Two things that I have been struggling with

I believe that the last few months have been some of the most difficult times in ministry and here's why.  I have let insecurity and fear to creep in, steal my joy and rob me of who I am supposed to be.  I am always trying new things and not afraid to experiment with something.  At the same time, when you have this type of willingness to try, there is a certain hit that you will take from criticism and people who say, "I told you so".  As I was wrestling with this stuff I found two friends that put it in a way that gave me hope.  

#1  Don't play it safe - My friend Buddy said this, "Playing it safe is not safe. Playing it safe is dangerous".

The reality is that the cost of growth is always less than the cost of status quo. The cost of mediocrity is always more than the cost of growth. You may convince yourself otherwise…it may appear like you have more to lose by taking risks and you may feel secure with status quo, but I would argue you have already lost.

The cost? The tangibles are easy to quantify. The intangibles? Time, energy and emotion? Hard to quantify. However we have already experienced GROWTH. Our church is mobilized and energized! My staff and team, our volunteers have never shined brighter, and we are all stepping UP our game. These are just some of the short term benefits. Oh yeah, another huge benefit is you find out who is really with you. Long term, these hard decisions will enable and empower LifeQuest to reach more people for Christ.

So let me ask you, where are you playing it safe? Where are you sedentary professionally? Where have you stagnated personally? What difficult decision are you procrastinating that may cost you some short term hits to make some long term gains?

Later I will share #2 which is on how to handle criticism, which I haven't done well with lately, but that is CHANGING!