Here’s a true statement: the more successful you are, the less accessible you become.
That’s not a good thing or a bad thing. It’s just true. And that truth drives us one of two directions. We either…
- Refuse to face it + born out by being available lo everyone. Your mind is gone.
- Use our success as an excuse to become less accessible than necessary.
When you serve people, unawareness (of their needs) is a form bliss. The more you know about people’s problems, the more helpless you feel. And information saturation (through social media) only makes it worse. We know more now than ever before. About everyone.
So what do we do? How do we manage this tension in our ministry?
“Let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone-- especially to those in the family of faith.” -- Galatians 6:9-10 (NLT)
Another translation reads, "as we have time".
That’s how we manage that tension. When we encounter real suffering in the lives of the people we serve, we need to remember this: You can't shut it all out. You can't take it all on. So live by this principle:
Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.
There are a couple of myths we believe that keep us from doing this:
- The idea that we must do all for all is wrong.
- We think that’s not fair. Guess what? It’s not. Fairness ended in the Garden of Eden.
Don't be fair. Be ENGAGED.
- Go deep rather than wide. Spend 20 hours with one marriage in crisis instead of 1 hour with 20 marriages.
- Go long-term rather than short term. Ministry needs some success stories. That’s how we stay energized.
- Go time not just money. Don’t just give to missions. Go on a trip. Again and again. To the same place.
My takeaway: Who are my ones? In what few persons do I need to invest my time as a minister?
