When I first became a pastor, my mentor told me not to make any changes in my first year of ministry, and I lived by that advice. However, I thought there would be no harm in encouraging the existing leaders in their ministry roles. I remember one meeting in particular where we were talking about a need for more Sunday school space. The church really only had four rooms that could be used for classes. I offered several suggestions that we could implement to temporarily give us room to grow, but each suggestion was rejected because "we had tried that in the past and it didn't work" or "that doesn't go with the decor of the church." That meeting was very discouraging, to say the least, and I remember experiencing firsthand the complacency that can set in when someone does the same ministry for many years. Instead of using their acquired skills and knowledge to grow God's church, my friends had become bogged down in apathy and negativism. So how do I turn my length of tenure into something positive rather than a boat anchor of complacency? Whatever your ministry, let me give you four suggestions that will help.
Recognize the tendency we all have to drift toward ease and continually recommit yourself to invest in your ministry. Just about everything in life drifts toward the path of least resistance; so unless you decide to apply yourself continually, you too will simply rest on your acquired abilities rather than trusting God for greater things. Embrace this reality and remind yourself often that unless you decide and re-decide to give it your best, you simply won't.
Make yourself accountable and let someone speak into your life. One of the best ways to improve at what you do is to invite people to help you evaluate your ministry. Ask someone you trust, and someone who knows your area of service, if they see you giving it your best. A word of honesty here--most people will be a bit reticent to tell you the truth. It's not that they won't want to help you--they will just be leery of whether you really want them to. Many people say they want the truth, but when someone shares it they become defensive or hurt, and even respond in a negative, wounded manner. Ask for help and be willing to embrace truth with gratefulness--even if it hurts a bit.
Continue to stretch yourself with continuing education and training. It's amazing to me how many Christians who are ministry servants and even leaders, don't avail themselves of opportunities to grow and improve in what God has called them to do. We live in a day when so much help is available to equip ourselves profoundly. Be a lifelong learner--a continual improver. A key to taking advantage of tenure is to keep on training yourself to be even better and more proficient at what you do. Yet so few actually do--don't be one of them!
Consider taking the skills and abilities you've learned in a long term ministry and actually choosing to use them in something different. After my first year of pastoring, and making no changes, I decided it was time to make some. I remember I led us to switch up people's ministries, that is, some who had been doing a particular ministry for thirty years were asked to do something different. Well, as you may have guessed immediately, that didn't go over very well. But the reason I did that back then was because I understood that change can be helpful in keeping us fresh, diligent, and not simply relying on past accomplishments. If you find yourself merely going through the motions, not excited about your ministry, consider trying something new in the year ahead. Doing something new tends to increase our excitement and dependence upon God, so if you can take your acquired skills and abilities into something fresh, think about it.
Serving in a ministry long term can be a great blessing because of what you've learned and what you know. Make it so. Don't settle for a name and title and lukewarm service.
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