When the Newness Wears Off

New things are great. They come to you all glittery, fresh, and with the promise of improvement. It is that “new car smell” or that beautiful untouched “Hot Now” doughnut that makes us feel good…for a few moments at least. But what happens when all that fades away? When the glitter fades, the new car smell turns to sweaty socks and dropped food under the seat, or those fresh hot doughnuts become hockey pucks still in the box on the counter…we lose interest in them. That is what happens to new / fresh ministry ideas.
In our Christian walk, it is not our interest that fades all the time. Ministries are walked away from because you do not like how the ministry is being lead (even though you did not want to lead it). You are initially excited about the ministry because you know it is needed and have been praying for one to be established. You come to the first few meetings and provide input into current and future projects, but when some of your ideas are put on hold, or some were discussed and turned down, or things are moving slower than you like…your interest faded. Maybe it was because your way of leading the ministry was not how the leader was leading the team (you begin to mumble… “If I were running the show, this is how I would do it”), so you start missing meetings. You forgot that you were part of a minister team and a team without people is not a team at all…it may have a nice ministry name, but that is all it has. You forgot that you are running a marathon and not a sprint. You forgot that it takes time for the seeds you are sowing to bear fruit.
Everyone cannot be the leader. Everyone will not lead like you do. Every idea of yours will not be implanted. The ministry is not about you. Everything we do here is for the furtherance of the gospel. It is so that we can fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples who make disciples. Every ministry we do must have Jesus as the focal point and every ministry needs people involved in whatever position is needed. I began my Navy career as an E-1…I scrubbed toilets while others swept and swabbed…we passed or failed inspection based on what each person did as part of the team…if one area failed…we all failed. If we quit on our ministries because of personal preferences, we not only fail our church, but we also fail God and our community. It is time to resume your ministry position without delay