Moving from the seminary classroom and into his first ever ministry position at Random Baptist Church, John is excited to use his new knowledge from seminary in a local ministry context. Although once excited, weeks into the position, John feels that things aren’t going as well as he initially thought they would go; the congregation seems disconnected from his teaching, there seems to be little transformation in the lives of the congregation and community, the church won’t follow his leadership, and he feels like he is all alone since he has no ministry friends in combination with the friendship breakdown between the church members and him.
As he struggles in this ministry position, he begins to ask, "Why aren’t things going the way the professors said they would go? Why does the congregation not care about the Greek, Hebrew, historical context, and essential meaning of the Scripture? Why is there no positive spiritual transformation in the lives of the church members? Why won’t the church follow my leadership? Where is a close friend when I need one? Why won't people connect to ministry opportunities? Why can’t I make a friend in the church? Is this really what ministry is like? Am I really called to be a minister?" John’s thoughts have turned from excitement on his first day to thoughts of despair, failure, and leaving the church—after all, if God’s plan for John is to be at this church, why are things so hard??
Unfortunately, many seminary students and young ministers enter situations just like John’s, but here are six ways to avoid or overcome John’s plight:
1. Preach, don’t just Teach
With my undergraduate degree in teaching and the abundance of information about Scripture that I was learning, when I started serving in a local church, my preaching time was filled with great exegesis but little takeaway for the congregation. Sure, I helped them learn about the Bible, but in doing so, I did not help them connect the Bible to real life. Great preaching does not just teach, it applies and directs hearers to live Scripture in their daily lives. Too many seminary students want to teach, but they seldom share how the hearers should live out the Scripture. Teach the essential meaning, but don’t forget to explain why this Scripture matters to life and how to apply Scripture to life.
2. Pray, don’t Prey
Prayer is humiliating. Why? There is nothing more humiliating than realizing that we can’t do something and having to depend on someone else. Prayer is the mode by which we tell God that we are insufficient to run our lives and that we need His guidance and intervention because He is sovereign. Prayer is also the way that we focus less on ourselves and more on what God would have us to do. Tragically, many ministers compare their positions, abilities, congregations, etc. and instead of praying to God, they prey on the needs of the congregation for the minister’s acclamation and fame. A minister who prays for himself and his congregation is a minister who stays close to the Lord and is humble enough to give glory to God, not himself. Pride feeds off preying on others and will always lead to a minster’s fall, but a minister who is humbled in prayer feeds off the Holy Spirit and is stronger than any of the works of the evil one.
3. Pull, don’t Push
Because leadership involves people following, it is impossible to be a leader and push people towards a goal—a leader has to pull those who follow him towards the goal. That means that a leader has to consistently be closer to the goal than his followers. If a leader falls even with or is passed by his followers, he is no longer a leader, but the people will pick someone else to lead them. Many inexperienced/ignorant leaders think that they can command or dominate a group of people to a goal, but these leaders are not leaders, they are dictatorial individuals who will only accomplish goals on the back of burned-out coworkers. Save yourself the struggle and pull people along with you towards a goal that you are pursuing: pull, don’t push.
4. Slower, don’t Scurry
Most ministers go into a church with a goal for creating a more Christ-like environment that provides an atmosphere for ministry to flourish, but many of these ministers move too fast for their congregation to feel a part of and understand the change of the church’s environment. Ultimately, the church and minister begin to have problems, and if not addressed quickly, the minister and church may never see eye to eye again. How does a minister prevent this? Instead of scurrying to work and just doing something, a minister should go slower and strategically pick which things are best to change by using the right people for the task. In the same way that a minister must study his congregation to understand the people he is leading, a minister must study his people to understand how quickly they will both fall under his leadership and buy into his vision. Scurrying to do something does not always work best, generally, being patient and strategic while progressing slower is better. Go slow, don't just scurry to do something.
5. Connect, don’t just Communicate
This part has two important aspects to it: First, a minister must connect with other ministers. Ministry can be the loneliest place you ever are- even though you are constantly surrounded by people. A minister needs close friends to be a support group, accountability partners, and fellow ministry companions. A minister without ministry friends is prey for discouragement, sin, burnout, and failure. Second, a minister must connect his church to ministry. A minister cannot do everything; a minister should not do everything. Connecting people to ministry is as easy as asking one or two people to join with you on an evangelism outing, asking people to help with an event, discipling and training a core group of people, placing people in ministry roles that they fit, and encouraging them to pursue their God-given calling. Connecting with people and connecting people to ministry goes beyond communicating through a sermon to communicating with others on deeper spiritual levels—a work every minister should be about.
6. Pursue, don’t just ________
Most of the other parts had a contrasting word to the first word of each point, but this one does not. I did this intentionally because in ministry there is nothing more important for a minister to do than to pursue after his relationship with God and his family. My dad has always told me, “God is first, and family is second.” My dad’s statement does not discount having strong family ties, but rather, his statement builds up family ties through having a primary focus on God. As I pursue God, God will place in me the desire for me to pursue my family, as well as the way to correctly pursue them in Christ-like love. Our first calling is to God and our second is to family; if we do not square away our pursuit of God and family, all else is lost. Chances are, we will find ourselves at other churches, but we only have 1 God and 1 family. Pursue them.
Obviously there are other things that would help new ministers, but these are just a few that come to mind. In your experience, what are some things that a new minister or minister fresh out of seminary should know? What are some things that a struggling minister should look to do?
Feel free to comment and share.
Feel free to comment and share.
