How to survive being used in ministry …

Bible colleges and seminaries fail to offer one of the most needed courses any future vocational minister will need: How to survive being used in ministry.

Such a course should be added to every institution equipping future church leaders and could easily be the shortest course offered. That’s because the content could revolve around a simple answer: Expect it.

Yes, expect to be used.

Many young men see ministry through the images of rock star pastors sitting on chrome-legged chairs next to high top tables preaching to an audience of thousands. They see the same preachers traveling to be keynote speakers at conferences across the country, and see their hipster images on the back of best-selling books or starring in their own teaching series offered on CD. That is the alluring nature of today’s call to ministry.

But the reality — and the call — is quite different.

A call to preach the word is a call to follow in the footsteps of Christ by spending your life in service to others to the glory of God.

Real ministry is about spending yourself on others, and others get used to that. They will ask for more, and they will seek your help. You may (or may not) get a thank you for your service, but often the reward is in lives that are changed and what God is storing up for you in heaven.

Expect to be used.

Expect for people to bring their sins, their problems, their challenges, their fears, their failures, their relational issues, their doubts, their difficulties to you for you to help them with. After all, you have answered the call to shepherd them. As a shepherd, you guide and protect them. And as you do that, your people will seek you out and use you for that purpose.

Be concerned if they don’t!

How do you survive being used and not wind up being used up and burned out?

Love your sheep.

Christ so loved the world that He poured His life out in service and sacrifice. Love is so strong that it desires to serve and give and protect, and finds its fulfillment in the best interests of the other person being met. When the shepherd loves his sheep in the same way the Great Shepherd loves us, we will want to be used by the sheep for their guidance and protection.

In addition to being motivated by love, be guided by the Word of God, stay in constant touch with the Lord by praying without ceasing, and be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the shepherd’s guide as well as his foremost tool, constant communion with God keeps you on course, and the Holy Spirit is the shepherd’s constant partner in ministry.

Finally, refresh yourself often in times of worship, rest, reflection, and personal relationships untethered to shepherding responsibilities. By doing so, you will find yourself wanting to get off your knees and back out into the pasture with your sheep, offering yourself to be used by them.

Scotty