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Home > Articles > Stuck in the "Before" Picture
Stuck in the "Before" Picture
4 ways to renew your strength.
Tim Moffett

Topics:Burnout, Calling, Enthusiasm, Focus, Leadership, Motivation, Spiritual passion
Filters:Church staff, Elder, Pastor, Pastoral care, Preaching, Volunteer coordinator, Worship
Purpose:Ministry
References:Philippians 3:12-14
Date Added:July 11, 2007

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When I get that roving eye, I come to church and imagine it is my first Sunday here. I pay attention to each person as if meeting them for the first time. I look around with the hope and expectation of a brand new pastor. When I add to that enthusiasm all that I have learned about my people over the years, I recognize afresh that God is at work in this place.

I like the bumper sticker that says, "Three best things about being a teacher…June, July, August" but it misses the point of teaching. Empty classrooms may be more manageable, but you can't teach in them. So too ministry, apart from my people, is not true ministry. I have to remember that if my people were perfect, they would not need a pastor.

When I minister with the right mindset, it is satisfying no matter the immediate results. Our church is not the "after" picture of effective ministry, but we're not the "before" picture either. I minister in the "during" stage. That's where God is working.

Tim Moffett
Immanuel Baptist Church
Panama City, Florida

Copyright © 2004 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
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