Letter to the Younger Minister Me
Dear Younger Minister Me,
In a few decades you will look back at your years of ministry with a desire for a second chance to do or say some things differently. You will think about certain services, special events, entire seasons of ministry, or strained relationships and long for another opportunity to make them right.
The reality is that it will be impossible for you to go back and make corrections to most of those situations. But with a little humility, resilience, and resolve now, you have an opportunity to get them right the first time. So, here are a few suggestions that might help.
Surround yourself with people who will stretch your thinking and actions but also hold you accountable. Taking necessary risks might cause you to make some mistakes, but the discernment of others will help protect you from your own stupidity. It might be exhilarating when you succeed alone but it won’t be when you fail alone. And you will fail.
People will always remember how you treat them when you’re off the platform more than how you’ve led them when you’re on the platform. So, consider their interruptions as divine appointments instead of distractions. Drink more coffee with senior adults and ask their opinions before initiating change. Be more patient with needy people and chronic takers. And remember to thank those who make sacrifices to invest in your ministry, including the members of your own family.
Be on the front end of learning newer ministerial and technological languages. But don’t assume it’s always appropriate to be an early adopter of them. Being conversant in a language doesn’t mean you have to use it when it doesn’t fit the culture of your congregation. Learn more theology than technology and practice leadership like you’d practice your sermon or worship songs.
Always ask how something might impact your family before asking how it might impact your ministry. Leave more things at the office when you go home and be home when you are home. Take a Sabbath each week. It will not only help your spiritual and physical health, but it will also help the relational health of your family. Stay longer instead of bailing for a new place of ministry every couple of years. If your ministry frequently moves your children away from their friends and foundations, then how can you expect them to even like church when they are no longer required to attend?
What you know about ministry now won’t be enough to sustain you through your entire ministry. So, read more, study more, and ask more questions. Be a lifelong learner who understands it’s never too soon or too late to learn something new.
Finally, I know that it is sometimes overwhelming to balance the stresses of ministry and relationships. And you might even wonder at times if the effort is really worth it. But let me assure you that in a few decades when you look back, you’ll be able to acknowledge with certainty that it was.
Sincerely,
Older Minister You