Have I ever wanted to quit? I’ve wanted to quit many things like, always having to go to the bathroom before bed because if I don’t I can’t go to sleep or eating Taco Bell but it tastes too good to give up. Another one is getting frustrated when a clear cut plan doesn’t go the way it should have. Wanting to quit ministry? Now that’s a great question.
I gave my life to Jesus Christ on March 10, 1999 at the age of 20. Before that time I was into drugs and alcohol, and within the partying scene. That day in March changed the whole direction of my life. A few months later I would quit my job, give my car away, and begin a yearlong internship at my church.
It was through that internship that I felt God call me to full-time vocational ministry; which meant for me, that I would quit studying to become an architect and begin pursuing ministry.
After the internship I went away to Northwest University to begin studying ministry. I always felt like I was behind everyone else because I didn’t start serving Jesus until I was 20 years old, while most people at NU were Christians early on in their life. Because of that, I felt as though I had to study harder than others because I was playing catch up.
In 2002, the Senior Pastor at my home church called me to see if I would come back to become the youth pastor. After praying about it and talking with my fiancé, we accepted the position believing that to be God’s next step for us.
We didn’t have the greatest transition from the previous Youth Pastor to us. Even though the rocky transition wasn’t what any of us wanted, it began a three year long journey that has really helped give me a stronger foundation for my life and ministry.
So the question again, have I ever wanted to quit ministry? YES! Did I quit? No, I am still in ministry after 12+ years.
You might be thinking, what did you do to keep you from quitting? I was at a spot in our ministry where it was just…frustrating to say the least. I wanted to quit. One day I was reading my Bible in 1 Samuel 17 and God spoke so clearly to my heart some principles that have marked my life since that time. I have found that in order for me to not quit, I had to remember and implement a few principles into my life that God spoke to me out of 1 Samuel 17:31-40.
1. Don’t allow others to put limitations on you, when you know in your spirit what God is wanting to do through you (1 Samuel 17:33).
For those of us in ministry we will always have people in our church that will look at our short-comings and say we can’t do certain things. You know that person that pipes up after you cast vision, “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”
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May I suggest that the opening appeal for this article be more than “I wanna quit”? It seemed a bit whiny and premature. What do you do about serious life-altering challenges that make you question who you are and what you are called to do?