Managing life and ministry in the wake of busy can feel impossible—I know it well. I’m going to straight up tell you, balance isn’t the answer you are looking for. You see, life management requires a holistic approach grounded in a place of total surrender. Really? Yeah, stay with me, because I’ve got some thoughts on how to make that work.
Growing up, I was taught to get all the work done first and then play. This is not a bad ethic, but without boundaries you can easily get stuck in a frantic mode of life without rest or play. There will always be work.
I’ve been in church leadership for more than 20 years and I see people struggling to manage life and ministry. Many people want to be involved, want to serve, and want to lead, but don’t because life demands are overwhelming. I’m not criticizing; this is an observation and honestly I’ve been there myself.
So today, I’m going to talk about some of the things I’ve learned over the years to help cultivate an organic life culture that flows from Holy Spirit leading, not a compartmentalized calendar of events. Managing life and ministry isn’t about organizing the external details, it’s about the position of your heart. Here are six simple heart adjustments you can make to help create relief as you live the life God gave you!
Managing Life and Ministry: Deconstructing Prevailing Practices
Let me start by saying you need to change your perspective. You may think that management is about learning some neat little life hacks which allow you to have it all. Sorry, but that is not the direction I taking you.
Managing life and ministry is always going to be hard because the focus in that equation is always you. Try it until you are blue in the face, but there will never be a satisfying measure of balance in that quest. You need to quit trying to control.
You were created “to be,” so what you do should always come out of that. Go ahead and let that sink in a moment. When God created the heavens and the earth, it was all about the pure enjoyment of creating. You were his idea, created because He could and did. That’s it. God’s desire from the beginning has always been about relationship.
You need to start with that foundational truth and embed it in your heart. You exist for God, not the other way around. That makes a difference in how you look at life. Managing life and ministry requires a deconstruction of prevailing practices, which look to organize and control every single life detail. As beloved of God, your primary purpose is to delight in him.
Okay, I know how that can sound, but it really is true. It is time to quit looking at it as your life, your career, your marriage, and your family. You are a steward entrusted with all that you have, which absolutely holds a certain responsibility, but when you let go of ownership and control, you will find freedom.
Managing life and ministry: Surrendering Control
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Surrender is hard, because the core issue is pride. Ouch. I like to think that I am smart and can manage my life, but deep down I know it’s not true. I have crashed into overwhelm more times than I care to admit, and every time I do I turn back to default functions which lead me into controlling events, commitments, and responsibilities.
A number of years ago, I was in full management mode, determined to find perfect balance. We had two young kids, a busy ministry to lead, and I was obsessed with nailing it. My husband came at it from a completely different perspective, which often created internal conflict in my spirit. I don’t think he disagreed with my goal, but his personality handled it all very differently.
It was during this season that the LORD brought it to my attention that I needed to trust him not just with difficult stuff, but also with the simple day-to-day stuff. This was hard to hear, because there were so many things that I was confident I could handle. He convicted my heart pointing out my wilfulness and pride. Managing life and ministry had become an idol and I needed to repent.
After I repented I started to practice deeper trust. Instead of compartmentalizing everything I began to let it all mingle together. Not gonna lie, at first it was kinda of icky, but I was committed to trusting God and waiting on his leadership, which meant abandoning the need for perfect balance.
Trust the LORD—He doesn’t disappoint.
Managing Life and Ministry: Focus
So if not balance, what? Focus—Managing life and ministry is all about focus. You need to stay in alignment and keep your eyes fixed on the prize—Jesus.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:1-2
Focus is about discipline and just like trust and surrender it’s not once and done. It’s going to take some practice, but that’s okay. Learning to stay focused in the day-to-day stuff helps you to stand firm in the bigger things of life. By keeping your eyes on Jesus, you will gain heaven’s perspective on the matter. That’s huge!
In my experience there is better traction and leverage from Heaven’s perspective then from mine. When I try to manage my stuff without keeping Jesus first I get trapped in it. No amount of perfect organization will change that position. Life events, commitments, responsibilities all still have to submit to Jesus.
Go ahead and ask the LORD to help you in this, because He loves to help. When you ask God to help you bring order to the chaos you acknowledge his Lordship and power. Asking God for direction, positions you to see. God does answer, but you have to practice being quiet, looking with eyes to see, and listening with ears to hear.
Managing life and ministry: Spirit-Led Planning
There is an extreme form of planning that is birthed from a place of fear. The spirit of fear is easy to spot because it manifests itself in the form of control. That kind of planning can take on a life of its own. Check your heart and keep your eyes on the LORD.
Managing life and ministry is much easier when you follow the Holy Spirit’s lead, but you can rest assured He likes to plan ahead too! When the Holy Spirit plans he takes strategy to a whole new level. Do yourself a favor and let go of the need to know and understand all the details. Trust him—he’s got it.
“The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?” Proverbs 20:24
The Holy Spirit will speak to you on any matter, at any time—even if it’s months ahead. When I tune my heart and align with him, he has me do the oddest things, which often make no sense in the moment. But, you see, he has the big picture in front of him, so he is way better at capitalizing on the moment than I could ever hope.
You can try to imagine every possible scenario and plan for it, but you will be frustrated and tired. I think this is the very issue Solomon is pointing out when he wrote,
“You can make many plans, but the LORD’S purposes will prevail.” Proverbs 19:21
There is a fine line when it comes to making plans. As you listen to his voice, make your plans as you feel led, but hold them loosely.
Managing life and ministry: Embrace Your Identity
I realized something the other day as I was working on some ministry stuff. I’ve been banging my head against the wall (figuratively not literally) about how to get after some leadership development with one of my teams. The Lord has been leading me in a very specific direction, but I haven’t been able to get any traction.
The enemy was quick to suggest I didn’t hear right and should abandon the plans that have already been set in motion, but I know I heard right. It wasn’t that, but I was definitely missing something.
So, as I was wrestling through the details of the plans I finally heard God say, “Lead out of identity, not structure.” You see, I was trying to organize the details outside of who I am. Sometimes I’m a little slow, because he already tried to tell me that, weeks ago through the counsel of my husband.
Managing life and ministry gets exponentially easier when you lead out of your unique DNA.
You have a distinct personality and you have been equipped with perfect spiritual gifts, which are even more beautiful when used according to your strengths.
Learn to embrace all that God made you to be and walk confidently in that. There is a real sense of freedom that comes from living out of identity. Managing life and ministry should always be birthed out of who you are as beloved child of God. Celebrate and live out of that.
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:14
Managing life and ministry: Finding Your Rhythm
I love my crazy life, but I learned I long time ago that there was no way to compartmentalize it. Frankly, I’m not convinced I’d really like that anyway, but there was a time that the idea of sweet neat categories felt safe.
I am a mid-line introvert, meaning, I love people, but at some point I get tired and need to withdraw. My husband, Ryan, is an extreme off-the-chart extrovert who is opportunities driven. Go ahead and take a minute to get that picture in your head.
Categories and compartments definitely don’t work for Ryan and when I’m completely honest, they don’t work for me either. I like to start with everything neatly organized, but it doesn’t take long for it all to get mixed together. After years of trying to maintain neat organized categories I decided to let it go.
We settled on the word “rhythms” a couple of years ago. Managing life and ministry has become about finding the right rhythm for the season. And we don’t force each other to live outside of our unique personality.
I’m a musician so I really resonate with this concept. In a piece of music the rhythm changes from section to section, but the tempo stays the same. Some movements are busy and sound complicated, but then there are others which ebb and flow in consistent meter. If you were to look at a piece of sheet music you would see that sometimes one clef is full and busy, while the other clef rests. This creates the perfect picture of all the components of life.
Managing life and ministry is like playing a song. Find your song, own it, and play it. Let your rhythm carry you through busy movements into periods of rest.