Pushing v. Resting – Ministers easily fall into the trap of expecting immediate results from their actions in everything they do — forgetting that ministry is a supernatural work that is fueled by the Holy Spirit, with God producing the fruit. Instead of constantly pushing for some kind of result from yourself, change your perspective to that of knowing you’re a tool in the hand of God; do what you’re capable of, and rest in the knowledge that God produces the fruit, and on His time table!
Locked v. Flexible – It wasn’t a problem for me to wait a month to meet with my minister friend, but it could be a problem if members of the flock you shepherd can’t gain reasonable access to you or other church leaders because you’re overbooked. You’ll need to be able to have some flexibility to minister to needs as they arise, rather than important new matters being neglected because of locked schedules.
Stuffed v. Margin – The above problem occurs when we tell ourselves that every moment of every day must be scheduled to the hilt. Not everything can be anticipated or scheduled, so making a change to leave some margin in your calendar for the “unexpected,” as well as for some “breathing room” will make a big impact in your effectiveness and enjoyment of ministry.
Urgent v. Important – Ministering in the 21st century, most things “feel” urgent, but not everything is both urgent and important. President Dwight Eisenhower popularized a decision-making guide by prioritizing urgency and importance – see the table to the right. Not everything is urgent and shouldn’t be treated as if it is, but some things we do should be done with a sense of urgency. Not everything is important but treating everything like it is will complicate your life. Those things that are both urgent and important should be leading priorities. Study the chart and see how you compare in prioritizing what you do.
Surprised v. Anticipate – While working with a group of business managers, I noted one weakness in their leadership was a failure of basic anticipation. There were some things these managers could anticipate could go wrong or troubles that were likely to come up, but because they simply failed to anticipate them, they were always surprised when such things occurred. As a minister, there are some things you can anticipate about your week or month, etc., and doing so will help you be prepared so that you won’t be surprised by such occurrences.
Demands v. Priorities – The great tension in ministry is the push of demands — made by self and/or others — versus true priorities. “True priorities” include adequate time to study the Word, for sermon preparation, and for prayer. These essential elements to spiritual leadership are often the first we begin to minimize because of other demands. Sometimes you must insist priorities be kept rather than reducing what is most important in an attempt to meet other demands.
Short View v. Long View – Things like fudging on priorities to try to meet other demands can happen because we so often work from a short view of what we’re aiming for rather than the long view. The more you take a short view approach to ministry, the greater possibility you’ll miss achieving the long view.
Sometimes making a little change, or a change (it might not be so little or so easy), can have a huge impact on the quality and enjoyment of your ministry. Is there a change or two that you’ve identified would improve your experience and effectiveness of ministry?
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
