Is it possible that you are tying your identity to the rise and fall of your ministry’s success?
Your women’s bible study numbers are not what they were last fall.
Your youth group seems to be shrinking.
You didn’t hit that target for your recent event.
Your key leader decided to try another ministry this year.
You’ve been serving for years, and were just asked to begin to train your replacement.
Each of these things regularly happen, and yet, when these things do happen, we can easily find out where our true worth really lies.
Wait…you mean people in ministry tie their identity and worth to their ministry?
Yep. Been there.
And so have you, if you’ve been in ministry any length of time: indicator ‘X’ didn’t hit expectation, which is when we can start asking lots of questions. Sometimes these questions take us places that are good, but sometimes not.
I was contemplating this as I was doing my Quiet Time this morning in John 3:22-30. John the Baptist and Jesus were ministering in rather close geographical proximity to each other. As a result, John’s ministry was declining, and Jesus’ was increasing. This had no personal effect on either John or Jesus, but it certainly had an impact on John’s disciples. For the first time, they were on the outside looking in. It was a real gut check for them.
John had some wise words for his followers:
The rise/fall of your ministry doesn’t hinge on you exclusively (John 3:27). There is a major ‘God-factor’ to rising/falling ministry that is independent of you. That’s what John was saying: “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.” Yes, John’s ministry was shrinking.
• But because of bad marketing?
• Poor planning?
• Faulty messaging?
• Wrong demographic?
None of the above. Simply put: it was God’s will. This doesn’t mean we don’t have hard looks at promotion, planning, messaging, and demographics, but when these are the driving force, and we’re not recognizing that the rise and fall of our ministries are ultimately in God’s hands, we’re heading into a man-centric ministry model. That’s dangerous.
We sometimes forget our role (John 3:28). John knew his place: he was the best man, Jesus was the groom. He wanted the groom to be the groom. Weddings get weird when best men and maids of honor start upstaging the bride and groom.What is your role? Exalt Jesus. That means take yourself off the pedestal of your ministry and put Jesus back up where He belongs. That means stop trying to figure out how you can make a name for yourself, and quite possibly, be content with being a nobody.
Be joyful when other ministries are successful (John 3:29). The church across town is attracting more people than yours. Your small group isn’t growing like the other ones. So? Does that automatically mean you’re doing something wrong? No, it doesn’t. What was John’s one purpose in life? Fade off into the sunset while Jesus’ ministry grows. Was John cool with that? Not only cool with that, it brought him great joy!Hey Paul…are you ok with other people’s ministries growing at your expense?
“Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.”- Philippians 1:15-18
Be careful! The tendency is the think of the other guy (that’s at least what I do). Could any of this apply to you?
Do you put your ministry ahead of Jesus?
Do you care about people noticing you vs. noticing Jesus?
Do you rejoice at other ministries successes?
Do you get jealous when others get noticed and you don’t?
Are you ok with being in the background as others take the spotlight?
If people ceased to know who you are, could you be genuinely ok with that?
Tough questions! Pause and take a lesson from John the Baptist and consider changes God wants you to make.
Scott Foreman is the Executive Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. He has been active in full-time vocational ministry for almost 20 years as a Camp Director, Radio Host, Missionary and now Pastor. You can follow him here at The Ministry Dad, and also on Twitter: @scottdforeman.