Every once in awhile, I think it is good to pause long enough to check your pulse in ministry. We knew that the calling was not going to be easy from the beginning. I think what grinds us down is not the over-load but two other factors.
One, do we feel that what we are doing is significant. Sometimes it is hard to equate God’s transformation of the world with wrestling with decisions about whether to allow the Boy Scouts to have a yard sale on church property. Not to mention deciding how to respond to a grandmother who wants her child baptized in a private ceremony in her home during a whirlwind visit by her daughter who would refuse to enter a church but is willing to agree to her mother’s wishes if it can be done in private.
The second factor is a simple need to feel that someone recognizes and appreciates the efforts that we are making on their behalf. If most of what we hear are complaints about what we are not doing, it is hard to feel good about what is happening. And sometimes we don’t even give ourselves credit for the significance of what we are doing. I have a friend who is a pastor to a small church with mostly elderly people who are not energized for major mission efforts. Yet she has accomplished some amazing things among that group of congregants. She has gathered some of their grandchildren and neighboring youth in a youth group and even got financial support for sending them to a church youth camp. She has them involved in a small way with financial support in a mission in Mexico. Her church has created a grief group that supports many elderly who lose loved ones. These are life changing ministries that would not take place except for this small church under her guidance. It would help if both she and others would occasionally recognize how God is working through her efforts at that church.
In the next couple of days I want to reflect on how we take our pulse in the ministry, particularly with respect to these two areas. When God paused after six days of labor to rest and reflect on God’s creation, his response was, “It was very good.” May you also recognize that when you take time to step back and reflect on your ministry.
