Ministry is hard.

I've learned something about ministry these last couple weeks: it's hard.


I'm doing an internship with my church in children's ministry this summer, and it's so much more difficult than I'd imagined. I figured I'd spend all week daydreaming about fun crafts and games, and then on Sundays I'd spend all morning hanging out with kids and watching their wonderful little eyes light up as they hear the Gospel. Instead, I'm sitting in my bedroom, typing up lists, calling people, and planning like crazy. Now you're probably thinking that I'm ridiculous, because those things are beyond easy. I will admit that I quite enjoy lists and planning. Calling, however, I do not.



The most difficult part of this ministry internship is, for me, having to actually talk to people. I know that sounds lame, but I'm so naturally introverted. When I'm told to give someone a call, I think, 'Sure, easy as pie,' but when the moment comes to actually call them, my heart begins racing and my palms sweat.... And I thought to myself for a moment, 'This isn't what I was looking forward to when I signed up for ministry,' but it's occurred to me that there ARE things in ministry, or in any job, that we aren't going to like and that won't be easy for us to accomplish. And we still have to do them, not to accomplish anything for ourselves, but for God.


For a short while, I've been so disappointed with my minuscule ministry experience, because I honestly thought it'd be more on the fun and games side than the phone calls and planning side. However, God is growing me in ways that I didn't expect and that I don't yet understand. 


I'm so glad that He knows us better than we know ourselves, and that He fulfills needs we don't even know we have yet! He is so faithful, even when we don't realize that our hearts are walking away. Thank God that He was pulling me back, even as I rebelled against my duties, and that He forgave me even as I thought myself justified.


Well, gotta go make some phone calls!

A Beautiful Thought, An Unexpected Adventure

My friend, Amanda, is graduating in less than two weeks. She'll leave school, get married, and begin experiencing ministry as a young, married, college graduate. As a good friend, she left me some of her old textbooks, one of which is titled The Unexpected Adventure. It caught my eye as I was working on packing for summer, so I stopped, sat down on my floor, and cracked open this book. Lee Strobel, co-author of this book and famous atheist-turned-Christian, writes about this adventure in the introduction. He describes how this lifestyle turns the dull Christian life in to an action-packed wild ride. He describes the improvement in Bible study, prayer, worship and dependence upon God as the amplified details of this kind of life. 


At Bible college, we like to think that we know how to be spiritual. We read our Bibles all the time for assignments, and we study how to live a Christian life. This gets to be a general description of Christianity. We go to church, read our Bibles for personal devotional purposes, and interact with other Christians, all to say that we're in good standing with God. This is probably true. We probably are in good standing with God, and He probably isn't going to condemn us for this lifestyle. However, we are selfish. 


We read the Bible for us. We pray for us. We worship to experience God for us. We depend on God to fulfill our own needs. And that is all fine. But that's not what it's all about.


I haven't had much experience in witnessing, and to be honest I'm terrified of the idea. I feel unprepared and inadequate. The Bible says to be ready at all times to give an answer for the hope we have in us. But how will we know that we're ready? By living this unexpected adventure.


Strobel talks about living life as usual, but knowing that any moment could turn into an adventure. Any day can start out boring and end out mind-blowing. Our spiritual lives are meant to be rich, not just for our sake, but for the sake of those who desire that hope we have in us. We are meant to draw near to God so that we can have plenty to share with those who need Him as well. What a beautiful thought. What an unexpected adventure. Praise God for desiring to take us on this ride. Are you ready to go?