Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
I’ve found that expectations and reality rarely occupy the same space in our lives. Imagine with me: you doomscroll through social media and find an awesome shirt that you just know your significant other will love. “Five bucks? What a steal!” you say to yourself. You place the order, and three months later, you get what can only be described as a baby Gap special. Turns out the picture you looked at was to scale. This is a literal small example of how what we thought we were getting isn’t at all what we received. Also, it’s a good lesson in avoiding buying and believing everything we see on social media.
This year marks 10 years that I’ve been on staff at Venture Church, and I’d love to sit here and tell you that ministry has met every expectation I ever had. I’d love to tell you that just by mentioning Jesus, I got to see people saved, that the response to worship every Sunday is incredible in the room, and that every time I lead, I’m energized and focused beyond belief. If I told you that, then I would be bold-faced lying to you.
I’m afraid we’ve glamorized our faith to a point. That somehow, we believe the stage carries some sort of ability harnessed only by those employed by the local church. We see well-known pastors held in such high esteem that you would think they were the ones who gave their lives on a cross. If that's your view on the church, then I’m afraid you purchased the baby Gap special, so don’t be disappointed when it doesn’t cover you.
In 1 Corinthians 4:10-13, Paul explains what humility in ministry looks like:
“Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. Even now, we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment.”
Ministry is every believer's ultimate calling, no matter the venue, but we have to treat the stage, the classroom, the field, the office like a trench where we battle the enemy, not a bed where we lie our heads in comfort. It wasn’t easy for Jesus, so it can’t be for us. The good news is that His reality is always much better than our expectations.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.