When Ministry Becomes Too Much

Jarrid Wilson, pastor and author of Love Is Oxygen: How God Can Give You Life and Change Your World, died by suicide on Monday September 9, 2019.

Jarrid, a passionate child of God and church pastor, worked so hard to help others find their way out of hopelessness, depression, and suicidal thoughts…and on this day, he died by suicide. He was a 30-year-old husband and father.

Christianity Today

Words cannot express how saddened we are to hear of a co-laborer’s loss. A man who invested his life to minister to the needs of those who are depressed and hopeless died with the weight of both his personal life and ministry on his shoulders.

While we do not know everything that is behind Jarrid’s suicide, his life as a minister conveys an important message to the body of Christ today.

I will not answer questions concerning mental health nor try to imply a biased message in this article. However, in this atmosphere of brotherly love especially for the ministers, I want to encourage and remind my co-laborers that ministry can sometimes become too much for us to bear. When it feels like we are reaching our breaking point, we need to reassess what we are currently doing and have a reset.

Jesus gave us an assurance that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). He will not allow us to carry a burden that we cannot bear and endure (I Corinthians 10:13). Therefore, when ministry becomes too much, we must be doing something wrong.

Allow me to cite some things we can do as a minister when we feel that ministry becomes too much:

Share Your Ministry

Never do a ministry alone. Whether you are an usher, singer, worship leader, musician or sound technician, make sure that we bring someone with us with the intention of mentoring them and releasing them to do what God intends them to do.

Delegate some tasks to others. D.L. Moody once said, “It is better to put ten men to work than to do the work of ten men.” We do ourselves a favour when we delegate some of our tasks to other people.

There’s a reason why the church is described as the body of Christ: we are called to work together. One organ cannot and should not do everything to keep the body functioning. When this happens, the whole body suffers and eventually dies.

Sharing our ministry with other people is a win-win scenario. First, we are lifting some weight off our shoulders. Second, we are helping others find their calling and ministry. Lastly, we can focus on the things that only we can do while allowing others to do what they can also do.

Get Renewed

One of the key roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to give us comfort. Jesus said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things . . . Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:26–27). He didn’t promise to send a Comforter for no reason; the Holy Spirit will come to comfort the church because there are situations in life and ministry that will try to take our joy and peace away from us.

The Holy Spirit is not just our Comforter; He is the peace and joy himself. When the Spirit of Christ starts to abide in us, we also have the Prince of Peace residing in our hearts. Joy, as the fruit of the Spirit, is produced especially in times of sorrow and pain.

Ministers who feel that ministry is becoming too much need a “reset” in their walk with God. If there are people in the church who need to be always renewed by the Holy Spirit, it must be the ministers of God.

Prioritize Personal Relationship with God

Idolatry is not just about bowing down before a wooden image. It’s not just about those figurines that people put on their altars or hang on their walls. An idol can also be in a person’s heart. Anything that takes God’s place in our lives is considered an idol.

Ministry can also be an idol if we are more concerned about it than our relationship with God. It can be a sin if we get too busy working for the Kingdom and not having quality time with the King.

Spirituality should always be above the ministry. Yet many are those who seek after the ministry but don’t seek the face of God. To be “cumbered about much serving” and neglect the “good part” is a trap that we must avoid in the ministry. We should never let our ministries destroy our relationship with God.

May we always be reminded that what matters most in the end isn’t what other people say about us but what God says concerning our lives. To hear Jesus say, “Well done my good and faithful servant” ought to be more desirable than the applause of the people.

Fellowship

The era when the clergy is untouchable and unapproachable is over. Ministers are not different from the laity when it comes to spiritual needs. We may have different roles that we play in advancing the Kingdom of God, but we need to remind ourselves that we are also human beings with real mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs.

We also need to repent of our sins. We still need to go to the altar and let the Spirit of God touch our lives. Like the other children of God, we need godly friends and fellowship to keep us going.

Are we accountable to somebody? Do we have people in our lives who can both listen and speak to us? Are we transparent to them?

Paul had Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement, who believed in him while others doubted him. David had Jonathan who trusted and protected the call of God in his life. Peter had Jesus who rebuked him many times. Do we have these kind of people in our lives?

Rest

Elijah was an extraordinary prophet. He was involved in many outstanding miracles in the Old Testament which includes calling of fire from heaven, causing the rain to cease for three years in Israel, and being caught up to heaven in a whirlwind.

The prophet of fire, however, seemed so different the day Jezebel sent him a death threat:

You killed my prophets. Now I’m going to kill you! I pray that the gods will punish me even more severely if I don’t do it by this time tomorrow.

I Kings 19:2

After hearing this message, Elijah ran to the town of Beersheba, left his servant there, and walked another whole day into a desert. He finally came to a tree, sat down in its shade, and asked the Lord, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” Our brave prophet was now a running suicidal man under a juniper tree.

And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

I Kings 19:5-6

Running away from a threat for days definitely made Elijah tired, and a weary body responds differently. I don’t know how burnt out he was spiritually, but I am pretty sure that his physical body needed rest. God knew about this need and He allowed His prophet to have it.

Elijah slept twice that day. It wasn’t his birthday but the angel of the Lord brought him cake and a jar of water. He ate twice for the journey ahead was too great for him.

Our journey is also too great for us especially if we neglect our need of rest. When we feel weary and we begin thinking and feeling differently, let’s lay down, eat, and drink! Let’s not underestimate the power of a well-baked cake and a good rest.