Passion

I remember when I was 18 I had a job working for a company that made cookies and had ice cream shops on Maui (rough I know but someone had to do it). Our company lost our delivery driver who ran the routes to all the grocery stores and resorts. My boss asked me if I would like to do the delivery job for a change of pace. I agreed to take on that position. It wasn’t long before I was miserable. I enjoyed being in the stores and interacting with the customers. I wasn’t passionate about riding 4 hours a day around in a van all by myself. I’m a people person. After a few months of dreading waking up and going to work each morning I went back to my old job that I loved and was much happier.

Ever serve with someone in ministry (or perhaps were “that” person) who just didn’t seem to enjoy serving in the church? They are easy to spot because often they complain. Complain about other ministries in the church taking priority over theirs, complain that the pastor just doesn’t appreciate what they do in ministry, complain about being placed on the schedule to serve “too much”.

I believe there are a couple of possible reasons to this sort of attitude. The first could be that the person simply doesn’t understand what ministry is all about either because the person is spiritually immature or they grew up in a church where ministry was confused with social involvement in the community like being part of the Lion’s Club or Kiwanas or some other civic organization.

For some in this situation of “unhappiness” in ministry is because they have been placed in a place of ministry that is not their passion. You know immediately when you meet someone serving in the church that is passionate about the ministry they are plugged into because they have a smile on their face when they talk about their ministry which they like to talk about a lot.

Don’t let the “unhappy” minister ruin your day. Don’t give up on this person. The key then is for us as ministry team leaders to help folks recognize their passion in ministry and help them connect in that ministry. Once a person is plugged into the area they are passionate about we then get to step back and watch them light up with joy serving.