Joe Bruni, Copyright 2020
Overcoming Common Ministry Leadership Struggles & The Role of Attention in Relationship with God
The battle for our attention is an issue for everyone, but it is especially important for those in ministry leadership.
Virtually everything in our culture, including:
Social media
Entertainment
Sports
Advertisements
Activities
And more…
All of these demand our attention. When not handled with care, these can have serious, negative results. They can result in distraction and disconnection from ourselves, families, congregations, and friends.
Especially for those in ministry leadership, the expectations are many. Expectations to be constantly available, have it all together, and wear multiple hats.
These are often including preacher, counselor, organizational leader, building/operations foreman and even janitor, and more. This pressure already put them at risk for complete physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion.
Ultimately, it is important to consider how we handle the multiple demands for and distraction of our attention. Over time, this will make or break our health and effectiveness in our callings.
Ministry Leadership and Attention at Home
Ministry leadership can pull your attention in many places at once. A few weeks ago, my family and I had just wrapped up an enjoyable, slow Sunday morning of cooking breakfast and worshiping with our kids.
Not long after, my iPhone dinged a notification. I had avoided my phone all morning. It’s Sunday after all. Even so, I looked to see what called my immediate attention.
It was my Apple screen time report: “Your weekly screen time was up by 39% this week.” My mind jumped back to my week.
“What? It was? Is that right? I know I had a full week but I didn’t think it was that bad.”
Then, I clicked on the notification to find that not only was my time texting, emailing and calendaring up. In addition, my social media usage and news outlet apps were also near the top.
And then there’s the distraction from customized advertising. Or, should I call it, the stalker-style, conversation-listening, show-you-the-product-you-just-mentioned-out-loud-to-a-friend advertising that creeps me out (they’re always listening).
But, I have to admit - there is also something deeply satisfying about this well-honed direct, personal marketing. The marketing that, somehow, strangely appeals to my desire to feel known and cared for. In ministry leadership, this can be seen as lacking.
This is the goal of advertising: to make you feel that you are known and loved enough to be offered this very important thing. This thing that you “need” for significance and happiness.
Additionally, we are facing this new layer of complexity caused by our new normal within social distancing. We are on our devices more out of necessity, and all the lines have been blurred.
We live in a culture of the informational firehose and it’s only getting more overwhelming. If you’re like me, you try to stay out of the way. I know that if I step into the powerful flow, I might get knocked down.
Knocked down by overwhelming consumerism, insatiable rage, transparent vanity, and an overabundance of “things I should be reading and keeping up with.”
We know that the example we provide as we live out our ministry leadership among our people will shepherd them in one direction or another.
We’ll set the pace and lead the way we live.
The ripple effect of an unhealthy, unchecked glut of information fractures our attention. It eventually leads to shallow hurry-sickness with little-to-no room for real servant leadership.
It is this fractured self, the distracted, hurried, divided heart that is the enemy of faith, hope, and love.
The Essence of Ministry Leadership: Presence
Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. Mark 3:14
The core of ministry leadership is presence; our Lord’s presence with us and our presence with those we disciple. There is a divine hospitality within our triune God, a dance of loving intimacy into which we are invited into God’s loving presence.
Cornelius Plantinga Jr. puts it this way:
At the center of the universe, self-giving love is the dynamic currency of the trinitarian life of God. The persons within God exalt each other, commune with each other, defer to one another. Each person, so to speak, makes room for the other two. I know it sounds a little strange, but we might almost say that the persons within God show each other divine hospitality. Engaging God’s World, pg. 20
When our attention is divided and hearts distracted, we disengage from this divine hospitality. If we don’t create enough margin in our lives, we are just hurriedly moving from one activity to the next. Ministry leadership should be focusing these ideals.
We miss out on the common grace and daily beauty that our Father lavishly gives us.
We can find ourselves out of step with the Spirit, slowly turning deaf to His voice. Until, eventually, our ability to discern is close to non-existent.
But where there is sin, grace abounds all the more: We have been invited into this divine hospitality through Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit.
This model of presence and self-giving attention is transformative and compelling. When we intentionally find unhurried intimate time in God’s presence, it will then overflow from our lives toward others. Ministry leadership follows this model.
We find ourselves, as we are transformed and walking in the Spirit, offering the same hospitality to others, selflessly and joyfully being present.
Among sisters and brothers in Christ we grow to share life and mission. With our neighbors, we grow in our capacity to serve and love selflessly.
The Power of Ministry Leadership: Wholeheartedness
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. John 7:37-38
Jesus promised us that as His followers, streams of living water would flow from within us. “Both the image of ‘coming’ to Jesus as one would come to a person and the image of ‘drinking’ imply not mere intellectual assent but a wholehearted personal involvement and participation” (ESV Study Bible Commentary).
Jesus calls us to a wholeheartedness that only comes from an undivided and undistracted self. Viewing, regulating and discerning our consumption of the overwhelming cultural flow of information and media is necessary.
It is part of our exercising Godly stewardship over our calling as an engaged child of the King and a loving neighbor.
Chuck DeGroat, in his book Wholeheartedness, commenting on ministry leadership writes:
You know that the antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest? … The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness. Wholeheartedness. And then I saw everything clearly. I saw myself working tirelessly and perfectionistically, exhausting myself as I tried to tell people that Jesus offers grace and rest. And my own hypocrisy was exposed. I was living the divided life. I was the phony, the “hypocrite,” as Jesus calls the religious leaders, the actor wearing masks in his public life while fiercely guarding his private life, his heart. I wasn’t wholehearted. And that prevented me from finding any real and deep rest. Wholeheartedness, pg. 8-9
Keeping Attention on God in Ministry Leadership
When we, in and out of ministry leadership, can be found living half-heartedly at home, at work, and in our relationships. We inadvertently proclaim that we have let the world determine where our attention should be.
Do you feel like you are so tired and drained from life that rest doesn’t seem to help? If so, that may be a sign that you are living in a disconnected and distracted way.
This is not the life of abundant rest into which Christ calls us.
There are many events, people, and problems demanding our attention constantly. Thus, it’s critical that we prioritize daily what deserves our attention, time, and efforts. As the branches, we must remain connected to the Vine.
Only through a sustained intimate relationship with the Creator can we experience relief from our exhaustion, and move into wholeheartedness. Ministry leadership draws from this.
Our wholeheartedness before the Lord is in direct correlation to our ability to communicate love. This is through generously offering our attention to the anxious and fearful generation we are trying to reach.
How we lead our teams and our people will create a culture of hospitality and presence. That will shine light in the darkness, and bring living water to an attention-starved world overrun with information and invitations.
One of ServingLeaders’ core values is Wholeheartedness. We help others step into the complexities of personal life in ministry in a connected and cohesive way, engaging the heart with transparency and hope.
We want to see all ministry leaders and their families thrive for the long haul in their calling. We know that undistracted wholeheartedness is the first step.
Our vision is to cultivate a powerful ripple effect of flourishing in ministry that will have eternal consequences for the sake of the kingdom. Ministry leadership accentuates this.
Our Lord is bringing His kingdom to bear in the world and we have the privilege to follow Him in this work.
Our prayer is for God to “Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve Him with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord. Amen.” Book of Common Prayer, pg. 365
Interested in more thought-provoking ideas on the uniqueness of loving attention in a culture of information overload?
I highly recommend the article How To Be A Better Lover: Attention In A Distracted World by Phillip Johnston.
Additionally, I’ve compiled a list of resources on this topic that I hope you will find useful:
The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete and Geri Scazerro
Wholeheartedness by Chuck DeGroat
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton
You Are What You Love by James K. A. Smith
The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson