Regularly, if you listen to podcasts or attend conferences, you will hear statistics about the pace of ministry, the number of pastors who are burning out, struggling in their roles, leaving ministry, and so on. Ministry, like all jobs, is busy. There is always more to do than there is time in a day. We rush from one meeting or fire to the next, and when we return to our desks, we find another email waiting that opens up a new opportunity or problem to solve. 

Throw in writing sermons, creating discipleship curriculum or classes, meeting with people and counseling them, planning weddings and funerals, and many pastors fall into bed at night and wonder, “What did I really accomplish today?”

Ruth Haley Barton, in her excellent book Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry, poses some thought-provoking questions for busy leaders. Questions that I think, if we take time to answer, will help us see what God is doing and ultimately, where to put our time and effort. 

What Barton wants us to see is what is really happening in our souls. Because what happens in your soul sets the course for your leadership and church.

How much am I paying attention, really? Many of us, because of the pace of life and the amount of technology and information we consume, only pay attention to what is right in front of us or the next thing on our list. While that can be important in certain moments and seasons, that is not sustainable. 

The most significant insights for your life and leadership, the next big idea, the breakthrough in a conversation only happen in spaces where time is able to be given to thinking, processing, asking questions, praying, and listening. 

Do you see the people around you who are hurting? Are you able to notice the person in the meeting who isn’t speaking up or seems “a bit off?” As a pastor, do you rush through the lobby on a Sunday morning thinking of your sermon or the meeting after church, or are you able to linger and be present with people?

Too often, as pastors, we focus on the tasks of ministry because we can cross those off. However, while those are part of ministry, they are not the most significant aspect of ministry, which is being present with people. 

Do I have enough give in my schedule to be able to turn aside and pay attention when there is something that warrants it? This is connected to the first question. 

Is there space in your soul and life for God to speak and move? Many times, we want God to speak and move in our lives, but for him to do so, he’d have to catch up to us because we are rushing so quickly through things. 

Do you take time each day for God to speak to you? Are you living with such an awareness that you can notice when the Holy Spirit tugs or moves?

Which leads into question three…

Could it be because I am moving so fast that I do not have time to turn aside and look? A simple way to think about this question is to ask when the last time was that you noticed something and changed directions. Can you point to the last time that you heard God speak to you, or saw the movement of the Spirit around you? 

If you can’t think of a time that has happened recently, then you are moving too quickly. 

That should be a blinking red light that you are moving too quickly through life. 

For most of us, silence and stillness are intimidating practices to engage in. The pace of our lives keeps the voices at bay. When we slow down, memories begin to surface, reminding us of things said and unsaid. However, quietness is also crucial for bringing up places we need to pay attention to or relationships we need to work on. 

Do I even have mechanisms in my life that create space for paying attention, so that I don’t miss the places where God himself is trying to communicate to me? Barton closes with the self-awareness question. 

Do you know how God speaks to you? Do you have things in place to make sure you have the opportunity to notice God at work and His speaking to you?

While God speaks in a variety of ways to us, for many of us, there is a consistency to how God speaks based on background and personality. 

As you head into the summer, these questions can be a great diagnostic tool to ask how you are doing in hearing the voice of God and making space for Him to work in your life.