By Susan Lawrence
It”s a great idea! You know it can have an impact on people. You”re excited to get it started. Others sense your excitement as you share with them, and they get excited, too.
You”re ready to blast off with the power of a space shuttle. You”re in your comfort zone. Dream big, and shoot for the moon! You make a few plans, share what you imagine the beauty of the view will be once in flight, and press the LAUNCH button.
The problem is what gets launched must also land. Without a plan for the journey, the landing will be disastrous.
If you”re a starter, innovator, or activator, you likely prefer the launchpad to the landing strip. By the time your vision has taken off, your hand is already hovering over the large red button to launch another shuttle.
And you rationalize. “I don”t need to know how to land. Other people can do that. I should do what I”m best at doing and let others do what they”re best at doing, right?”
It”s good in theory but often creates crash-and-burns in ministry. We can get so narrow-minded in our view (and preference) of our role in the body of Christ that we avoid what we”re being called to complete in ministry. I”ve seen this happen many times before, especially among highly energetic, visionary ministry leaders. The vision of soaring often results in painful road rash.
“Why don”t they care as much as I do about this?”
“Why can”t they just see what needs to get done and do it. I”m not a babysitter.”
“What”s wrong with people these days? Why can”t they commit? Why do I have to keep asking and helping?”
“Everything was fine when I was involved. I don”t know how it fell apart so quickly.”
“They just don”t get it.”
You might feel as if you”re the only one suffering the painful effects of road rash, but anyone you sent soaring into the sky with your vision suffers, too. How can you extend the life of the flight and make the journey a smoother one for yourself and those you lead?
Realize passion trickles.
Your heart rate might race at the anticipation of a new program, but you can”t pass along your heart rate. God gives you an intense passion to share, but you can”t hand over the entirety and intensity of the passion. God-given passion has been fanned in a way a person cannot replicate. God can certainly fan the flame in someone else, but don”t expect someone to have the same response and commitment you have.
The primary ownership you feel will not be replicated. New owners might choose redesign, deterioration, or abandonment. You must be willing to continue to stay involved if you want to influence the process. If you pass along the ownership, you must relinquish some control, but you can give significant support to those who follow if you”re willing to invest.
Redefine your role.
If your strength is in starting something, and your weakness is in finishing it, you likely see patterns of how your strength and weakness impact the ministries in which you”re involved. Depending on the people surrounding you, your strengths and weaknesses might be well complemented, and you can easily pass off tasks and vision to be competently completed by others. However, if you”re repeatedly frustrated with the process of sharing ministry, you need to make some changes. It”s easier to change your own behavior, response, and expectations than someone else”s.
For example, redefine what you see as “starting something.” Perhaps your favorite part of the process is to imagine the possibilities and cast the vision””then you prefer to get out of the way of the routine of getting the details done. “Starting” to you equals “launching,” as in this article”s opening example. You love to feel the rush of the launch, but you”re not part of the mayhem that soon follows when those launched aren”t sure of the expectations and procedures. They don”t know where they”re going or how they”re going to get there, and the ground rushes toward them at breakneck, terrifying speed. You”ve had to pick up the pieces more than once.
What if you redefine “starting” to equal “landing,” so that you haven”t successfully started something until you”ve successfully landed? Make sure those on the initial launchpad get the full experience of the journey with your support. After they”ve completed the mission once, they”ll be more confident. Their experiences will help them make decisions on future journeys. They”ll be able to problem-
solve and train others, becoming co-owners and commanders of future missions.
Remember relationships.
Ministry would be a lot easier if it weren”t for the people involved. However, people are the reason you”re involved in ministry (hopefully). God created and cares for people, including you, and he wants you to do life with others. It”s the messes of life that often teach us the most about ourselves, God, and our relationship with him.
When you”re about to give up because people aren”t doing what you think they should be doing or in the way and speed you prefer, remember God has likely thought the same about you throughout your life. He continues to invest, because it”s not the task he”s invested in””it”s you! He”s working through the mess of your now to the beauty of your tomorrow.Â
You can”t completely set aside the tasks of ministry, but never let them overshadow the people involved. Continue to invest in the mess of people”s todays. Impact the beauty of their tomorrows.
Susan Lawrence has coordinated women”s ministries, small groups ministry, and Christian education at Taylorville (Illinois) Christian Church. She”s a national speaker and author of Pure Purpose and Pure Emotion Bible studies. Her next women”s Bible study, Pure Growth: A Study of Spiritual Seasons, will be offered free online this fall at purepurposebook.wordpress.com.
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