When You Work for the Church

Ministry is hard with many pressures. This week I feel driven by my many deadlines. Others I know feel driven by the many different needs and wants of their congregation, driven by financial pressures, labouring greatly to care for people grappling with disease, distress, and death. Some feel driven by social media, by the success and celebrity of others, by the opinions of those around them, or by their own bent toward perfectionism.

But what if we were more drawn by God than driven by any of these things? What if we could step out of our particular pressure cooker, and instead abide in Christ? What if we could see beyond our deadlines and the many demands we face, and live into God’s rhythm for us: the rhythm of rest and creative work established in creation?

I’ve shared some resources around this before:

• Sabbath: From Rule to Life-Giving Rhythm
• 7 Ways to Keep Sabbath When You Work on Sunday
• Attending to the Dynamic Balance of Ministry, Study, Family, and Spirituality
• We Rest Because God Rested.

I’ve touched on this theme also in Sacred Pauses: Spiritual Practices for Personal Renewal and in Four Gifts: Seeking Self-Care for Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength.

Today I’d like to recommend another resource that I’m reading: Drawn Not Driven: 5 Ways Global Activists & Leaders Live a Contemplative Lifestyle
by Darcy Wiley (made by Pax).

You don’t have to be a global activist or leader to learn from their drawn not driven approach to ministry which is the focus of this twenty-page ebook. And while Pax intends to create resources “to inspire and equip the next generation to pursue the peace of Jesus,” you don’t have to be next gen to access this free download. You can get your free ebook now at Drawn Not Driven.

Disclosure: I know author Darcy Wiley and several Pax members from my writers’ guild and the larger writing world, so I was eager to check out their work.