I’m in the trenches of dumping money into my truck for maintenance issues. At this point I’m ready to wipe my hands clean and start again with another vehicle, which will come with it’s own problems I’m sure…sadly that’s how cars are unless you can buy a new one every year. So, how did I know my truck needed maintenance?

The leak.

I spotted it one evening after an oil change. Thinking it was residual oil I kept an eye on the leak…it got bigger overnight. A day or two after watching it and looking for the source I found it was something bigger, which lead to another repair needing to be made. I think you might see where I’m going with this so I’ll jump out of the analogy and speak straightforward as a pastor and leader overseeing many.

I’m in the people business. Just as a mechanic knows cars because they have been around their fair share of vehicles, I know people. In student ministry I deal with teenagers, college aged leaders, adult leaders and parents…pretty much the entire gamut. When you work daily with various age groups you are constantly troubleshooting problems, re-arranging leaders, consoling a depressed student, or listening to an irate parent. What do all of these people have in common? Maintenance and maintenance indicators. Just as a warning light would display low fuel, or low tire pressure, people do the same thing.

Observing a leak or warning light is one thing, identifying the source of the problem and fixing it is entirely different. That takes work and experience. We need to roll up our sleeves and get under the hood constantly to identify the leaks in our ministry. If a leader [Read more…]