Do you feel like running for the hills when you hear the word “ministry”? Does the word “ministry” throw you into an uncontrollable shiver? Do you try to avoid eye contact with certain leaders who are always asking for help? Let me share about a ministry that I’m involved in that is making me run, too.
Physical activities like running, but especially sports that involve kicking, hitting, or shooting a round object, can draw my focus and attention for hours. I lose track of time as I’m absorbed by the physical and mental requirements of improving my form to produce a good tennis stroke or shooting a basketball.
At times, I have pushed my body to the limit, to the point of exhaustion from exercise. My body responds by producing endorphins and I feel a natural high. For a moment, I feel no pain. All is right with the world.
All this has been a distant memory as I have hung up my basketball shoes and neglected to restring my tennis racquets for years due to work, ministry, and raising a family.
It all changed this past spring when I helped restart the Seattle English congregation’s sports ministry. We have rented a gym on Saturday mornings to play basketball and badminton, and we use the fellowship hall on Thursday nights to play ping pong.
This ministry matches so well with my interest and enthusiasm to play sports that it hardly feels like work. In fact, I feel outright sheepish and can’t disguise my grin when I have to excuse myself from a meeting in order to support the sports ministry. Saturday morning basketball/badminton and Thursday night ping pong are ministry events I truly look forward to serving when my schedule allows. Is this how you feel about your ministry or service to the Lord?
We are called by God to serve one another. Yet, ministry burnout is a term I hear quite often ever since we’ve emerged from the pandemic. It is true that all service requires a sacrifice of our time and energy. But I wonder if our attitude toward ministry would improve if we would spend time finding a ministry that better matches our wiring. We are all unique parts of God’s body; finding a ministry with responsibilities that match our abilities, gifts, and skills will feel much more fulfilling, and the responsibilities will not feel so heavy.
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11