How to Stay Faithful While Leaders All Around You Are Falling

I don't know if you've noticed, but lately it seems like there has been an avalanche of Christian leaders who have fallen. I could type out a long, long list of them, but I am not going to name names. 

Christian leaders that I admired, looked up to, and learned from.

Some committed adultery. 

Some did the unthinkable...molested children or teens.

Some committed suicide. 

Some "came out" as gay, divorced their spouse, and are now married to

someone of the same sex. 

Some embezzled or misused church monies.

Some burned out mentally. 

Some became alcoholics and drank themselves out of ministry.

Some got snared by pornography. 

Some groomed young adults so they could have affairs with them. 

It is heartbreaking, isn't it. 

It is hard not to get discouraged when you look all around and see leaders falling.  It has gotten so bad that nothing surprises me anymore. 

When asked, the "nones" (people with no religion) say they have become disillusioned with the church and have left the faith because of it. 

But this doesn't have to be your story.  You can remain faithful to God for a lifetime. But it won't happen by accident or chance.

I often say if you want to be successful in ministry, then it all starts with staying in ministry.  This means you have a strategy and put key things in place in your life that will enable you to go the distance. 

If you are going to be faithful for a lifetime, then here are some key things you need to do and be.

Stay in love with Jesus and don't neglect your walk with Him.

Your first calling is spend time with Jesus. Look what Jesus told the disciples in Mark 3:14.

 "He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach." 

Notice the order of the disciple's ministry.  They were to first spend time with Jesus and then out of that time with Him they would go out and do ministry. If you want to stay in ministry, then spend time with Jesus on a daily basis. 

This long list of leaders who have fallen...can all go back to one thing.  Without exception, it all started with not spending quality time with Jesus.  Somewhere along the way, they got too "busy" to spend time with Jesus.

Walking with Jesus and staying in love with Him is critical if you are going to go the distance.

Always put your family before the ministry.  

If you are married, everyone should know that you are happily married to your wife.  Everyone should know that your kids matter more to you than your ministry does.  

Your focus and passion should be in this order.

• God 

• Family

• Ministry

  
  

If you lose your family, you will lose your ministry. 

Stay faithful to your family.

Don't compartmentalize your life.  

This is when you separate different aspects of your life. You create mental and physical barriers between things in your relationships and commitments. You built separation between your spiritual life and other parts of your life. 

One example of this is a man I served with years ago.  He had compartmentalized his life.  When He was leading at his "church job" he was Mr. Spiritual.  But unbeknown to others, he was carrying on a gay lifestyle. This was revealed and he lost his ministry and had to resign.

When you compartmentalize your life, Jesus is someone you follow on Sundays, but is not someone you seek when making a decision on Monday.  

Jesus doesn't want to just be part of your life.  He wants to be your entire life.  He wants to guide and influence every part of your life.  He wants to be in first place every single day and every single moment. 

If you are going to be in ministry long-term, then you have to put up protective boundaries.

The boundaries protect you and keep you from being in situations where you could fall.  An example. Never ride alone with someone of the opposite sex.  Don't meet with someone from the opposite sex for lunch by yourself. Have a window where people can see into your office.  

This might seem extreme to some people. But it takes extreme boundaries to go the distance.  Boundaries are about keeping you way back from danger.  It's not about getting as close to the boundaries as possible, but rather staying way back from the slippery slope of disqualifying sin.

Don't do ministry alone. 

Have friends who ask you the hard questions.  Have people who hold you accountable. 

If you try to fly solo, you will probably crash.  Yes.  You can fool people. You can do things in secret. You can lie to those who are holding you accountable.  But having people around you gives you a much better opportunity to go the distance.  You weren't make do to ministry alone. 

Pace yourself. 

Many people who fall out of ministry do so because of burnout.  I personally understand this. I have been in children's ministry full-time for 35 years.  Looking back at year 18, I almost permanently crashed and burned. I had spent 18 years running as fast as I could.  I became overwhelmed to the point where I was diagnosed with clinical depression and thought I was done for. You can read about it in this article. 

Remember...ministry is a marathon...not a sprint. Yes...there are times when you have to stretch and go the 2nd, 3rd and 4th mile.  But you can't live there all the time or you will eventually burn out. The person who crosses the finish line is the person who finds a sustainable pace and is faithful to run it.

Rely upon God's strength and grace.

There is "pressure" to "succeed" in ministry. I am sure you have felt it.  I know I have. That pressure can get to you if you are not careful.  You see, that pressure can lead you to start depending on your own strength and abilities. That pressure can cause you to put unrealistic expectations on yourself.  You have to "make something happen."  

It is in those moments of pressure that we either operate in the flesh or we rely upon God's strength and grace. In our zeal, we forget that we can't save the world.  That job has already been taken by Jesus. We are simply messengers of the grace and goodness of God to the world. 

God never called us to be "successful." Rather He has called us to be faithful.  It is not by our own strength or power that good things happen. It is totally by God's strength and grace. You must remember this and dwell in it if you are going to stay faithful for a lifetime. 

My prayer for you and I, is that we will be able to say what Paul said in I Timothy 4:7-8.

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

Don't be another statistic. Stay faithful.  Go the distance.  Break the finish line tape at the end of the course God has set before you.