May 2020
12 Ways to Rekindle Your Passion for Ministry (part 2)
21/05/20 Filed in: Pastor | Church Leadership
Using this scale: 1: “It couldn’t be any worse” or 10: “It really can’t get any better” – how would you assess these three rekindling activities:
__ I am relaxed in my humanity. While I am always journeying toward greater Christlikeness, I am not placing unrealistic expectations on myself in that journey.
__ I have revisited my calling. I spent time thinking about and reconnecting with what drew my passion for ministry in the first place.
__ I am renewing my soul. I am spending time with the Lord in the Word and in prayer. I am also connecting with Him in ways that are congruent with how I am designed.
Once you have scaled yourself on these three activities, ask yourself how you would know you had moved a point higher. What would be different in you? What would you notice that tells you that you have shifted? What would others notice? Then think about how you can implement changes that move you in that direction.
Now on to three more rekindling activities:
4. Reorganise your Schedule
While we are slowly creeping back to what looks familiar, now is the time to ask yourself what your new normal will look like. What priorities shifts have you made in the last two months? What have you found is not as important as you once thought it was? What have you been doing differently that you have found to be nourishing for your soul?I invite you to thoughtfully consider what Eugene Peterson wrote in The Contemplative Pastor:
“…the word busy is the symptom not of commitment but of betrayal. It is not devotion but defection. The adjective busy set as a modifier to pastor should sound to our ears like adulterous to characterize a wife or embezzling to describe a banker. It is an outrageous scandal, a blasphemous affront.”
5. Rediscover your Strengths
Gift Projection. It’s a term I first came across in Bible College. It happens when we read about or see one of the “heroes” who has accomplished great things for God in mighty ways. We then decide we want to be the same and try to accomplish what they did…only without their giftings. Frustration ensues, so we try harder. As we try harder…and remain unsuccessful…passion for ministry wanes.God has wired you to serve the way He wants you to serve Him. You have gifts, strengths, and experiences that are unique to you. Walk in those Holy Spirit-given, God-empowered gifts! Be who God made you to be.
When I turned 40, I became comfortable with who I am. When I turned 50, I became comfortable with who I am not. The second understanding was far more powerful than the first. You don’t have to wait until your 40s and 50s to get to these places. It just took me that long to hear what God had been saying all along. Rediscover who God made you to be and minister from that place rather than someone else’s.
6. Remember God’s Promises
A waning passion for ministry often comes when difficulties seem insurmountable, or when you can’t see the next step forward, or when it seems like nothing is working, or… The answer for all of this is to remember these words: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5). In that promise of God’s constant presence, remember all the other promises God has made and that you have appropriated. Reminding yourself that you are not in the ministry by yourself – even when it might feel like it – and that God is always with you, empowering you, guiding you, blessing you, and using you for His glory is a great way of rekindling your ministry passion.So, more for you to consider. Sitting around hoping your passion for ministry just shows up again seldom works. Actually, I don’t know that it ever works! But taking these steps can begin to move you toward rekindling your ministry passion.
12 Ways to Rekindle Your Passion for Ministry (part 1)
11/05/20 Filed in: Pastor | Church Leadership
What an interesting time we live in right now. Who could have imagined that 2020 was going to look like this? How many churches started this year with a version of “2020 Vision” as their theme for the year? 
How many of them are completely having to revamp the way that vision looks and how they intended for it to be accomplished?
I’ve heard pastors say the different levels of lockdown they and their churches have been placed under have been good for them personally. I’ve heard pastors say lockdown has relieved some pressures but brought up new ones. I’ve heard pastors say they were initially recharged in their ministry passion but are finding that passion waning as the Covid-19 lifestyle drags on.
It is that last sentence that I’m most concerned with. In the next four blog posts I want to make twelve suggestions for you to consider in rekindling your passion for ministry.
One of my favourite verses is found in Psalm 103 – a great Psalm about God’s undying mercy and grace. Verse 14 hold great encouragement for me:
“For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Read that Psalm and allow yourself to remove the “shoulds” and “musts” that demand perfection of you. Take notice of how God’s unchangeableness steps into our weakness as humans and brings patience, healing, mercy, and grace. If God can do that for us, can we not do that for ourselves as well?
In his book, Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas lists nine ways Christians relate to God. I would encourage you to get and read this book. It will give you some great encouragement and guidance in helping you live in the reality of relating to the Lord. When you are experiencing this reality, you will find your passion for walking with Him in ministry rekindled.
That’s it for now. Can I ask you to assess yourself on a scale of 1-5 in these three suggestions? One being, “I couldn’t be in a worse situation” and five being, “All good with this one.” Once you’ve assessed yourself, take some necessary actions to move up the scale.
I’ve heard pastors say the different levels of lockdown they and their churches have been placed under have been good for them personally. I’ve heard pastors say lockdown has relieved some pressures but brought up new ones. I’ve heard pastors say they were initially recharged in their ministry passion but are finding that passion waning as the Covid-19 lifestyle drags on.
It is that last sentence that I’m most concerned with. In the next four blog posts I want to make twelve suggestions for you to consider in rekindling your passion for ministry.
1. Relax in your own Humanity
Ministry passion has a wide variety of expectations and experiences associated with it. There are many influences that are brought into the discussion: theological bent, age of the pastor, size of the church, spiritual gifting, personality type, family structure, church expectations…the list could go on. The one constant I have found around ministry passion is that there is no constant. To say that ministry passion should never wane puts an unwarranted pressure on pastors as they navigate what each day brings.One of my favourite verses is found in Psalm 103 – a great Psalm about God’s undying mercy and grace. Verse 14 hold great encouragement for me:
2. Revisit your Calling
Do you remember the chain of events that led you into ministry? Was it the Holy Spirit applying a biblical passage? Was it the great need you saw around you? Was it the desire to do something of eternal significance? As great as ministry can be, sometimes the day-to-day busyness can cloud your vision of what you are trying to accomplish. In those times, it is helpful to step back and remind yourself why you got into ministry in the first place. Reconnect with it, reimagine it. Let those first images of stepping into ministry come back into focus.3. Renew your Soul
Many might think this goes without saying, but I have found pastors so need to be reminded of this! Renewing your soul comes as you spend time with the Lord. I’d like to take this a step beyond the necessary and common practice of reading the Word and praying. Some pastors find that those two disciplines feel just like that – disciplines. While they are necessary for spiritual growth, some pastors find they are still missing what feels like real relationship connection. That’s not because Bible reading and prayer don’t work. Neither is it because you are broken in some irreparable way. It may just be that you need to connect with God in ways that are congruent with how you relate to others.In his book, Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas lists nine ways Christians relate to God. I would encourage you to get and read this book. It will give you some great encouragement and guidance in helping you live in the reality of relating to the Lord. When you are experiencing this reality, you will find your passion for walking with Him in ministry rekindled.
That’s it for now. Can I ask you to assess yourself on a scale of 1-5 in these three suggestions? One being, “I couldn’t be in a worse situation” and five being, “All good with this one.” Once you’ve assessed yourself, take some necessary actions to move up the scale.