It's hard to be so excited about all the things you want to do in your ministry, all the lives you will touch, and all the lives that will be changed if only people would jump on board and be a part of what God is doing right?
So many opportunities to be God's hands and feet, to reach out to a lost and dying world, and really flourish as the Body of Christ.
People start attending and your ministry starts growing and there's a feeling of excitement and anticipation that floods your soul. But then, the excitement starts fading and your hopeful dreams for your ministry start waning because you realize that no one else is on board.... and you are the only one trying to push the ministry forward. So what happend? Why aren't the people getting involved? Why isn't God moving this ministry forward? Why isn't God sending in the workers?
This is a hard place to be, I know, I've been here several times during my years of ministry. I've been through it and I've watched other leaders go through it. It is a painful place to be. But there is hope. And I believe...there is an answer. So here's my wisdom based on many nights in tears before my God and my humble observations of our weaknesses as leaders. I urge all of you to spend time pondering these thoughts and talking to God to see if maybe this applies to your ministry and your leadership.
1. God's Church has always been and will always be....HIS. Our very first priority in any ministry is remembering where we as His leaders in the Body of Christ rank. And it's not at the top. We are always at HIS command, HIS servants period. So many times we as leaders falsely assume that because we have position God gives us permission to run our ministries the best way we see fit. Wrong. Has a plan and a purpose for everything. We have to seek Him just as much in our ministries, if not more, as we have to seek Him for the direction of our own lives. When God has a plan and a purpose not just for us but for every single person that steps foot into your ministry...then you and I don't get to be the one who calls the shots. (you can read more on this topic in my blog : But, I'm the Leader!) This is THE VERY FIRST LESSON WE MUST LEARN AS GOOD LEADERS. It's not about us. This is the KEY to a ministry after God's Heart. You WILL go places with this attitude. Because this is the moment when God takes the wheel of His ministry.
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To go a little more pointed here and I'll try to keep it short... God will NEVER work outside of His Word. Ever. (this is a good thing to ponder...) too many leaders today, do whatever they "feel" like God wants them to do, but I'm telling you... if you can't back up your "feeling" with His Word... don't do it. This is where you will muddy the boundaries and standards in your ministry and your people will suffer.
2. YOU MUST CUT ALL THE RED TAPE FOR YOUR PEOPLE If you really want good solid Godly people to get involved in your ministries (and this is a point for another day...my blog "Stick to the Standards might clarify....) then you cannot dictate with all your own preferences and rules that aren't God's how those people can be used by God. Because trust me....they will not get involved. They value their relationship with God too much to go against the Holy Spirit in their lives and do it "your way". It's tough to even write this because I have seen it over and over again with leaders who want to dictate how God uses His people and it NEVER works. And it shouldn't work, because you are literally robbing God's people of the plan and purpose that He has laid out before them. sad.
This does not in any way mean that you don't have boundaries that every ministry worker needs to stay within. But those boundaries are laid out in Scripture, God's boundaries for His Children. And it does not matter what type of ministry you have, all ministries in the Body of Christ, follow the exact same guidlines that God sets before His people.
3, IF YOU CANNOT BE BOLD AND FACE CONFRONTATION WITHOUT FEAR...GET OUT. Harsh I know, but very very true. Conflict will ALWAYS be a part of ministry. You are daily dealing with the clash between light and darkness. Our job as leaders is to help people walk in God's Truth which means a lot of garbage has to be stripped off, sin has to be dealt with, and living for Jesus takes daily sacrifice to say no to our flesh and walk in the Spirit. You will face conflict. You must stand strong on God's Word and the guidlines He puts forth to His children. Otherwise, what are you leading His people in? You must be strong and you absolutely cannot be afraid of the "bullies" that will inevitably come in and out of your ministry. God already tells us that Satan is hard at work and He uses people to disrupt God's plan. It is YOUR JOB as the leader to be ever vigilant and alert in your ministry. God promises to make you bold and fearless. If you are not, then you have a problem.
This is CRUCIAL to your ministry. Because if you are unwilling to defend boldly what is right and are willing to compromise in order to make everybody happy...then you will not have workers that trust you enough to get involved. I am one of those workers... if I see my leadership buckle under pressure and not enforce God's standards and allow sin to creep into the ministries... I will not set foot in a ministry because
1. I don't link arms with people in ministry who choose to walk in disobedience and have a bad witness.
2. I realize that if my leader can't stand up to pressure then they will never have my back when I do stand for what is right against someone who might think otherwise and want to cause trouble.
Good solid workers will not play around in the kingdom. So if you want good workers...you have to lead the way in truth, in boldness, in unapologetic integrity of the Word of God. When you face conflict, the very FIRST thing you should ever do as a leader is GO Straight to Jesus and His Word AND take the one in conflict WITH YOU. Lead them. Show them that we must compare our opinions on things with God. We must always do what God wants. This may suprise us sometimes because we get ideas in our heads that we think is God but when we begin to study His Word and seek Him, we realize that we are wrong. This is CRUCIAL for us to teach in these moments because THEY also need to learn this. Because God tells us so. And if you are wrong...then apologize quickly and make it right. But if you are right...STAND FIRM. God doesn't need to be apologized for...ever.
4. GOD HAS ALREADY SENT YOU HIS SERVANTS The biggest hear'ts cry from an almost burnt out leader is usually always..."where are all the workers?" God is Always Faithful to His plan. Note, I didn't say always faithful to our plan. So if you are on the right track to His plan...the workers are there. Now, this is really where your work begins. You're the leader so this is where you lead. You will possibly have different types of workers sitting in your ministry:
A. THE UNDISCOVERED WORKER: This worker probably has either never really thought about it, or they are simply scared to step out and lead or get involved. These are the type of workers that you as their leader have to spend time in prayer over them seeking God in direction of how He wants You to help them become who HE wants them to be. God has never failed me in this...ever. I don't know the plans God has for the people He puts in my path, so I pray and I let the Holy Spirit do it's work in me while I'm talking with them. We need to know our workers, usually if we just talk with them and get to know them, we usually can pin point giftings and talents that they have and even some they may not even realize that they have. This is what makes us leaders folks. God gives us gifts and abilities to really see people and help them develop into who God is calling them to be. This type of worker usually takes encouragement, guidance, a little coaxing, and a little pushing. But oh the joy to see someone step into the path that God has laid before them, and the excitement when they realize that there is so much more than they ever imagined!
B. THE FRUSTRATED WORKER This could have something to do with the "red tape" we talked about earlier or the lack of security they feel because of the insecurity they see in their leader. OR it could be that they've tried and failed in ministry. They could've experience hurt in ministry before and still long to be used but don't want to risk the heartache all over again. We know this is a very common problem that really everyone in the Body of Christ faces right? I'm pretty sure every single one of us has been there. Ministry hurts because people hurt. And even though there is so much I could say on this topic, the only thing that will help this worker is ... healing. Timing is so important to every individual but I believe especially important when you are dealing with someone who has been hurt in the ministry. It is important that we as leaders love and value our people. Treat every person in your care like family. This takes work but people are more willing to serve when they feel like they belong. Get to know them and get them talking. Help them not to hold in the hurt...when they release it into the light then there is freedom in that and God can heal. Help them press closer into God and help them understand more about Him and the Holy Spirit will reach their heart and set them free. Be patient but also help them get involved in small ways, ease them back into ministry, and discover what they love to do for God and start working slowly in that direction.
Another possible reason for a frustrated worker might be opportunity but lack of opportunity. Haha..Have you ever witnessed a leader that gives a job away just to take it back? Happens alot in ministry. We cannot do this as leaders. When you give a job away then leave them alone. If you have a problem with how they are doing their job (remember what we talked about...problem with God's standards not your way of doing something....) just talk to them and try to let them fix it. Simply taking over because you think you're doing them a favor, will probably never play well in your favor. Empower them to do the right thing, to get better at their job, or to give the job up if they don't believe it's what God wants them to do. I have seen this act literally CRUSH people in ministry. People are not going to want to get involved if we as leaders are constantly hovering and taking over. We have to be able to give control away to other people. You can always step in if it's absolutely necessary. Remember you cannot help someone grow into what they are suppose to be if you are constantly doing it for them.
C, THE WORKER WHO IS A NATURAL LEADER It is always said and with good reason that "eveyone should be willing to clean the toilets". This is a very true statement because it in part defines the attitude of true servanthood. It is important that we all remember that none of us are any more important or loved more by God than anyone else. But it doesn't change the fact that if God has called someone into leadership, why would He send them to your ministry to simply clean the toilets? Now maybe He will send leaders to your ministry because they are struggling and need an attitude adjustment. You should probably be able to tell this fairly quickly after getting to know them.
But most likely, God has heard YOUR PLEAS as a leader, asking Him to have His Way in your ministry and He, being the Faithful God that He is, does exactly what you've asked. He's sent in leaders to HELP YOU pave the way in His plan. I've said it so many times because I believe it 100% that God NEVER called anyone to do ministry and lead the way alone. If you find yourself as the leader completely worn out and discouraged because you are doing everything by yourself... then YOU aren't utilizing what God has given you in the form of other leaders. Too many leaders are simply handing out important name tags to people to make them feel important and yet never actually allowing them to flourish or have influence. BUT in GOD'S Ministry.... He uses lots of people to bring about His plan and reach all of His people.
If you have natural leaders sitting in your ministry who are not involved or even maybe who have a title position but that's all the farther it goes...then this is a good time to evaluate how YOU as their LEADER have given them opportunity to lead in the things that God has brought them into your ministry for.
Remember that all good leaders, are not there nor have any desire to "take over" your ministry. They just long to be used by God in what He is calling them to do. And nothing is more frustrating than a leader who is ready and desires to do what God is calling them to do but can't because they are not allowed to.
This is a tough one because it takes a very strong, very secure, very confident leader.... to step aside and share in the responsibility of God's Plan. Poor leaders will always surround themselves with those who are weaker than they are, those who will always be dependant and ask questions before acting, yes men. Good Leaders will always surround themselves with those who are equal to or above them in spiritual things, giftings, knowledge, experience. Because they understand that the strength and integrity and direction will always only be as strong as the leadership of that ministry.
If you want your ministry to grow... you have to be open and willing to accept and make room for the other leaders that God brings into your ministry. It is for your benefit, and according to HIS Plan.
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The Truth is, there is so much to learn about God, and so many ways to serve Him, that You as the leader of these precious people....cannot do everything by yourself. You will fail, because you were never designed to do it all. The most important move you can make as a leader in the Kingdom of God...is link arms with the Leaders He brings you and allow God to use them how He wants to in your (His) ministry. You will not lose control of the ministry. You will not lose respect of your people. You will not have more heartache than happy. .... You will rise. You will do far more with other leaaders than you could ever do on your own. You will not walk through the journey alone. You will have strong accountability in your ministry when you have other leaders sharing ideas and convictions on the things of God. You will not have to make the hard decisions on your own. You will have a strong support system in place to keep you on the right track. You cannot lose when you surround yourself with other leaders after God's own heart.
The question is...are you strong enough...to let others lead?
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So remember whenever you think, "where are the workers?"... remind yourself first that they are HIS SERVANTS, placed there to do HIS WILL. We simply need to seek Him for direction in who HE wants to use in HIS ministry and then we provide the opportunity for them to fulfill what God is calling them to do. Remember that we as their leaders are there to guide them and make sure that they always stay within the boundaries of God's Word, but it is equally important that we remember that we also have to get out of the way and let God use them as He sees fit. Remember that He created us each uniquely according to His purpose and design, so we have to allow people to use their own personalities and creativity and uniqueness as they serve God in ministry. As long as their ideas and styles don't contradict God's standards, we have to be willing as leaders to "let go" and let them please God in their own way. How much does it hurt God's heart when we stand in the way of someone else's worship? We need to stay humble in this area and stop trying to make God's people our puppets if we truly want HIS MINISTRY to move forward in the kingdom.
In Leadership.... It's not about us...it's about them.... as individuals...
a. discovering God's plan for their lives
b. surrendering wholly to Him
c. continually growing deeper in their relationship with Him
d. using their gifts and talents in the way God designed for them
e. having opportunity and encouragement from us to move forward in what God is calling them to do
f. having good solid godly guidance from us that always brings them to God's Truth to help THEM live the life God has planned for them
When your ministry becomes more about the individuals that God has placed in your care and how to help them achieve what God is calling them to do... Then you are a real leader. Then you are all about God's ministry. Because God's heart has never been about activities, or programs, or crowds, or tons of workers.... His heart has ALWAYS been about how much an individual understands how much He loves them and knowing Him well. See the rest....will all fall into place, you will have outreach in your ministries, you will have activities, and programs, and you will have crowds (small or large)... but if you do it this way... it will all be done right. it will all be done well. and it will all be done His way. AND most importantly... He will be pleased....with you.
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