I’ve spent a lot of time in ministry. I’ve been working in professional ministry for the last 7 years. If you include my time as the Technical Director for Light & Life, it’s been around 9 or 10 years. If you include serving in one capacity or another in church (and growing up as a preacher’s kid), it’s been decades. I’ve seen a lot. I seen ministries and churches that are run smoothly and wisely by leaders with clear visions and hearts for the lost. I’ve seen organizations that were run to line the pockets of those in charge and to keep the power in the hands of people with no interest in furthering the Kingdom.

One thing I’ve seen in both types of situations, both the healthy and the unhealthy, is politics (though in the healthy situations, “politics” are less the norm). Honestly, I’ve played the game myself. You need to get “in” with your superiors, be it a pastor or supervisor so you can get what you want and need for your area of the ministry. You try to not offend any member of a diverse group of people, to save your own skin, not necessarily out of the goodness of your heart. Really it can be not a whole lot different than working in a secular environment, but, in the ministry environment, you’re supposed to “love” one another...

But what really drives me nuts is when church or ministry leadership is inconsistent. When they create standards to apply to one group and not the other. When the leadership values money over fruit. When they’re willing to kill a ministry that is healthy and producing good fruit because they aren’t raising enough money or meeting some other arbitrary standard. When people are allowed to get away with abusing the rules because the leadership is afraid to “offend” someone through correction. When accountability is not a productive venture, but is held as an axe over one’s neck.

I guess the moral of this post is: If you ever work in ministry, don’t expect perfection. Churches and ministries are made up of imperfect people just like you. But, that shouldn’t be an excuse for poor leadership as it often is.

I’m so glad there’s little to none of these kinds of things at STR...