How You Could Sabotage Your Ministry

What would happen to your ministry if you were to walk away?  Would it continue to grow or fall apart?  It’s a question we think about from time to time and it’s one that we need to address constantly.

Courtesy of dichohecho/Creative Commons License

On Episode 69 of the Rebuilt Podcast my cohost Tom Corcoran and I discussed the importance of replacing yourself through the lens of the book 7 Practices of Effective Ministry.  Basically you and I need to replace ourselves as leaders or else we’ll see:

• Great leaders leave your ministry.

• Your ministry lose relevance.

• Frustration with the lack of progress.

• Burnout from overworking.

One of the challenges to replacing yourself is the emotional attachment you form to your programs, ideas and even responsibility.  To move through that emotion you need to do more than delegate, you need to:

REMEMBER YOU ARE NOT THE MINISTRY

You are the leader which means you are the steward of your ministry.  You are commissioned with raising disciples of Jesus Christ; therefore, the ministry needs to be about Him.

Spending consistent time in prayer and bringing decisions to God will help you release ownership.  When you allow God to lead you, He will show you who you need to come alongside of you and take the ministry to the next level.

FIND PEOPLE SMARTER THAN YOU

One of the reasons we hold back is because we don’t want the ministry to fail.  But, a great leader won’t let the ministry fail because he will surround himself with people smarter than him.

When you build your team acknowledge the fact that they have ideas and skills that you don’t.  Look at them as experts and affirm them in their competencies.

GIVE THANKS AND PRAISE

Jealousy is a huge obstacle to giving away ownership.  One of the best ways to combat that is to give thanks and praise to those around you.  Affirm there good behavior and let others know what makes them great.  The more you give praise, the more you’ll develop an attitude of gratitude which kills envy.

PHYSICALLY STEP AWAY

The worst thing you can do to your team is tell them they have ownership and then take it back immediately.  It shows distrust and that can be a poison in a team setting.

If you struggle with micro managing try to give an assignment and walk away.  Give the person love and support.  Let them know if they need you they can call, but be out of sight.  It might feel like torture at first, but in the end it will feel freeing to know you didn’t need to be there for something to succeed.

Replacing yourself is simple but extremely difficult.  It’s hard but it’s necessary.  If you can properly replace yourself you can ensure that the ministry will not only survive in your absence but thrive.  Just trust that God will bring you the right people.