Enduring New Ministry
Have you ever taken a new step in the way you serve God’s kingdom? Maybe you started volunteering in a ministry, maybe you took on a leadership role, maybe you started discipling someone. Did you find that once you got neck-deep into that role that it turned out to be harder or less exciting than you thought it’d be? This happens extremely frequently, I’d say more often than not, and doesn’t always go away, even after the same pattern has happened multiple times. Our expectations don’t always line up with the reality of the role that God has led us to. Living with that disappointment can lead to despair and exhaustion - it leads us to feel tempted to quit, and sometimes we actually step away from the opportunity that once excited us.
Romans 5:3-5 says that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. So when we experience suffering or inconvenience in our ministry efforts, how can we see this as an opportunity to build endurance?
One thing is sure: we won’t see our endurance grow if we’re always cutting the process short. Our hearts are prone to guide us towards comfort, ease, and familiarity so when those things are challenged, our initial instinct is to quit before we even get the chance to challenge those vices. The gut instinct towards self-preservation overrules the belief that the Lord will preserve us as we are faithful to our commitments.
Before I move on, hear me say this: sometimes there is ample reason to step away from a role that is truly damaging to your spiritual life. When the church environment is clearly unhealthy, when serving in that capacity would compromise other scriptural values, that is when we should definitely consider stepping down. But my suspicion is that most people will feel like they want to stop long before their involvement gets to this point.
I have encountered this in a few ministry roles, sometimes the same cycle multiple times in one role. This graph has helped me understand what I’m dealing with and how to see my progress as I move towards greater endurance:
I’ve adapted a graph that is actually used for leaders to understand how to walk with those they lead, but I think it’s helpful for the who are new to a role to see what they should expect.
We start in the lower left quadrant: we’re not very good at what we’re doing but we’re very enthusiastic about the work we’re getting into. This is the enthusiastic beginner, a.k.a the honeymoon phase. Everything is exciting, but you need a lot of hand-holding. Chances are high that someone is telling you exactly what to do and how to do it.
Then as we become more familiar with the ministry, we begin to understand its shortcomings, and we are confronted with our own weaknesses as well. Although we are growing more capable, we find ourselves more disappointed - oftentimes because we thought this role would look a certain way and our expectations have been broken. The excitement that once fueled us is slowly being replaced with discontentment, and even some level of resentment or hostility towards those who lead us. This phase is called the Disillusioned Learner, the top left quadrant.
When our discontentment peaks, we’re tempted to quit. It’s difficult to know how long the discomfort will last and it is easy to daydream about finding something new, starting the cycle all over again. But this is where steadfastness and faithfulness are developed and sharpened. When we latch onto the hope that God will use this difficulty for our good and His glory, we can lean into the task at hand, buckle down in our commitment, and begin to see the tides turn within our hearts. When we’re confronted with the depth of our weakness, that is when we learn that we cannot do anything in our power, we have to rely on the Lord for all energy and strength. But it takes a conscious, self-denying decision to stick it out — true endurance rarely comes naturally.
Notice something: endurance is built in the middle of this process, at the most miserable stage. In those moments, we don’t always have the clarity to see how God will use this to grow us, we’re blinded by our disillusionment. But once we get to the end, we see that endurance is not driven by enthusiasm. It is fueled by a commitment and trust primarily directed towards God, and secondarily towards our earthly leadership.
Once we make the decision to stick it out and see the task through, we’re still growing in competence, but the enthusiasm grows back too! We begin to see the seeds we planted in the first stage sprout and flourish; we get the first signs of fruit. The excitement begins to return, not through forgetting the flaws and weaknesses of the ministry, but seeing the blessings far outperform them. This kind of joy is nuanced — we see God’s good hand at work in a weak and broken world, through weak and broken people. We see the good gifts He has given us and how He can use them to bring Him glory! Encouraged but still daunted by the discouragement of the previous stage, we become a Cautious Contributor, the top right quadrant.
And as our maturity grows, our confidence in Christ propels us towards heightened joy and gospel productivity. It is a wonderful place to be, to see the power of God at work in you and through the weaknesses of your ministry and yourself. With our confidence rooted in Christ, the pleasure of the last quadrant far outpaces the enthusiasm at the beginning.
A few questions to reflect on when you start serving God’s kingdom in a new way:
How will I respond to broken expectations?
How will I respond to correction - when leadership addresses my weaknesses?
How will I lean into God’s strength when I feel weak?
Those who have gone through this can testify to Romans 5:3-5 — this kind of suffering really builds endurance. It exposes previously unknown problems, which leads to developing Christlike character. And after seeing God lead us through to the end, we can have hope that He will do so again. This is why we can rejoice in our sufferings!
Let us run into new challenges in ministry with confidence, knowing that it will get difficult, that our expectations will be broken, but that the Lord will walk us through each step and that He will use it for good!
P.S. — As I mentioned earlier, this graph is actually intended to help leaders understand their role in this process, so if you are a leader it’s worth checking out! This principle is called “Situational Leadership”. If you would like to discuss what this looks like from the leader’s perspective, please reach out to someone on our staff.