I love when a plan comes together, but this wasn’t one of those moments.
I had a musician cancel, last minute. During the service, we lost track of the click. No one in the congregation seemed to engage with the songs.
My voice was weak and tired and I felt like everyone was staring me down in disgust. I swear I saw a few tomatoes fly past my head.
I wanted to crawl in a hole and forget this service ever happened. Ever been in a situation like this?
Sure, moments like this always seems like the end of the world from our perspective. We’re creatives. When we don’t perform well our identity is at stake. We rise and fall on what we view as success.
But it’s important to realize that these moments will come. Train wrecks will happen. Are you prepared for them?
Through many train wrecks, I’ve learned that moments like this can be more of a blessing than a curse, if you respond properly.
5 Steps to Take After a Ministry Train Wreck
Here are 5 ways you should respond to ministry train wrecks:
I noticed that Jesus had the habit of praying after His ministry successes. For example, after feeding the five thousand, He immediately departed for the mountain in order to pray. It was my custom for many years to invest all my prayer energy before ministry and, then, after ministry to ‘crash’(relax). But Jesus gave Himself to prayer in the natural ‘down time’ that comes after ministry exertion. Not only did this guard Him from temptation, but it was also His opportunity to be renewed in His Father’s affirmation. This was the time when the Father would tell Him, ‘Good job, my Son!’
So next time you are faced with a ministry train wreck, don’t lost heart. Own responsibility if you dropped the ball, and tweak the necessary systems. Know your identity isn’t based on any success or failure, but on God’s love for you. Be reminded what true success is and teach others through what happened.
So while you don’t want to seek out train wrecks, know that they present an incredible opportunity for growth.
What about you? Let’s be honest today.
What was your last ministry train wreck? I know I have a few others I could share.
What did you learn from it? You can leave a comment