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I just wrapped up a series on the book of Habakkuk. In it, Habakkuk wrestles with God to try to understand where God is in our pain, what God is doing when life seems out of control, and why evil seems to prosper. 

The book begins with Habakkuk questioning God in prayer, asking, “How long, O Lord,” and ends with a prayer of praise. 

Habakkuk ends by saying, “God, I have found you in the joy, the sunshine. I have found you in the storm, when life is hard, and because I have found you in both places, when the silence comes, when I don’t understand what is going on, I know you are still there.”

But we are still left to wonder, why? Why do we have to walk through this? Why are there trials? Can’t we get to that place of trust and praise without the valleys?

The answer seems to be no. 

Over and over in the Bible, we are told that we cannot become who God has called us to be without adversity.

James tells us: Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

The only way endurance is produced is through trials. The only way that endurance will have its full effect to bring us to a place of being mature, complete, and lacking nothing, is through trials. 

Tim Keller, in his book Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, said, “There is no way to really learn how to trust in God until you are drowning.”

There is no way to really learn how to trust in God until you are drowning. -Tim Keller
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So, how do we do that?

Keller goes on, “To walk with God through pain and suffering means we must treat God as God and as there with us. It means we speak to him, pouring out our hearts to him in prayer, like Habakkuk. It means to trust him. But it also means to see with the eyes of your heart how Jesus plunged into the fire for you when he went to the cross. This is what you need to know so you will trust him, stick with him, and thus turn into purer gold in the heat. If you remember with grateful amazement that Jesus was thrown into the ultimate suffering for you, you can begin to sense him in your smaller sufferings with you.”

If we don’t walk with God in pain and suffering, and go it alone, we will not find God there. We will walk all alone.

What we have seen from Habakkuk as he walked with God is not an instantaneous answer. He got some answers right away, but some questions God did not answer. He got some deliverance, but not all of it right away. He received the peace that passes understanding, he gained new insights, but what we see is the slow and steady movement towards the person God calls him to be.

Notice what Habakkuk didn’t do: He didn’t pretend his pain, suffering, and questions weren’t there. He didn’t act like life was okay. He didn’t put on a smile and pretend.

Often, our culture says the way forward when life is hard is to think positively, pretend it doesn’t hurt, numb it with ice cream, shopping, alcohol, work, exercise, sex, or sleep. The problem is, after you do that, life still hurts. You can’t relax it away.

Instead, Habakkuk faced life. He faced the hardship and, in it, found that peace is there because God is there.

God’s presence enables us to face anything. 

God’s presence enables us to face anything.
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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.

What happens in your soul sets the course for your leadership and church.
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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. 

4 questions for busy leaders.
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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. 

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!
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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. 

Questions to help you see what God is doing in you and around you.
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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?

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

4 questions to ask yourself to hear God’s voice.
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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. 

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It’s Monday.

This is the most challenging day of the week for most pastors, worship leaders, kids, and student pastors.

You are tired, poured out. But you are also excited and exhilarated about Sunday. You have preached, led worship, prayed with people, and counseled them. You may baptize someone or help someone take a crucial step of faith. 

Many church leaders wake up on Monday, though, feeling exhausted and discouraged. 

You could have replayed conversations, things you should’ve said in your sermon, or another way to handle that one situation. Maybe you woke up to emails and texts telling you how much your sermon meant to someone, and another person messaged you to say they are leaving the church. 

No matter how you wake up on Monday (or any day where you are exhausted), here are a few things to help you get going:

Get out of bed. Some Mondays are great to sleep in, but getting out of bed and getting rolling is a better idea. If I stay in bed too long, I feel sluggish, no matter what day it is. I know some pastors set their alarm on Mondays and others don’t. You need to get the rest you need, which may vary each week and through seasons of life.

9 things to remember when you are exhausted.
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Know that Tuesday is coming. Most of the things that seem insurmountable on Monday look easy on Tuesday. I’m amazed at how often I get stressed about things; in 3 weeks, I have forgotten about them.

Get a workout, bike ride, hike, or run in. I know you are tired and can barely move. The adrenaline from preaching is hard to deal with the older I get. I do yoga every Sunday afternoon after preaching; otherwise, the adrenaline will kill me. But get going, do something active. It gets your blood moving, and you feel better afterward.

Take a nap. You should nap on Monday if you need one, or on Sunday afternoon. 

Work on your soul. Read something that speaks to your soul. You preached your heart out, gave everything you had to students and kids, and led worship with everything you had; now, you need to feed yourself. Monday is a great time to listen to someone else’s sermon and be challenged. I always have a devotional or book I read on Mondays that fills me up. 

Don’t be around anyone that doesn’t fill you up (if you can). You have a short fuse on Monday and probably don’t feel like yourself. You need to be around and do things that fill you up. 

9 things to remember on Monday morning.
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Be wise about what you work on. Some pastors want to get a jump on their next sermon (that’s me), while others do administrative things. But work on things that you have the energy for. If you don’t have energy for counseling or meetings, skip those on Mondays. 

Serve your spouse. You were probably a bear to them sometime on Saturday or Sunday. They were possibly a single parent on Sunday morning with the kids while you worked and are just as tired as you are. I know you don’t believe me and think your job is more challenging; at best, it is even (but theirs was more difficult). 

You have the privilege to do it again in 6 days. On some Mondays, serving in a church does not feel like a privilege, depending on what you are walking through. Not every moment recorded in Scripture seems like a privilege to lead (just read the story of Moses!). But believe me, it is. God has chosen you to preach, lead worship, counsel, shepherd, set up, greet, help kids follow Jesus, and talk with students through tricky situations. He chose you and used you. So, when Monday is hard, remember that God could’ve picked someone else. And you could’ve said no. Since God called and you said yes, get back on the horse and get ready!

It is a privilege to lead and serve in the local church.
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On Sunday, we looked at the marks of a marriage that lasts. While the passage has clear applications for all relationships, we looked particularly at the needs of men and women and how they play out in marriage. If you aren’t married, we’d encourage you to read about your love language and think about how you give and receive love the best to help you as you look for a spouse and/or improve your most important relationships. 

Often, we encounter issues when trying to show and communicate love in a way that doesn’t make sense to the other person. Each person has different needs and different love languages. 

Do you know your spouse’s love lanauge?
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Years ago, Katie and I read a book called His Needs, Her Needs, which proved very helpful to us in our relationship. In it, the author lays out the top 5 needs for a man and a woman. While these needs may vary, meaning your top 5 may not be his, they at least create an opportunity for connection and conversation. 

Here they are. 

Women                                                           Men

Affection                                                           Sexual Fulfillment

Intimate Conversations                                 Recreational Companionship

Honesty and Openness                                  Physical Attractiveness

Financial Support                                           Domestic Support

Family/Leadership Commitment                Admiration

Do you know the top 5 emotional needs of your spouse?
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Before getting into the conversation, let me make a brief comment on sexual fulfillment and physical attractiveness. We unpacked this some on Sunday, but in case you didn’t hear this, I think this is important because this can be distorted in our culture or church circles; we misuse passages and studies to guilt women into having sex with their husbands. 

Sexual fulfillment is not just something men are interested in, but women as well. Sexual fulfillment is also not just about sex, but I think about a larger conversation around intimacy and connection. Physical attractiveness is not about looking like a model on Instagram with all the filters on. The way we frame physical attractiveness is about effort and trying. As a couple ages and life takes over, the effort and trying starts to go out the window in many areas for men and women. This is a great reminder to hit pause and ask, “Are we still trying?”

Here is our challenge for you this week, if you’re married. 

Look at the above list and rank yours from 1 to 5. Again, these may vary depending on personality, season of life, health, etc. Your list may have a need on it that isn’t listed above. That’s okay. 

Then, share your list with your spouse. 

1 conversation that can change your marriage.
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We’d encourage you to talk through how each of you is doing. Start with wins and compliments. Share how the other person is knocking it out of the park. Encourage each other. 

Then, share one way to improve each one on the above list. Do your best not to get defensive or historical or to insult the other person. Often, when we have these kinds of conversations, our first reaction is to say, “What about this or that?” Or to bring up something from the past (historical), I want to encourage you to resist this temptation. 

This is an opportunity to grow closer and take your relationship to the next level. 

1 conversation every married couple should have.
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I heard at a conference recently that 2 out of 5 pastors are thinking about quitting ministry.

Many people attending church may be surprised, but pastors know this reality. 

Pastors regularly wake up after a hard day or season of ministry and wonder what life would be like in a different job. This isn’t just pastors, as I’m sure anyone reading this has thought about quitting their job and trying something different. 

But why do pastors feel this?

Pastors know this.

Many people in their churches do not.

There are a few reasons why pastors think about quitting:

1. Ministry is hard work. Every job is hard. Whether you are a pastor, an electrician, an engineer, or a barista. Life and work is hard. Ministry is no different. You can’t be naive about this. Too many pastors have rose-colored glasses about putting out a church sign and just expecting people to show up, and the people who show up will be bought in, not messy and without difficulty.

I think one of the things that pastors need to learn how to navigate is not only the physical, mental, and emotional side of their role (as all jobs do) but also the spiritual side (especially the warfare they and their families will experience) and moments of grief and loss. These are the things that set ministry apart. 

Handling your energy is a stewardship issue.
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2. They aren’t sleeping or eating well. There is a direct connection between how you eat, how you sleep, and the level of energy you have. Handling your energy is a stewardship issue. Leaders have a lot of meetings over meals and drink a lot of coffee or energy drinks. They stay up too late watching TV, surfing social media instead of sleeping, taking a sabbath, or doing something recharging and refreshing.

There is a direct connection between how you eat, how you sleep & your energy level.
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This becomes even more of an issue the older you get. Now that I’m in my 40s, I don’t have the same energy levels I had in my 20s. But many leaders try to lead and live like they are half their age. 

We often quote the verse about how our bodies are a temple, which means our bodies are meant for stewardship and worship. How we treat them is a direct reflection of our worship. So what we put into them and put them through is connected to our worship.

3. They don’t have an outlet. Whenever I get tired, it is often because I am not taking my retreat day, hanging out with friends, or doing fun things. Leaders and pastors are notorious for being bad friends and struggling to have hobbies and do fun things. You will start to think about quitting, not being thankful, begrudgingly going to meetings or counseling people. Get outside, take a break, slow down.

When was the last time you took a break and had fun?
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4. Tensions. Tensions are a part of life because tensions are a part of every relationship. Tensions in life aren’t necessarily a bad thing. Andy Stanley says,”Tensions show us things we need to pay attention to.” In the last few years, those tensions have increased in our culture, and I think everyone feels it. Some of the tensions in our culture are around sexual identity, politics, or race. Those tensions can find their way into churches. Still, you add a lot of tensions around community and relationships, conflict, finances, theology, and the shifting sands of culture. Pastors also have tensions in life; they navigate as they parent, age, and deal with aging parents. Part of the role of pastors is carrying tensions others carry, whether that is healthy or not. Pastors often feel like they are running ragged because of this.

Pastor, you must learn how to navigate the tensions in your life and let go of them.
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5. Not leading from a place of burden. Leaders are idea machines. We read books, go to conferences, listen to podcasts, and look for the latest trend, but those are ideas, not a vision. It is easy to confuse the two.

A vision is what drives you and comes from a burden. Any leader, if you want to know their vision, ask about their burden. You must keep that in the forefront. I wake up and want to lead and build an irresistible church to our next-door neighbors and the next generation. This burden is ingrained in experiences growing up and watching churches fail to reach this demographic, especially men.

Vision is not an idea, it is a burden.
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Many pastors begin out of a place of burden when they start. But then life and ministry just seem to happen. They take some hits, have some failures, and slowly, that burden disappears. 

You must continually remind yourself of this burden. You must put yourself in places where this fire is rekindled. 

Whatever it takes!

6. Not dealing with emotions. I was unprepared for how emotionally tiring ministry and leadership can be. It can be hard to walk with people who get a divorce, get fired, wreck their lives, funerals, and miscarriages. This can wreck your heart. You must learn to deal with the emotional ride of pastoring. If you don’t, you will become a statistic.

6 reasons pastors think about quitting.
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Part of this journey for pastors is learning to acknowledge their journeys with a trusted friend or counselor. Too often, as leaders, we try to be strong and think we are doing our team, spouse, and church a favor. Sometimes, this is true, which makes leadership so tricky. There has to come a moment when you can let go of someone. Share precisely where you are, what you need, and what you are carrying. 

The post 6 Reasons Pastors Quit (And What To Do about It) appeared first on JoshuaReich.org.

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There are conversations that you have with someone that mark you in good and bad ways. 

One of those (in a good way) was when I was 35. I was talking to my Spiritual Director, who told me, “Josh, what worked in your 20s and 30s won’t work in your 40s and 50s. And what works in your 40s and 50s won’t work in your 60s and 70s.”

What worked in your 20s and 30s won’t work in your 40s and 50s. And what works in your 40s and 50s won’t work in your 60s and 70s.
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Instinctively, we know this to be true. Yet, you only have to look at the people in their mid-40s burning out, trying to work, and acting like they are still in their early 30s. The men who buy sports cars in their 50s to recapture their youth. Or the people who trade in a spouse for another younger one. 

This statement got me thinking: What worked in my 20’s and 30’s? 

I would encourage you to write those things down. That doesn’t mean they will stop working, but if this statement is true (and I’ve seen it to be true in my life and the lives of others), it is essential to know what worked for us. 

Your list will look different from mine, but this exercise showed me some of my strengths in friendships, leadership, marriage, and parenting. 

Now, if you are brave, I would encourage you to send this list to your spouse or a close friend and ask, “Is there anything on this list that isn’t working anymore?” Those closest to us can often see things we are unaware of in our lives. 

What worked in your 20s that won’t work in your 40s?
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Let’s take a simple one: energy. 

In your 20s and 30s, you have boundless energy. Yes, you lose some of it when you have kids and navigate the late-night feedings and early mornings. But your body recovers, and you keep pushing. You are building your career, family, and finances. You may have started a business or are working up the ladder. You are filled with ideas. 

You may even look around the table at your company and imagine the day you are running it. You have so many ideas and wonder when the old guys will get out of the way so you can get started. 

But then something happens. Your energy starts to slow down. It is more challenging for you to get going in the morning. That drive you used to have isn’t there anymore. The innovative ideas you used to have aren’t as quick, and as you look in the mirror, you realize you aren’t young anymore. 

Why you might be stuck in life, leadership and relationships.
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Many in this moment try to double down on what worked. They go to another conference, hire a coach, listen to more podcasts, work longer hours, and sign up for a CrossFit gym. Trying to recapture what was. They might even get a new hairstyle and change their clothes. After all, they don’t want to turn into the frumpy old guys around the table.

And for a little while, this might work. You feel some new energy and some new ideas that work. 

But this is short-lived. 

Something else is happening that we are often entirely unaware of: We are grieving and don’t know it. 

One of the hardest things in life is when you are grieving and don’t know it.
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One reason we get stuck in life is that we don’t grieve what we lost when these turns in life happen. When our bodies slow down and the ideas aren’t as quick, we need to grieve. When our kids grow up and leave the stages of life, while this is exciting, losses are involved. 

Arthur Brooks, in his fantastic book From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, discusses how we can come up with incredible ideas in the first half of our lives, but in the second half, we can explain how things work or explain ideas and see how things go together much quicker than we can earlier in life. We see patterns in ideas more than we see ideas. 

This isn’t a bad thing, but it is a difficult situation to navigate if you are always the person who comes up with the ideas. 

The changes that happen to your relationships, health, and leadership in your 40’s.
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Once I started to understand what worked for me in my 20s and 30s (and some of those things still work great for me), I was able to understand what might be changing in me that I needed to be aware of and pay attention to. 

While turning seasons and chapters in life can be difficult and lead to apathy, pain, or ambivalence, it doesn’t have to. The new seasons can and do bring new life, but we have to let go of the seasons that are ending, which includes what is happening in us emotionally, mentally and physically. 

Things that trip us up in our 40’s.
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The reality of evil and suffering is one that a lot of people have argued about and questioned God on, and it is one of the main roadblocks to trusting God and following him.

In my years as a pastor, I’ve sat with couples who have buried a child, adults burying their parents, and wept with people who just found out they had cancer and a short time to live. I have listened to the brokenhearted stories about the end of a marriage, a child who wants nothing to do with the family or God, the loss of jobs, financial difficulties and addictions that can’t be beaten.

It’s heartbreaking, and those are just the ones I’ve been party to. This doesn’t even count the national and international tragedies and natural disasters we see every day on the news and on social media.

What to do when the storms of life beat you down.
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I’ve walked through the loss of friends, difficulty in family and work relationships, loss of jobs, setbacks in life, and challenges in starting our church. I’ve walked through the joys and difficulties of moving a family across the country, pastoring a hurting church while watching it grow and reach new people, and walking through the pain of having people leave. I’ve looked at mountains in my own life that seemed impossible to get past, hurt that felt so painful I thought I could never recover, betrayal that ran deep.

And then sits Romans 8:28 – 30. One of the most quoted verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28 – 30. It has been used for encouragement over and over in the lives of thousands since Paul wrote it.

It says: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Right now, you might be in the midst of a storm in life. You might not be. If you aren’t, the reality is your storm is coming at some point.

Here are a few questions to help you see where you are, where God is in the storm you are, and how to have the faith to walk through what you are in and what is ahead:

4 questions to help you trust God when life feels out of your control.
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What storm are you facing? It is crucial to identify the storm you are facing. Often, we don’t know what it is. We simply feel down, or something feels off from what used to be or what we hope. Sometimes, it isn’t a storm we’re in the middle of; we’re simply tired or burned out. Other times, we are in the dark place of the storm, and the waves are crashing around us. Also, without identifying our storm, we will struggle to see anything God is doing because we’ll simply go into survival mode or become jaded.

Identifying a storm is a key to getting through the storm.
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Are there any sins that need to be confronted? By this I mean, have you sinned to get you into the place you are in, or has someone else? Take finances for an example. This can cause an incredibly stressful storm, but many of our financial issues (housing market, retirement, etc.) are out of our control. Other financial storms are in our control (debt, spending, saving, giving, etc.). Or relational storms: did you hurt someone? Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? Is there someone you need to confront or forgive and let go of?

Look back at a storm, hurt, or pain from your past. With some distance from that situation, can you see God’s hand? I know that the further I am from a situation, the more clarity I have. I will often see my pride and sin more clearly, but I also see God’s hand more clearly. The reality is that on this side of heaven, we will not have answers for everything that happens to us. We aren’t promised that. We are promised that God will never leave or forsake us, that all things serve a purpose in God’s plan, and that all things will bring about God’s glory and our good if we are called by him and love him.

Sometimes you must look back to go forward.
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What does looking at your past help you to see about God with what you are facing? What is he trying to do right now? I like to look back on my life because it often helps me move forward. This is why God had the nation of Israel do things to remember how he moved in the past. This is why, as followers of Jesus, we do things like communion and baptism to remember how God worked in the past, which enormously impacts our faith in the future.

4 ways to handle when ministry gets hard.
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One of the things you hear people say throughout life is being in “the right place at the right time.” There is a lot of truth to that regarding life, relationships, finances, etc. 

It also applies to leadership and pastoral ministry in significant ways. 

One of the overlooked reasons that a pastor doesn’t click with a church or that a church doesn’t grow is timing and people. 

Here’s what I mean. There are many different kinds of leadership styles and muscles. Those styles and muscles come naturally to leaders, and they are needed for specific moments and seasons in the life of a church. That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t grow in those muscles and styles you aren’t naturally gifted in. But it does explain some things. 

Leadership muscles. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but most leaders are good at a few (not all): starting new things, growing things, maintaining things, vision, strategy, planning, soul care, and shepherding. 

Many churches, when looking for a pastor, are looking for someone who is good at all of the above, plus has 10+ years of experience in a church and is 32! That person doesn’t exist. The quicker the pastor and the church can figure that out, the better. 

As a pastor, you must know if you are a starter, a builder, or a maintainer. Maybe God has wired you to be a long-term leader or one who has only been at a church for a few years. You may be wired as an interim or a supporter. 

Not all leaders and pastors are the same, which is good!

You see this in Scripture. Moses was the leader who brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt, but Joshua was the leader who brought them into the Promised Land. Part of that was Moses’ actions, but another part was wiring. “Moses was the right leader for the people who had been slaves in Egypt; he was not the leader for their children who were born in freedom and would conquer the land.”

Two important, but overlooked, parts of pastoral ministry.
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Finding a spot that needs those muscles. This becomes important in many situations, but especially when looking for a new job or thinking about a ministry transition. 

As you talk to a church, you get caught up in their dreams and what they share. You will begin to think about living in a new place, and all God has in store for that place and situation. 

But you must step back and ask, “What kind of leader does this church need right now? And am I that kind of leader?”

For example, the church may be in a growth season and is looking for someone to come in and simply keep doing what the previous leader did. This is a great situation for a maintainer or improver. For someone who is a starter or a builder, however, it will create a lot of frustration. 

If the church is in a season of decline and looking for a new vision and life, you might find a lot of hard work ahead for you and outside of your comfort zone if you aren’t wired as a visionary. 

In the same way, maybe the church just had a moral failure or a string of difficult pastorates, and they need a calm, shepherding presence. 

How to find the right church for your gifts and leadership muscles.
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This doesn’t mean that how you are wired doesn’t fit everywhere, but if you can line up your gifts and leadership muscles with the right situation, you will find yourself and the church flourishing much more. 

The post The Right Pastor for the Moment You Find Yourself In appeared first on JoshuaReich.org.

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One of the most difficult aspects of a change in leadership is changing the culture of that church, group, or organization. 

You can change the values, the mission statement, and the strategy. But those changes to values and strategy won’t matter if you don’t change the culture. 

Why?

Because whatever the culture is, that is what people do. 

Tod Bolsinger said, “Culture is the set of default behaviors and usually unexamined or unreflective practices that make up the organizational life and ethos of a company, organization, family or church. In short, organizational culture is the way we do things around here.” 

Organizational culture is the way we do things around here.
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To change culture, you must look at how things are done. How do decisions get made? Who needs to be in the room for those decisions to be made? Do decisions get made by a small group after the meeting?

You can have the most outward-oriented strategy as a church, but you won’t be effective if your behaviors don’t match that. 

Many new pastors come into a church and think that if they change the mission, vision, or strategy, they have changed the church. 

But the group will always default to culture. 

How does that culture get set?

Culture is rarely decided on. A meeting is held to work through vision, values, mission, and strategy. But a meeting is rarely held to decide culture. Culture simply happens. It happens through behaviors, policies, celebrations, and demotions. When you cheer someone on, culture is set. When you scold someone or redirect someone, culture is set. 

John Kotter said, “Organizational culture is usually set by the group’s founders and reinforced through success. When a value leads to a behavior resulting in a desired outcome, the values and behaviors become embedded in the group’s DNA.” 

Culture is reinforced through success.
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One important thing leaders need to do is listen to the stories people tell. You will find the culture and where things came from in those stories. 

To change a culture, you must connect that culture change to success. 

People will always default to what brought success in the past. If they see momentum from a ministry project or behavior, they will seek to replicate that. 

As you change culture, focus on new behaviors and do whatever you can to connect them to success. 

To change culture, focus on new behaviors and do whatever you can to connect them to success.
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If you’re anything like me, you need to focus. There are times when you need to hunker down and get things done. Yet, your mind wanders. You daydream or think about what will happen later today or tomorrow. It could be a conversation, a meeting, or a vacation you can’t wait to start.

Your lack of focus might come from no desire to do what you are doing, how hard something is, or because you didn’t sleep well last night.

I often cannot focus well because of the whirlwind around me.

Clarity and focus come from having “white space.” This is where you can shut down social media or email and think. To narrow down what matters the most right now.

I’ve heard John Maxwell say that leaders could stop doing 80% of what they’re doing, and no one would notice. That feels high, but there is some merit to it.

Leaders could stop doing 80% of what they’re doing and no one would notice.
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Each day you must be able to say, “If I accomplish nothing else today, here’s what must get done.” That focus helps you to stay on track.

When you find your brain wandering, stand up, walk around, get some fresh air, and then return to something.

Clarity for Your Church or Organization

Clarity doesn’t just matter for you; it has enormous implications for your team and church.

Many teams lack clarity. They are stuck in a whirlwind of activity, simply doing the thing right in front of them. This is easy to do in a church because worship services come around with such regularity (every seven days), so there is a deadline to that whirlwind.

For our team, just like in our family, we discuss what is most important for the next 2-6 months as a team. What are we all going to be working on and moving towards?

In a church setting, it is easy to lose sight of why you are doing something or why something started, and slowly, it is just what you’ve always done. 

Why Clarity Matters

Without clarity and focus, anything and everything is important.

This is where many churches and people get off track in their lives and ministries.

Clarity says this matters more than that.

That is hard to say because it determines ahead of time what you will think about, work on, spend money on, and give manpower to.

Whether you sit down and write this out or say it, you do this daily exercise.

The ones who accomplish things and see greater effectiveness are the ones who decide this instead of falling into it.

The days that I flopped into bed with a feeling of “What did I accomplish today?” were when I wasn’t focused and allowed my day to get away from me.

Amazingly, as you read through the gospels, you see Jesus’s incredible focus. He was fully present wherever he went. Whether teaching, healing, resting, praying, or spending time with his disciples, he was focused on what he was doing. When you think about what he did, you also understand what he didn’t do. He made the choices we have to make every day: what will get our time, energy, and attention?

Communicating Clarity

Patrick Lencioni said, “A leader is to create clarity, communicate clarity, and overcommunicate clarity.”

This is hard as a leader because to do this, you have to be clear on what you and your church are doing. This can lead to a divide, and some people may decide they don’t want to move forward with you, which is hard to navigate. 

Once you have clarity, you must communicate it and continue to communicate it. 

This can feel like a broken record, and you get tired of hearing yourself say it, but you must remember that every time you communicate clarity at your church, someone hears it for the first time. I say the same thing every Sunday when I stand in our volunteer prayer circle. Why? We need to be reminded why we are there, and every week, someone is serving for the first time, so they haven’t heard it. 

How do you know if you’ve communicated it?

One is you are tired of hearing it. But the second is you start hearing people say it back to you. And thirdly, you start hearing people pray for it. 

When these three things happen, people get the vision. 

How do you know if people get the vision? One is you are tired of hearing it. But the second is you start hearing people say it back to you. And thirdly, you start hearing people pray for it.
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