Three A’s that will FAIL you in ministry

I did not earn high marks in school.  Well, as I got older and decided to attend grad school and post grad school, I did.  But in my younger years, I was not a very devoted student.  If I came home with a grade of “A” in any subject other than P.E., my parents threw a party. 

“A’s” are the aim of all good students, as they should be.  Excellence should be a pursuit of ours.  But, I’m a communicator who uses alliteration, so now that I’ve gotten my awkward segue out of the way, I’ll get to the alliterated reason for this post.  Here are three “A’s” that will fail you in ministry.

Arrogance          

Talent tells us things, and sometimes it lies to us.  Our abilities can be placed at the forefront of our ministry, or they can be overlooked.  When they are on display, we get celebrated.  When they are overlooked, we get jealous, maybe even resentful.  In either case, we run the risk of generating an attitude of arrogance.

It feels great to be on the glorified end of a compliment.  We’ve all been there.  Someone says something complimentary about us and we smile.  But compliments from others will require work on our end.  Have you ever considered this?  When you receive a compliment, you have a choice.  You can take the credit for it, or you can give thanks for it.  Here it is:  what we don’t give as praise, we take as pride.  God must get the credit for the successes in our ministry.  Why?  Because none of it is possible without him.  There is a word for this; it’s called HUMILITY.  It is the reality of understanding that God is the one who gives us everything we have in our ministry efforts. 

Remember, if we take credit for the wins, we end up wanting to take credit for the losses.  And this is a dangerous place to be, as our identity is much more than what our wins and losses say about us.  Don’t read your press clippings or believe the hype about yourself.  Be confident, yes.  But that confidence is rooted in God’s grace and design for your life and His generosity.  He has given us everything, so arrogance will always compete with His character.  I’ll say that again – our arrogance will always try to compete with God’s character.  And His character should be what shapes us; nothing else will sustain us on this adventure we call ministry.

Autonomy

I have seen this all too often in ministry.  Growth happens.  Success comes.  Accolades are given.  And then what?  We start to think we can handle everything on our own.  But this is short-sided and frankly unwise.  The Bible has many mentions of the value of community and accountability, especially in the area of leadership.  When we isolate ourselves, we insulate ourselves.  And too much self-reliance can lead to self-denial.  And this can lead to self-destruction.

Life is not meant to be lived in a vacuum, on an island, alone, or any other isolation type tag you can put here.  We were created for community.  Because life is hard enough on its own, much less when we serve in ministry.  I don’t need to tell you that ministry is hard.  But we rarely want to talk about how lonely it can be.  We need each other.  We were made to learn together, grow together and serve together.

I believe the key ingredient to long-term ministry success is integrity.  But integrity demands accountability, and this only happens in the context of community.  Authentic relationships, centered on Jesus, rooted in grace and caked in His character.  Find people who 1) Love God.  2) Love you.  And 3) Want God’s best for you.  And invite these people, likely a small number, into your life to help you become more like Jesus as you serve and lead.  The accountability, support, encouragement, challenges, candor and emotional oxygen that will come from this will help you lead better for longer.

Adultery

This one is direct.  I don’t have a sideways use for this word.  I actually mean adultery.  It is all too easy in today’s world to gain access to affections outside of our marriages.  It does not matter who you are or how long you have been married, you are not immune to temptation or distraction.  Be on the lookout for warning signs.  Our emotions send us messages that we should listen to.  For example, if you find yourself craving attention from someone of the opposite sex, you may want to examine why that message is being sent.  If you find yourself dressing a certain way, attending certain events, or perusing certain social media pages, you may want to examine why you are doing these things.  They could be warning signs.

On this note, lean in to the community mentioned above.  Be honest with your friends and spouse about these things.  Have the courage to talk about things that might be a little uncomfortable.  Better to walk through an uncomfortable conversation now, then to admit a decision later that cannot be undone.  The most powerful confession happens when we confess the sin we are thinking about, not the one we’ve already committed.  I know this one might turn up the heat a bit, but life is short and ministry is too important for us to avoid honesty with ourselves.  Be sober-minded about your choices, your thoughts and your feelings.  And be courageous enough to lean into the God-honoring relationships you have built to help you stay vigilant in your pursuit of God’s best for your life.

The Gospels highlight for us the brilliant combination of grace and truth Jesus displayed during His time on this earth.  I hope this post has ripped off some of that grace and truth and helped you.  Further, I hope it helps you combine these two for many years, as you continue to serve Him.