July 3, 2018 SHARE: Reading time: two minutes. Summer might be a good time to look at which of your ministry responsibilities bring you the greatest amount of anxiety and stress, and DO something about them in preparation for the coming year’s busy season. There’s a difference between our vocational “gettas” and our “gottas”. Gettas bring us the greatest joy because they are our passions, our gifted areas of ministry that come most naturally. They are our ministry “sweet spots.” Gottas, on the other hand, are so hard because they are out of our main passion areas. They may be tasks of ministry that are necessary, but not easy; important, but not as rewarding as others. Let me offer a couple of questions that might help you alleviate some of the burden of your most challenging and least rewarding aspects of ministry. #1. What’s my “gotta”? If there were one task or area of responsibility that you could delegate because it’s just so physically and emotionally draining, what would it be? What do you see on your upcoming calendar that causes a feeling of dread, or at least a moment of pause and a whispered, “Lord, have mercy”? What duties are on your, “I didn’t sign up for this” list? This is a matter of self-awareness. Sometimes we perform these duties without recognizing the toll they take on us. Remember that your getta might be someone else’s gotta. It’s a matter of individual giftedness and personal passion. It’s not right or wrong, it just is. #2. Could this responsibility be performed in partnership with others? Be careful here about saying, “No one else can do this.” That list is probably much smaller than most of us think. #2a. Could this responsibility be delegated completely? I think of technological matters, or clerical responsibilities that might be someone else’s passion. A summer refresher might be to mentor someone to pick up a few of your tasks. Share the joy of service with someone who’d love to help out! #3. What’s an out of the box way of approaching this ministry responsibility? My personal favorite was the development of an “Easy Access” communion service once a month after the late service. People who were reasonably active but unable to face the crowds of Sunday morning made up about 30% of my homebound visitation list. By providing an invitation, and in a few cases, transportation, I made a dozen homebound visits in 40 minutes right in the church sanctuary. Everyone was a winner! Use this summer for a creative vocational refresher that will last all year through! Thanks for reading! Subscribe to Blog Our ministry is made possible by the generous donations of people just like you. Click here to discover how simple it is to make your gift of any size to Grace Place Wellness. Do you know someone who might be interested in becoming a major benefactor to sponsor a retreat in your area? Our President/CEO Randy Fauser would love to hear from you today!