Church Revitalization Podcast – Episode 56
Too many pastors find themselves discouraged, and their ministry doesn’t match what they thought it would be when they started their ministry. In this episode, we explore critical steps you can take to jumpstart your calling and put yourself back on the journey to thriving ministry.
Our guest this episode is Dale Sellers, Executive Director of the 95 Network, and author of the book Stalled: Hope and Help for Pastors Who Thought They’d Be There by Now. By unpacking his own story, Dale brings insight and encouragement to pastors who feel as if they should be more “successful.”
Listen or watch this week’s episode, and end enjoy our frank, heartfelt, and insightful discussion with Dale Sellers.
Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube, or stream the audio below. Subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode!
Stalled, not Failed
Everyone in ministry eventually finds themselves in a season of experiencing less fruit. Life just has its cycles. It doesn’t mean that the journey is over, it just means you’ve found a hill to climb. Often times it starts out as an almost imperceivable incline. At some point, though, the challenge increases, or you begin to feel your pace slowing down. There is a realization that must happen to begin the intentional work of summiting, and moving on.
Healthy and Unhealthy Comparisons
Who hasn’t read a book with the intent to improve yourself or what you do? Christianity has plenty of best-sellers that may leave us feeling flat when we find we cannot achieve what the author did. There is much we can learn from one another, but everything has to be contextualized and applied correctly. Hebrews 12 encourages us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” We’re not encouraged to run anyone else’s race. Our point of comparison should be how we’re doing in what we’ve been called to. The Hebrews verse above goes on telling us to look to Jesus.
Beware of Not Being Aware
What do every pastor and every car have in common? Blindspots. Impactful leaders know themselves well, which allows them to lead well. You’ll not maximize your leadership until you can get out of your own way. Your obstacles may be large or small, but having trusted relationships that you can hear from about your blindspots are vitally important. Think of them as your little stick-on convex mirror to see what you’ve been missing.
The Unknown Sweet Spot
God is always operating in his vision for what he has for you, but you don’t always see that. Sometimes our “stalled” situation is due to us not perceiving, or ignoring, the true vision God has for us to live out. Always be watchful for opportunities, conversations, and circumstances that may redirect you into your still unknown sweet spot.
If you’re like many church leaders, you feel stalled today too. Or maybe your church is stalled. We’d love to help move your ministry beyond what’s holding you back, so you can see it thrive. We have options with more hands-on help from one of our Guides, or a more self-led option through our Church Revitalization University.
A.J. Mathieu is the President of the Malphurs Group. He is passionate about helping churches thrive and travels internationally to teach and train pastors to lead healthy disciple-making churches. A.J. lives in the Ft. Worth, Texas area, enjoys the outdoors, and loves spending time with his wife and two sons. Click here to email A.J.
