I haven't really been working in ministry that long. Truthfully, I avoided being involved in ministry for a number of years because I did not want the responsibility of leadership.
But since accepting my fate
[call] in spring 2012, I can honestly say that I have never been involved in something so rewarding. I acknowledge that I have grown in many ways since exploring various forms of ministry and that I find an inexplicable, deep peace throughout these endeavors.
However, I also find that it can be quite easy to start to feel tired and even burnt out. Working in ministry takes a lot of time, effort, and often funding without much tangible return.
Things that are tiring in ministry
- No matter what you do, people will always expect more from you than you can physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually handle.
- Being a leader means subjecting oneself to public scrutiny and criticism.
- And when you are truly servant-hearted, you long to meet every single one of these expectations. Being driven by a want to help others is the very reason you chose to accept a ministry position in the first place.
Ministry and discipleship are geared toward long-term shaping and are therefore often subject to an
incredibly looong processing time. Sometimes, you tell a person about one concept for years before seeing actual change taking place in their lives.
Sometimes you'll harp on one small issue and hit a bureaucratic wall for years as you attempt to change a simple, insignificant church policy.
Other times, you will simply fight your own struggles with apathy and feelings of ineffectiveness.
When these moments, days, and possibly even years of upward struggle come, how do we handle it? How do we continue pursuing what we believe God called us to when it seems like we're completely on our own?
Redefining your ministry assignment
Like I said before, I haven't really been at this for that long; I am learning as I go. But I would like to try my best to share a few things I've learned so far about coping with feelings of burnout. Because there really are reasons to keep going, even when we feel like quitting.
One main thing I have learned is to redefine what I am looking to in terms of perspective.
For example, it can be easy to look to the approval of others or statistical data and get hung up on the deficiencies of a church/ministry/organization.
It can be easy to look at the timeline of how long you've been striving for something lined up against a lack of progress.
But when we shift our perspective, we shift everything else. So it's best to look to God for direction on how to think about the assignment ahead of you.
A long-term missionary might look at his or her lack of influence on the people s/he has been serving for 10 years and feel like it is a waste of time. But what if s/he changed the definition of what s/he is looking for and why s/he has chosen to be on this mission in the first place?
Instead of looking at "missions" as a "soul-winning venture," why not look at "missions" as "falling in love with Jesus so much that you can't help telling someone about it?"
See, from this new perspective, it becomes less about how the other person reacts, and more about lifting the Lord's Name higher.
For someone working in a church setting, tired of constantly going and feeling like they will never please people, a redefinition of what ministry looks like can help.
Instead of looking to meet every single person's needs, look to see what opportunities the Lord is opening for you to meet specific needs. For those that you simply cannot meet, trust that the Lord will take care of them in the ways you cannot.
What ministry is really about
Ultimately, being a minister is less about our own agendas and more about allowing God to use us as His channels for ministry. It's about laying down our own ambitions and goals and asking Him to accomplish His own.
This is a difficult thing to pursue because it can be almost impossible to really gauge how we are doing.
But the beauty of that is that it also takes the pressure off, remembering that it is not about what we are doing. It is about what God is doing.
Are you trusting in the Lord to use you for His glory? Or do you find yourself constantly striving to meet goals and expectations?
Are you pursuing people more than you are pursuing God? Are you pursuing the appearance of a title or role more than you are pursuing service for the sake of God's kingdom?
Being in ministry means constantly keeping ourselves in check and reminding ourselves of Whose plans are really important.
He longs to fill us so that we can be used to fill others. Where are you looking to get your fill?
