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Every ministry is led by a different pastor with a different vision of how to reach a different community. No two situations are alike.
Many of us are being stretched in ways we never imagined. We’re trying new things we never considered, we’re being asked to do things we previously never thought possible. And the very definition of how we do ministry is becoming something quite different from what we’d expected.
And as each of us are learning how to make it all work, every other church in our community is fighting the same battle and doing the same thing. The good (and bad) of that means that if there are 350,000 churches in America, there are probably 350,000 ways of doing church, especially in a pandemic.
The unfortunate side effect is that it can be easy for a certain degree of envy or jealousy to creep in when we see and hear what other churches are doing. Perhaps we see posts on a forum about some cool new way that somebody is doing online church, or we see some great pics on Instagram that make us feel like someone else’s service was better than ours.
Comparison is a dangerous game to play, and there’s nothing that steals joy more than feeling inferior to someone else.
Even now, as states are reopening and churches begin to explore reconvening in-person, we’ll likely hear of some cool new thing that another church is doing, and maybe feel a tinge of jealousy that we’re not getting to do it ourselves.
Through it all, we need to remember how destructive it is to compare our situation to that of others, for better or for worse. Why? Here are three things we need to take to heart:
1-We all have different callings
Every ministry is led by a different pastor with a different vision of how to reach a different community of people. No two situations are alike.
We can’t be concerned with what another church is doing, because their leader’s vision and calling are different than ours. There’s no “one size fits all” approach with churches, and every ministry can’t look and feel the same because no two people look and act the same.
God has called us to serve a particular ministry and its specific vision. We can’t get swayed to the left or right, wishing that we were somewhere else doing something else. We have no idea what happens behind-the-scenes at another organization or what amount of weight or stress their teams may carry compared to our own.
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Key idea: How can we best use our resources to help someone who is hurting and desperate for God?
If He wanted us to do something else, He would have given us the gifts He gave someone else.
Just like in the parable of the talents told throughout the Gospel, God is just asking me for a return on the investment he made in me. He’s not comparing my potential to that of someone else, and he doesn’t ask me (or my ministry) why I didn’t do what somebody else did.
Sibling rivalry comes from parents treating kids differently and comparing them to each other. Our Heavenly Father doesn’t compare us to anyone else. He loves us all uniquely and expects each of us to operate within the strengths, gifts, and potential He gave us. If He wanted us to do something else, He would have given us the gifts He gave someone else.
2-We all have different resources
In the same way, God presents to all of us what we need for each and every situation. Churches in one part of the country may need different resources than those ministries on the other coast. Churches in rural communities may need less resources than those in densely populated urban areas.
Just as we all have different callings, we are all presented with varied levels of resources to meet those callings. What is available for one church may not need to be available for another.
So, it’s pointless to look at an Instagram post and be jealous about what somebody else has gotten to do. We have no idea what’s happened to get them to that point, and we don't know what level of vision and calling has been placed on that ministry to do what God needs them to do.
Again, like in the parable of the talents, it’s not about how much I’ve been given, but about what I do with what I’ve been given.
Instead of getting caught up in what others have and what we don’t have, we need to focus on what we actually do have at our disposal--and see how we can use it to the fullest extent.
This is where stewardship comes into play. God presents us with resources and opportunities that often are more about their potential than a developed reality. We then carry the weight of nurturing what we’ve been given, treating it well, developing it further, managing it wisely, and showing that we have the ability to be blessed with more.
Again, like in the parable of the talents, it’s not about how much I’ve been given, but about what I do with what I’ve been given. This is what’s at the heart of the mindset of “excellence”: am I doing the best I can with what I’ve been given?
Or am I wasting energy complaining about what I wish I had instead?
3-We all have the same audience
At the end of the day, we're not serving in ministry just to get attention or acclaim from others, or to get a certain number of Instagram followers, or to solicit a certain number of likes on a Facebook post.
We're serving in ministry so that we can use our gifts to help bring people to Jesus. It’s as simple as that.
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Individually, how can we make our worship experiences better so that people can feel God’s freedom, life, and peace?
Instead of wishing we were in someone else’s shoes at another ministry, we can put ourselves in the shoes of someone who is desperate and hurting and needs to encounter God’s presence. How can we best use our resources to help that person? How can we make our worship experience better so that person can feel God’s freedom, life, and peace?
We're serving in ministry so that we can use our gifts to help bring people to Jesus. It’s as simple as that.
When we refocus ourselves on who we're serving and why, we're able to see our environment and resources differently. For me personally, I can then ask God to reveal to me how I can use my position to its fullest ability and can ask Him to show me how to do my job better.
By focusing less on what others have and more on what God’s blessed us with, we can open the door for blessing in our lives and our ministries. And instead of comparison killing our passion for serving, we can allow humility and gratitude to breathe joy and vision into our lives so we can become even more energized to use our platforms to make a difference.
