Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many. (Hebrews 12:15)

As you begin to wrestle with your thoughts and feelings about the current state of your ministry and the world we find ourselves in, one emotion that you must wrestle to the ground is RESENTMENT.
Resentment – bitter indignation at have been treated unfairly – is poisonous and detrimental to your life and ministry.

1. Resentment keeps you from believing you have agency or personal responsibility over your own life. If you believe that your life, calling, and success is completely out of your control and at the complete mercy of others your bitterness will turn to despair. 
2. Resentment creates distance in your relationships  with everyone around you. This distance isn’t just between you and the people you perceived have wronged you but resentment will begin to affect even those closest to you. Resentment closes you off from relationships because your ability to trust (the most important relational capital) is stunted.
3. Resentment ultimately causes you to remain stuck where you are because the roots of bitterness are so strong you cannot move forward from your hurts.

How have you seen RESENTMENT play out in your life and ministry? How have you seen God’s grace breakthrough and help you deal with RESENTMENT in your life?

3 MORE REASONS PASTOR’S ARE CONSIDERING LEAVING MINISTRY from Barna Research reveals that pastors…

1. are Unhappy with the effect this role has had on their family 
2. are Not Optimistic about the future of their church
3. Believe that their vision for the church conflicts with the church’s direction 

The interesting thing about these three are that they are TIED for 4th place on the list (29%). In my work with church leaders, I would say that these are THE reasons I’m hearing rumblings in their confidence about remaining in ministry. In these conversations these issues have come to the surface because of a TOXIC CULTURE within their church. A culture that doesn’t take care of its people. A culture that wants to return to some “golden era” or is content with remaining stuck. A culture that would rather pursue the ways of American christianity than pursue the Kingdom. In these situations, the pastor feels as though they have no ability to change the situation. That’s a recipe for burnout and resignation.

What can we do to change TOXIC CULTURES within our churches? How can we help protect our ministry staff from becoming a statistic?

Barna has identified the TOP 3 REASONS PASTOR’S ARE CONSIDERING LEAVING MINISTRY (March, 2022). They are…

1. The immense stress of the job (56%)
2. Feeling lonely and isolated (43%)
3. Current political divisions (38%)

Two of these are not changing anytime soon (1 & 3) but you can take steps to move beyond feeling lonely and isolated. You can join a gym (BJJ or Crossfit have community baked in), call that friend across town, or partner with a coach to listen to and encourage you (Hi! ? ). Life change happens in relationships. It’s true for those we love and lead… It’s true you.

What is at stake if you remain lonely or isolated? What difference would intentionally cultivating friendships have on your well-being and leadership? 

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Too often we can get so caught up in the tasks and functions of leadership that we can forget to develop ourselves. Pastor Craig Groeschel of Life.Church says, “When a leader gets better, everyone gets better.” So, what are you doing to grow and develop yourself? Personal Development focuses on two key areas of your life: your Character (who you are) and your Capacity (your gifting and skills). As a leader, your Character must stay on pace with or exceed your Capacity. As a church leader, everything you do flows out of your relationship with Jesus. The impact of you ministry is dependent upon how deep you walk with Christ on a daily basis. As you seek to develop your Character and Capacity, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who do I want to become over the next season of my leadership?
2. What am I currently doing that I need to keep doing?
3. What am I currently doing that I need to stop doing?
4. What do I need to start doing that might make a difference to my life and those around me?

PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

Now that you’ve started working on developing the hardest person on your team (see above), it is time to pour into the people around you. Developing your people can be a challenge but it is absolutely the most rewarding part of leadership. Likely, you entered into this work not for accolades or awards but because you love people and you want to help them succeed. One way to begin developing your people is to invest your attention and time in getting to know them, affirming their gifts, identifying negative behaviors that need to change, and putting them in a position where they can excel. As you begin to develop the people around you, consider the following questions as you observe them at work:

1. What is something that I admire about this person that I can share with them?
2. What positive behaviors or areas of growth can I affirm with them?
3. What are some areas where I can encourage them to work through negative behaviors or attitudes that may be stunting their growth?
4. What is one way that you can help them level up or succeed in this current season?

PROCESS DEVELOPMENT

Just as the human body is made up of systems that work independently and interdependently to create a healthy person, your church needs systems and processes that work together to maintain a healthy, growing organization. The old saying is completely true: Your Systems are perfectly designed to get the results you are currently getting. If you are unhappy or dissatisfied with the results, get to work on creating and implementing a new system. In a church, there are a number of systems that either help or hinder people from experiencing the church’s desired results for their lives. If you want your people to serve, what are the steps you provide for volunteers to get involved? Are you having difficulty preparing a message each and every week? Take a look at your sermon writing process and see where you need to make adjustments. Get your team around the table and begin asking the following questions to help you design some systems to help you get things done:

1. What about this process is Clear/Working?
2. What about this process is Confusing/Broken?
3. What about this process is Missing?
4. If you could wave a magic wand, what would you change/add/improve about this process?

As a coach, I help individual church leaders and teams who are motivated to develop themselves, their people, and the church so that they can reach God’s full-redemptive potential. The bottom line is that healthy things grow. Healthy churches are led by men and women who are dedicated to being attentive to what God is up to in the world and who desire to join in on that work.

I want to help you become a church leader who loves and leads well. I offer a free 45-minute coaching call to help you assess if working with a coach can help you in your current ministry season.

As the Fall begins and school starts back, this season can bring new possibilities, problems, and a renewed purpose for you and your ministry. I’d love to connect with you to hear your story and work towards providing you some Hope, Clarity, and Strength.