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EPISODE NOTES
Feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of pastoral ministry? Have you been told to just tough it out and push through the difficulties? The pressure of ministry can be draining, leaving you feeling inadequate, betrayed, and questioning your calling. It’s time to break free from ineffective advice and cultivate the grit you need for lasting ministry impact.
In this episode, you’ll be encouraged by Pastor Derwin Gray to cultivate pastoral ministry grit in these ways:
- Develop unwavering resilience in pastoral leadership amidst challenges.
- Understand the profound impact of family dynamics on church attendance.
- Utilize research to gain deeper insights into evolving faith trends.
- Embrace fundamental leadership principles for high school sports programs.
- Navigate and conquer the unique challenges of pastoral ministry with confidence.
Here Are Some Huge Takeaway Moments From This Episode:
00:01:20 – Cultivating Grit in Ministry
Grit is essential for ministry leaders. Dr. Derwin L. Gray shares the importance of grit in ministry, drawing from his experience as a high school football player and relating it to the challenges of pastoral ministry.
00:07:31 – Remembering Your Calling
In times of doubt and difficulty, it’s important to remember that Jesus called you, not man. Standing in the grace of God and being gracious in adversity are key aspects of embracing your calling.
00:11:44 – Jesus’ Indwelling and Provision
Jesus indwells ministry leaders, providing the strength and adequacy needed to fulfill the calling. Understanding that Jesus gives the vision and provision for ministry tasks is crucial for cultivating grit.
00:15:27 – Finding Grit in Praise and Transformation
Grit in pastoral ministry is ultimately found in praise and the enduring presence of Jesus. Dr. Derwin emphasizes the lasting nature of Jesus amidst tough times and the transformative impact of a transformed church on the world.
QUOTES
- Jesus will last; tough times will not. – Dr. Derwin Gray
- Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals- Dr. Angela Duckworth.
- Often, when we have so much, we have so little of Him. – Dr. Derwin Gray
PODCAST RESOURCES
• More from Derwin: www.derwinlgray.com and www.transformationchurch.tc/podcast
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
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• Subscribe on YouTube
• Subscribe on Amazon Music
• The ChurchLeaders Podcast Network
CONNECT WITH DERWIN
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/derwinlgray
• Instagram: @derwinlgray
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If you’ve been impacted by this podcast, please leave a rating and a review, and share with someone in your life.
SHOW TRANSCRIPTION
00:00:00
You know, it’s a changing world. One of the things that helps us understand the changing world is research. And so as churches have been struggling and families may be disconnected and sometimes drifting away from the church, we’re kind of dealing with some of the questions of where do we go from here? The Communio nationwide survey on faith and relationships really kind of points to the family decline and how it relates to faith decline in the United States. Actually, the survey has three key issues that are impacting our society today. Go to communio.org study to download the nationwide study on faith and relationships.
Welcome to the Transforming the church podcast hosted by Doctor Dr. Derwin Gray. We pray that through this podcast, you will be empowered to live on mission with Jesus and lead courageously. Here’s your host, Doctor Derwin L. Gray.
00:00:47
Here’s my promise to you. I’m going to give you clear, compelling, Christ-exalting content that will equip and encourage you to serve your local church with ministry excellence for the glory of God. And what I ask in return is that if it moves your heart, you would share it, and together, we would partner. Because when the church is transformed, the world is transformed, and the church is people blood bought people that are precious to God.
00:01:20
And as ministry leaders, we are under-shepherds shepherding the flock of God. All right, so check this out. In the 1980s, all the way to about the year 2000, my high school, Converse Judson, right outside of San Antonio, Texas, dominated Texas high school football. Now, if you know anything about the state of Texas, Texas high school football is the real deal. We got the whole Friday night lights thing.
00:01:47
So why was it the Converse Judson was so good? Some of you may say, well, you had talent. Yes, we had talent. As a matter of fact, my senior year, 1988, on defense, ten out of the eleven starters went on to play college football, and three of us went on to play in the NFL. The team that we were playing had multiple guys, more than us, playing college ball and going on to the NFL. So, yes, we had talent.
00:02:17
But it’s Texas. Every high school has talent. What was it that made Converse Judson so elite? It’s one word: grit. G-R-I-T.
00:02:29
Grit. Grit, according to New York Times best-selling author Angela Duckworth, is this. Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals. And the way coach DW Rutledge, a Texas high school football legend, the way he and his coaching staff cultivated grit in us is legendary. So, in the off-season, one of the things that we would do before spring ball is, we would have what’s called the classroom.
00:02:57
We literally would leave the weight room, we would leave the football field, and we would get in the classroom for a week. And we were studying leadership principles. I remember reading John Maxwell, Zig Ziglar, all these influential leadership gurus. We were learning as high school football players. Then we were going to something called boot camp.
00:03:21
Boot camp was this process of taking the team to its limit. It was coordinated drills. It was military. You were at the breaking point. I remember having teammates that would fall down and collapse and could not finish.
00:03:37
Right. So, what was the purpose of boot camp? The purpose of boot camp was to cultivate in us grit, this passion and perseverance to accomplish the long term goal. Accomplishing a goal does not happen if you don’t have incredible grit. And so boot camp developed that, and ultimately we would get what’s called a perfect day.
00:03:57
But at the end of boot camp, what we developed was grit. How many of you know that we need ministry? Grit. That ministry is challenging. Ministry is a roller coaster of emotions.
00:04:15
One minute, you are thanking God for how great ministry is. The next minute, you’re saying, God, I want to greatly leave ministry. It is challenging, and in order to serve God’s people from a posture of humility, it requires grit. If you haven’t been betrayed yet, you will. If you haven’t been misrepresented, you will.
00:04:39
If you haven’t had people break your heart yet, you will. If you haven’t felt overwhelmed, you will. If you haven’t felt inadequate, you will. And so it requires that we have ministry grit. So, what are four ways for us to cultivate pastoral ministry?
00:04:56
Grit. Number one, remember, Jesus is good even when circumstances are not. Jesus is good even when circumstances are not. Romans 8:28 says this. “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those who before knew, he was also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
00:05:16
So, when you look at this text, we see the providence and the beautiful sovereignty of God, the God who is all loving all powerful and all-knowing. We’re playing chess. He’s playing. We’re playing checkers, he’s playing eternal chess, and he’s allowing all things to conform us to the image of Jesus that in his humanity, he’s the first one who rose from the dead.
00:05:45
So we too will raise from the dead. But spiritually, God is continuously conforming us to the image of Christ, right? So check this out. Now, to be very clear, remember, Jesus is good even when circumstances are not. I remember years ago I was at a leadership gathering and the person leading the seminar asked all of us church planners, and I was a young church planner at that time.
00:06:14
And he said, if you had everything you needed financially, people wise to launch your church, how would you do it differently? And when it got to me, I said, well, I don’t want to play that game. They said, why not? I said, because if I had everything I needed and if I had all the money and all the staff I needed to plant transformation church, I would not know Jesus the way I know him. It is often in those seasons that are not good that you see the beautiful goodness of God.
00:06:44
You may be in that season right now. And so oftentimes when we have so much, we have so little of him. And when you begin to see that he’s the focus, when you do have much, you won’t abandon him for the much because you’ll see that the true muchness is found in Jesus. Number two, how do we cultivate pastoral ministry grit remember, Jesus called you not man. Remember, Jesus called you not man. Remember, Jesus called you not man. Remember, your calling. There will come a time when you doubt if God has called you.
00:07:57
You’ll get a disparaging email. You may get slandered online. You may have ministry betrayal. You may feel inadequate. You may feel overwhelmed, which those are things I feel often.
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