Subtle Celebrating

I recently had a discussion with a pastor who was discouraged in the overall progress of the ministry in his local church. His response to me sounded something like this:

"People don't seem to get it."

"Leaders aren't stepping up."

" I feel like I am the life support of the church."

" We aren't really catching the vision for our community."

" It seems like everybody is satisfied living in maintenance mode."

" The giving is down."

How I remember those very words periodically in my 30 years of pastoral ministry.

As pastors we have big dreams and ideals that motivate us to make an impact for the Kingdom.

We understand what the scriptures are calling the church to be and when we can't see the tangible momentum in our ministries we get frustrated.

Let me help you out of that spiral with a suggestion. Learn to celebrate those subtle victories.

Hang on to that person who recently gave their life to Christ. The elder who stepped up to the plate. The person who you recently counseled who had an "aha" moment. The budget being met, even though the giving is down. The spiritual growth in some of the individuals. The recent baptism.

The point is this: Our stress and discouragement is often measured by the distance between expectations and reality. Reality is, that God is at work when one life is changed. So before you get too discouraged maybe it is time to either lower ones expectations, or get in better touch with reality.

In the meantime keep celebrating the subtleties of ministry.