This post is not about keeping focus for an hour or two in order to get some solid sermon prep in. This post is about losing the focus for the overall ministry of the congregation. I lose focus as a leader for several reasons.
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Kevin Chan
1) What People Want. People seem to want something that is different than what we are currently doing. I start making adjustments to my current focus in ministry based on people’s preferences, rather than on God’s leading. This is a major mistake. Yes, “what people want” needs to be talked about and taken into consideration, but it isn’t the leading force of the ministry. It is only a consideration in a planning process for any future focus for the ministry. I need to take note of what people are saying and use them in a future planning session.
2) I get bored easily. I might lead a particular bible study, or preach a certain series, or commit to a pattern of more regular pastoral care, and in the middle of it all, I’m ready for the next new thing. I lose my focus on what was decided 3 months ago by the leadership, because I simply want something new.
3) I don’t see results. A ministry direction was agreed on, I’ve been working on it for six or eight weeks, and it doesn’t seem to be “working.” I then start thinking about what else I could do to “make it work?” Or I question whether this is really the best focus. This is a problem of patience and trust. Did I really only give the Holy Spirit six weeks to work through the process that the congregational leadership prayerfully decided on? We picked a focus for a reason – because we can’t do everything. I tend to start trying to do everything because I think the one or two things we decided to focus on aren’t working. You can see the self-centredness in this. I start relying on just myself, and not trusting God to work through the community of believers.
The next post will be about how to combat the problem of losing ministry focus.
