3. How is your family doing?
Amy and I have six kids. When Amy was pregnant with our second child, someone I admired in ministry warned me, “You’d better stop at two children. Kids will hinder your ministry.”
That comment crushed me.
My family is a big part of ministry. Hopefully, I’m raising future Christian leaders who will bring glory to God in the world.
Churches (usually unintentionally) can be harmful to families. We put such crazy scheduling demands on pastors and staff members that having a strong family is almost impossible.
I believe a strong ministry is an overflow of a strong family (although, I’m not saying you have to be married to have a strong ministry).
God has given me a deep burden for our staff’s families. I regularly talk about guarding family time. No one will do it for you.
What about you? How is your family?
4. When is the last time you failed?
This may sound like an unusual question, but it’s one of my favorites to ask. I want to know from our staff, “When is the last time you failed?”
When you’re not failing, you’re not growing. Some of the most valuable lessons the disciples learned from Jesus immediately followed failure. Jesus allowed them to fail.
I’m glad to say that I’ve tried a few things recently that didn’t go so well. The good news is:
- When I fail, it gives me the chance to learn.
- When I fail, I increase my tolerance for failure, helping me not to become complacent.
- When I fail, I continue to inspire others to take faith risks.
What about you? When is the last time you’ve failed?
