I spiraled down into a state of clinical depression that lasted over a year and a half.
What did I do? I kept it hidden until I could hide it no longer. Finally, I sought help and found it. Fortunately, it never displaced me from ministry, but it easily could have. Needless to say, I'm on the backside of it, and I lived to tell my story.
Burnout is a serious problem in America today, particularly for clergy and professional people. It is primarily a recent malady caused by the busyness of modern-day society.
The life and work of a pastor is tough. You don't need anyone else to tell you that. But, in addition to personal experience—my father is a lifelong pastor, and some of my best friends work in churches—I also have a unique vantage point: in my dozen years at The Barna Group I have studied the lives and ministries of nearly 10,000 pastors. Research we recently conducted provides some intriguing insights about pastors today. Check out these outcomes to see what you might learn about your own ministry.
1. Many pastors say they struggle with their personal relationships. Our research shows that a majority of pastors admit that they have difficulty making and maintaining genuine friendships. And one out of six pastors say they feel under-appreciated in their ministry. The question for you to consider is this: Do you have deep, accountable and enjoyable relationships outside the context of your congregation?
I've never been one to take the obvious path. When I was a teenager, my father gave me the simple job of stacking some firewood as he left for work one day. There was a part of me that resisted facing such a labor-intensive job, but even stronger was the part of me that resisted doing it in an ordinary way.
So as I started moving the wood around, I was gradually overcome by a desire to create something that had never been done before. What should have been a mundane chore soon became a quest. For hours I stacked and restacked, cultivating the vision in my mind. By the time my father returned home, he was greeted by a masterpiece that surprised (and probably baffled) him.
As the old saying goes, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” And what is the main thing? It is surely this: Why Jesus died on the cross. The most important decision I made at Westminster Chapel in 25 years was to invite Arthur Blessitt, the man who has carried a cross around the world, to preach for us. Arthur preached for us six Sunday nights in a row and turned us upside down. I nearly got thrown out over it!
His contribution was threefold: First, he invited people to come forward to receive the Lord Jesus after his sermon (that had never been done before at Westminster Chapel); second, he got us to sing choruses (instead of hymns-I thought the chandeliers would fall) and third, he took us out on the streets to witness to passersby.
The thrust of Arthur Blessitt's impact on us, in a word, was: evangelism. As I look back, it is hard the believe that a church could get so upset over the changes we made in those days. Those changes moved us outside our comfort zone! We never looked back.
