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TechnoratiAdmit it pastors. Sometimes we get tired, burnt out, and all we want to do is quit. But God has called us to keep going. Ministry isn’t a 100-yard dash. It’s a marathon. If you’re going to fulfill your calling, you’ve got to keep going. But how?
The Apostle Paul understood the demands of ministry. He understood what it was like to sacrifice everything to fulfill God’s calling. He understood what it was like to be misunderstood, underappreciated, and physically exhausted. In 2 Corinthians 4 he shares seven principles for lasting in ministry.
1. Learn to enjoy the grace of God. “Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up” (2 Corinthians 4:1 NLT). Paul knew the only reason he had a ministry was because of God’s grace. So often we hear Satan whispering in our ears that we’re not good enough, not smart enough, and not "spiritual" enough to be a pastor. We need to remember that God does everything to us, through us, and for us by grace through faith. It’s all a gift. God knows every stupid thing I will ever do in ministry and he still chose me.
Give up the pretense that there’s anything you’ve done to earn your place in ministry. If you don’t get it, you’ll be in the performance trap all your life. You’ll never be good enough. And you’ll burn out in no time.
2. Be authentic. “Instead, we have renounced shameful secret things, not walking in deceit or distorting God’s message, but in God’s sight we commend ourselves to every person’s conscience by an open display of the truth” (2 Corinthians 4:2 NLT). Paul tells his readers, “What you see is what you get.” He wasn’t hiding anything. If you’re going to last in ministry, you’ve got to be what God has called you to be. You’ve got to take off the mask. If you try to live your life on someone else’s script, you’ll always be afraid of being exposed, and you’ll always be under stress. You don’t have to be perfect for God to use you, but you do have to be honest.
3. Remember it’s not about you. If you don’t, you’ll either get bitter or prideful. When you don’t remember it’s not about you, you take everything personally. Someone looks at you cross-eyed, and you’re ready to quit. The average pastor quits because of seven critics. In 29 years as pastor of Saddleback, I’ve discovered that the critics leave. On the other hand, if the critics stay, the pastor goes. You’ve got to decide, who is going to stay – you or your critics? If it’s not about you, then the criticism isn’t about you either.
To last in ministry, you’ve got to check your motivation. The why always determines the what and the how long. If you’re doing ministry for yourself or the approval of others, you’re not going to last. If you want the approval of others, there are far easier ways to do it than being a pastor. So you’ve got to be constantly asking the question, “Why am I doing what I’m doing?”
Twice in this passage (in verses 5 and 11), Paul tells his readers why he does what he does – for Jesus' sake. Why does he deal with the whippings, imprisonments, and criticism (2 Corinthians 11)? For Jesus' sake. His motivation isn’t his own well-being, but the global glory of God. And he’d do whatever it takes to see that expand.
You’ve got to live for an audience of one. If you don’t get over the fear of criticism, you’ll never last in ministry.
4. Accept your own limitations. “Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT). Paul says we’re all fragile and breakable. And that’s a good thing. It’s through our weakness that others can see God’s power.
Unfortunately, we don’t like being clay pots. Instead we try to be invincible. The quickest way to burn out in ministry is to try to be Superman. You can’t solve everyone’s problem. The pastor who is available to people all the time isn’t worth much when he’s there. Even Jesus couldn’t be everywhere at one time when he was on this earth. Why would you think you can be in four meetings at the same time? Continue »
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. Copyright 2005 Pastors.com, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved
