It happens to the best of us. It happened to me yesterday. And if I’m honest, maybe the past couple months. Any of these ring a bell with you? Some have felt pretty familiar to me in my youth ministry experience!
- getting paid less than equals
- little to no website exposure
- higher expectations of you than others
- total absence in the bulletin
- budget cuts … again
- not getting credit
- feeling invisible in your church
- they still won’t let me hire an assistant
- not getting enough resources
- spouse expectations
- we’re growing while the church is dying
- the scape goat for everything
- unsupported by the leadership
So we become martyrs. We resign ourselves to the fact that these feelings are the underpinning price of being faithful. That doing God’s work just isn’t fair and this is our lot in life. Crybaby. Pity party.
- Take a few minutes and think about where you’re feeling sorry for yourself. Journal a few thoughts about your fair and unfair comparisons and the trap you have fallen into.
- The blame game has no winners, only losers.
- Confess where you are playing the martyr. Martyrdom will always suck passion and create tension.
- Believe you are not a victim. Victimization will only give you excuses instead of results.
- You are not constantly suffering. You are actually alienating yourself from the leadership who is trying to do the best job that they can.
What would you add to either list?
