Ministry Leaders

What do you think of when you hear the word retirement? Where do you see yourself? What do you see yourself doing?

What does it mean to be called to a lifetime of ministry?

During the last few months we have examined the importance of having true meaning in and for our lives. Unless we connect our lives to a motivating meaning, we simply exist to work or play. Even if our intentions are good, both work and play will eventually become boring, not fun, if there is no meaning beyond a paycheck or short lived enjoyment.

At a recent conference I attended, the overarching message that emerged is meaning is the new metric. The Millennials are looking for it, and the rest of us need it. The age old question, “What is the meaning of life?” is now taking on a contemporary place in the pantheon of motivating questions.

For thousands of years the majority of the world’s inhabitants have worked, and slaved, to survive. There was very little need to ask “why?” there was only the need to survive. It is only in this age of plenty that we can even ask questions that go beyond survival and approach another rung on the hierarchy of needs. So now we ask, “Does our work have meaning?”

No Passion, No Job

This question arises now when employers are hiring and potential candidates are applying. For decades the issues of employee selection revolved around clear job descriptions and skill set evaluation and match. If those two matched, then employment was usually the next step.

Chick fil-A has added another dimension to their hiring and training process, soft skills. Chad Carter, Human Resources specialist, expands on this when he suggests that the soft skills include: problem solving, interactive ability, tactical management, and business writing. Both Chad and Chick-fil-A’s experience is that it is usually the intangibles, the Soft Skills, that determine employee or franchisee success.

At Envoy, one of those intangibles we have recently prioritized is “passion”. When we review candidates for open positions we ask: “Can the potential employee be passionate about the mission of the ministry?”

No passion, no job --- regardless of skill set.

Upon reflection, I think both the priority Chick-fil-A puts on the intangibles and the realization that “passion” for the ministry is important, connect directly to the issue of “meaning” identified earlier. If someone is just doing a job it seems likely their performance will be average at best, boring at worst, and short-lived in most cases. So passion, the intangibles, and the call to meaning are important, no, critical.

I recently had what appeared to be a good candidate for a position with Envoy. As we talked about the position, I mentioned we started four days a week at 7:30AM so we all can have Friday afternoons off. Well, at least most of us. That was a deal breaker for him. He had to take his kids to school. There was not enough “meaning” in this ministry for him to change a behavior pattern. I was glad that he was able to answer the question, “Can this job have real meaning for me?” The answer was “no”. Often a “no” is more important than a “yes”.

So, if meaning is the new metric, then it is important to be able to talk about it, identify its components, and then measure it. While those are good questions, I’m not sure we have all of the answers to those questions yet. But we will.

In our next blog we’ll take on the meaning of the metric.

In the meantime, I encourage you to head over to www.futurefundedministry.com and download a free copy of my newest eBook: Live with Meaning: Understanding the Power of Future- Funded Ministry. The book will challenge the way you view retirement and give insight into why it’s important to plan for the years ahead where the paycheck stops but the call to ministry continues.

Discovering our future together,

Bruce

Recently, a young man approached me at church and asked if we could meet. When I inquired the purpose, he said he was deeply committed to ministry but felt God had gifted him with business talents. He wondered if ministry and business could be combined and wanted to talk about it.

I was both pleased and encouraged.

You see, that specific issue was one of the challenges of my youth. Unfortunately when I was younger I was not able to express my thoughts that clearly, nor did I have anyone to talk to about it.

The challenge: How do we combine business with ministry? Or is it ministry with business?

In the last few blogs we've examined the value and importance of “meaning”.

We've asked:

What is the meaning of life?

What is the meaning of relationships?

What is the meaning of the priorities that guide our decision making?

I believe that the decisions we make and the actions we take are inextricably intertwined with the meaning that we give to them.

As we continue our discussion, let’s look at the triggers of our life and how they can affect the outcome of our lives.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 NIV

When we attach meaning to life, it adds a whole series of new dimensions. Without meaning, no purpose; no purpose, no power; no power, no action; no action, no result. So there!

An integral part of those identified “meanings” is the element of hope. Hope encompasses what we look forward to. Hope is forward leaning, not backwards looking. Clearly looking forward is important.

I am reminded of Luke 9:62: No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is for service in the Kingdom of God.

So, why not look back?

We usually want to start the New Year filled with hope.

The start of the New Year is one of those times, those moments, that can be pivotal. Pivotal in the sense that we give ourselves the mental and emotional space to reflect, review, and re-position. Now is the time when we can rationalize the past pain, pause to regroup, and prepare for the days ahead. Knowing that attitude is "everything", taking the time for some attitude adjustment is also part of the year end, New Year's drill. Clearly we are dealing with the "feelings" that are attached to the realities of life.

It’s Christmas. For some a time of hustle, bustle and party. For some it is a time of reflection. I’ve noticed that those reflections aren’t the same for everyone. For some those events signal joy and happiness, for others sorrow and loneliness.

The way we view Christmas and its meaning can be highly dependent on what stage of life we are in. Typically Christmas is a time for family and many of the events this time of year center around gathering loved ones from near and far to celebrate the holiday.

This Christmas season I have been prompted to think about the number of people in the US that are not married. For the first time, that percentage is over 50%.

What gives meaning to your life and mine?

It is reasonable to assume, that because we are different, we have different life experiences, perceptions, and even DNA to both prepare us for and take us down different life paths. It also seems reasonable that that those very experiences and our unique DNA will propel us into different futures.

As suggested in a prior blog, “We have connections that take us back, and interestingly, connections that propel us forward.”