5 Ways to Survive and Thrive in Ministry

There is a famous quote from Charles Spurgeon that constantly rings in my head: “Do not enter the ministry if you can help it.” As discouraging as that sounds, God has used it over the last few years to cause me to strengthen my call to ministry.

The last three years have been the hardest years I have ever experienced. I have seen the evil in people and felt the direction of that evil. Throughout those years I have “quit” a hundred times. I have entertained job offers outside the ministry and even thought of completely moving and restarting somehow. Those three years have seemed like an eternity!

So how did a quote encouraging young pastors to not enter ministry help me? It actually became the gauge by which I determined my footing. When I would “quit” every Monday morning, the question would haunt me, “Can I do anything else?” There were times that I could convince myself that I could do something else. There were even times that I could almost convince my wife that I would be alright doing something else. Without fail she would say, “Quit if you can.” Boy that really helped. What I realized was that I could NOT help it. Ministry was where God had placed me and wanted me. God kept reinforcing the fact that I did not choose ministry but that I was chosen for ministry. That would seem to make everything ok, right?

It only made my struggle harder. I realized that I was not warring with or angry at “those people” or issues. I had to deal with the fact that I was warring with God and really angry at Him. Yet I could not escape the fact that it was not up to me whether or not I was to be in ministry. I had to deal with the fact that I could not help but be in ministry. And to tell you the truth, ministry became my prison. I could not break out and had very little time in the recreation yard. To compound matters, I was diagnosed as clinically depressed. It was in the midst of all that darkness that I had a moment of clarity. It was that moment I realized that I could not survive at this level and I began to ask the question, what do I have to do to survive? Now, depression is subsiding and the light has increased, I look back and see key choices that have helped in my survival.

1. I had to answer the hard questions, honestly. Could I do anything other than ministry? Would I really be any healthier running from God? What do I do now? Honesty was the key. My mind and body were screaming for me to run away, but my spirit would not let me move. I had to accept the reality that if I moved I would move away from God and my only refuge was in God.

2. I had to surround myself with people who believed in me. Not everyone who says they believe in you really does. I had one of my mentors say to me one day, “Greg, never assume you have more support than you really do.” That statement impacted my life. Prior to the last three and half years the church was growing. Things were amazing, or so I thought. I placed a lot of trust in people who said they believed in the vision but later proved that wrong. I was crushed. But I began to assess people more. I worked really hard to surround myself with people who lived their belief. Not in me but in the vision that God had for the church. I cannot stress the importance of this.

3. I had to accept criticism. This can be hard for a “type A” personality. I have a pastor friend that will kick me in the rear if he believes that is what I need. Countless times during my depression, he would give me his honest opinion. I can tell you that there were many occasions I literally hung up on him. But it didn’t phase him, he would wait a few days and call me back. It was honest criticism like this that helped me get professional help. The criticism helped me see that the issues in ministry were not about me and that I am not that important. Criticism from people who love you can help you navigate dangerous storms.

4. I had to get professional help. I accepted the truth that I could not fix myself. That is a huge admission. Pastors are suppose to fix everything, right? We want to believe that we are superhuman; our church wants us to be superhuman. Well, it’s just not possible. Depression is real, ministry really stinks sometimes and we all need help. My problems escalated because I continued to fool myself. I tried to be my own counselor. Pastoral pride is real and it will kill you, your marriage, your family and your ministry.

5. I had to take a break. As I alluded to earlier, I am a lion personality. While every personality test I have ever taken proves that fact, it did not come home until I was in the heart of Africa. Four pastors and myself had the opportunity to go on a mission in Uganda. While in country we went to a game reserve. During our tour we came upon a lion that was sitting on a little mound. No matter how close we got to this lion he never moved. He was locked in to a group of deer in the distance. He never took his focus off of his intended target. It was after this encounter that I understood what it means to have a lion personality. We fix our gaze on a target in the distance and never look away. While this works well for an African lion, it is harmful to a pastor. I never take breaks. I hardly ever turn off my phone…ok, I never turn off my phone. In other words, in my ten years of ministry, I have never disengaged from it. It was not until recently that I understood how important it was to take a break. We took a break for two entire weeks. This was the final turning point in my fight to survive. It was during this time away that God drew in close to me. I had been trying to draw close to Him, but when I finally took my focus off of the supposed target I was able to see clearly. I was trying to see Him in the ministry and all I saw was ministry. To be completely honest, I was worshiping the ministry rather than the One who called me into it.

I have to say that I agree with Charles Spurgeon, “Do not enter ministry if you can help it.” However, if you can not help it, be sure you plan for your survival.

Pastor Greg Crawford is a native of Louisiana. He has been married to Nicole for 20 years and has two beautiful children, Allison and Hannah. Pastor Greg has been at The Church of Rosepine for eight years. He has a vision for a body of believers that have been liberated by the power of the Holy Spirit and are always sharing the Good News of Jesus in a modern and relevant way.