Ju. Jones

For some reason, I’m stuck in this whole quitting the ministry for the ministry mode. Maybe because it’s where I am, but that’s what blogging is for, right? One of the ways to get stuck in the “doing THEIR ministry” mode is by getting in the routine of picking up dropped balls. In ministry, balls will drop. Their are so many to juggle. One can drop at any moment. This is especially true if your dealing with volunteers who already have limited time and additional responsibilities. Because of the sense of ownership you have towards the vision, your natural instinct will be to pick up the dropped ball. The more dropped balls you pick up, the less dropped balls you have. For instance, someone forgets to get the drinks. You say, “You know what? I’ll get the drinks.” Someone else didn’t get a chance to do the bulletins. You say, “Forget it. I’ll do the bulletins. I already envision what I want them to look like anyway. Besides, if you want a job done correctly, you might as well do it yourself.” We end up frustrated, pulling all nighters, and forsaking time with the family. But guess what? Everybody will have drinks and bulletins…at your expense!

What we fail to realize is that we are subconsiously creating a system that looks like this: The volunteers/employees do what they can and whenever a ball is dropped, Super Leader will come to the rescue!” Guess what happens if you ever decide to let a ball drop? They look at you as if you’re the bad guy! The only person to blame is us.  We are the ones that create that expection. “I thought you would end up getting the drinks! I assumed you would do the bulletins!” Then comes the all time line, “That’s what you always do!”

As a pastor, I’m learning to let balls drop. The people that are given the responsibility needs to feel the weight of a dropped ball. They need to feel the Holy Spirit conviction and learn from the mistake themselves. I’m learning that God doesn’t call me to pick up the ball, but to be a loving support for when they pick the ball back up.