The Grind Is Good
Ministry is a grind, and the grind is good.
Sundays just keep coming. The youth keep needing you. Families continue to struggle. People continue to get sick and die. Staff continue to fight. You can’t please everyone, yet you’re still called to lead. You think you’ve been clear on the vision, but questions continue to arise. The future is cloudy. The present is shaky.
Yet, you—yes, you, church worker—you continue to get up, and show up so that Jesus can show off. There is a discipline to it. It’s like you’re carrying a cross, because you are. You’re following Jesus in service of the Word to bring that same Word to hurting souls in need of the healing balm of the Gospel.
May this Word encourage you: God doesn’t have favorites. But if he did, you would be it. You said yes to a calling from the Holy Spirit. God knows you didn’t do it for the money or fame, but for the fame and glory of God.
When I’m feeling tired and vulnerable, I write. What my soul needs is what I write, preach, and say. And I’m feeling a bit tired and vulnerable now. I was on a Zoom call today with a ministry leader across the country. He prayed for me and said I was Jesus’ favorite. I immediately teared up. I know I’m not, but I really needed to hear that.
I’m 45. Not old, but no longer young. I’m praying for another 20 to 30 years of fruitful ministry in service of the Gospel connected to the local church, if it is God’s will. There is nothing like the grind—the beautiful grind—of loving God’s people with a group of people on mission to make Jesus known where they live, work, and play.
I’m writing this as a public commitment to my calling.
I promise to continue getting up early to drink water, move my body, and read God’s Word and other Spirit-filling literature.
I promise to continue to lead my congregation with a combination of Spirit-filled joy, peace and passion for reaching more and more with the Gospel.
I promise to spend a lot of time preparing sermons. I still believe in the power of the Spirit-filled spoken Word of God over broken sinners.
I promise to visit the sick and dying, pointing them to the hope of the Resurrection.
I promise to continue to see the Church as bigger than my local congregation, building bridges with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
I promise to run with perseverance, keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith.
Most importantly, I promise to love my wife and children, adorning the Office of Holy Ministry with a godly life.
Will Satan seek to derail these promises? Yes.
Will it often seem like a grind? Yes.
Is the grind good? Yes.
Thank you Holy Spirit for carrying me—and those who also make these promises— every step of the way.
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