““The main obstacle to love for God is service for God” ”
In this blog series I am suggesting a plan for effective college and campus ministry in God’s Kingdom.
One prerequisite on your journey is to find satisfaction in Christ, and not in your ministry accomplishments.
If you are going to be successful and impactful it will be because you are connected to God. Your ministry, and those within it, will thrive the more you have, in the words of Psalm 34, “tasted and seen that the Lord is good.” As you delight in God students will get a glimpse of how fulfilling and joyful iit is to abide in God’s Kingdom.
Alternatively, the more you strive to create transformative ministries apart from life rooted in Christ, the quicker you will grow towards lackluster ministry and eventual burnout. Not only is this a detriment to your faith formation, but also for those you care for. Your students are relying on you as leaders with a thriving spiritual life; will you grant them this opportunity?
When we are not at peace in Christ, we are quickly allured to find comfort or gratification in our ministry achievements. In my experience, it’s easy to find yourself in a pit of despair if you feel down on yourself, your impact, students’ attendance, or any other tempting metric. However, if you feel good about your accomplishments, you might be able to skirt along for a while and take pride in what you believe to have made happen on your own (a trap of its own form).
Whether we are content or disappointed with our achievements, it is vital to place all approval from our abundance in Christ. Our call is to return to the Good Shepherd who cares for us all the days of our lives.
Dallas Willard, a USC Philosophy professor, author, and spiritual formation expert, wrote a short 2 page essay equipping preachers to be at peace with what they’ve communicated. Whether or not you are a regular preacher there is great power in these words and practices if you seek to stay connected to our Source.
I implore you to read and practice Dallas’ wisdom from this essay on a regular basis. (INSERT LINK)
Learning to find satisfaction in Christ, and not anyone or anything else in your ministry, is foundational to faithful ministry leadership.
More planning ahead at The Waypoint Project - stay tuned.