SPINNING MY GEARS: Balancing Perfectionism and Practicality in Ministry

      Most people actively involved in ministry have some semblance of perfectionism. My ministry has fallen prey to the desire to hold everything up to a high standard. I want my sermons to be precise and accurate so there is little room for misinterpretation. I want our church to reflect pure Christianity within our community. God’s holy calling sets a high standard for those in ministry. At the same time, the ministry is incredibly practical. The ministry of God comforts the grieving and worried, refocuses the distracted and disoriented, and exalts the glory of God in the lives of individuals and communities. The tension between the ministry’s practicality and the perfectionist’s idealism must be resolved.

      As I spin my gears to be the best pastor I possibly can, striking a balance between high expectations and realistic goals presses upon many of my thoughts. How do we get the balance right? I look to the wisdom of those who have gone before me. I want to learn from those who have, through the trials of their ministries and lives, demonstrated such a healthy balance. There can be no denying that high expectations are reasonable. After all, the Lord has called us to be holy, as He is holy (Lev. 20:7; I Pet. 1:16; c.f. I Thess. 4:7). Likewise, there can be no denying that realistic and practical approaches to ministry are imperfect. Charles Spurgeon infamously warned that if a perfect church were ever found, one should refrain from joining it because they would make it imperfect.

      When two things exist simultaneously, they likely have less tension than initially meets the eye. For example, the BMAA’s Doctrinal Statement in Article VII addresses a tension between God’s sovereignty and human freedom. “The two Bible truths are in no way contradictory, but they are amazingly complementary,” we affirm together without qualification. The tension between perfectionism and practicality may share a similar complementary relationship. Spinning my gears on this point, I would propose that the felt tension reveals a more fundamental issue — how we think about the church and its ministries. In Vernon Eller’s book, In Place of Sacraments: A Study of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, two types of ministries are contrasted — “commissary” and “caravan.” The former causes the perceived tension that needs resolution and the former describes what Baptists have historically opposed, even though many of us still think in these terms.

      What characterizes the commissary approach to ministry? The commissary supplies the community with elements of grace. As a result of providing a service, there is pressure for commissary-style ministry leaders to provide a perfect service. The worship leaders need to exude charm and confidence while they perform to please the masses. Taken a small step further, commissary-styled ministries would likely pass out indulgences in exchange for a donation. When the issue of perfectionism creeps up in our minds, we are closer to thinking like this than we would like to admit freely. While each ministry and each individual may play a different role, we should be cautious of drawing a distinction between those who perform ministry and those who receive ministry. Your role in the ministry is crucial and integral, and we should all be mindful of this.

      The alternative ministry approach draws its characteristics from a caravan. Individuals and families wind up together in a caravan simply because they’re heading toward the same destination. Imagine the commissary approach like the selective training of the Chicago Symphony in which value comes from the performance. The caravan would be a barbershop quartet where the participants value the experience of making music together. In a caravan-styled ministry, people gather for fellowship with God and find joy in their worship participation. This joy should drive our ministries, not the pressure to perform perfectly.

      This contrast between two different approaches to ministry captivated my attention as I sought to resolve the tension between perfectionism and practicality. As a pastor, I am not a performer, which means others who help in leading our churches are not performers. As a pastor, I am just a part of the caravan with a group of people banded together to seek a common destination. In our case, the destination is the advancing kingdom of God and His abiding presence. I cannot be perfect, but I can point others to the One who is. I cannot expect perfection from a church’s ministries any more than I can expect it from myself. We are all on this journey together, striving for the same goal.

      Focusing on perfection becomes a pervasive distraction for effective ministry. We aren’t distributing grace to our community. We call wanderers to join us as we march toward a common destination. I share my spinning gears with you because I do not think I fall victim to this plague alone. This thinking exists in the minds of our church members, and it is our job to correct it. I had one church member write me a kind letter in which they mentioned that my “sermons are fuel to get each one sitting in the pew encouraged and lifted up to make it through the next week.” As much as I appreciated the compliment, that isn’t what a sermon is supposed to do. I’m thankful for other comments like, “We are so blessed to have you as a friend,” which point toward our caravanning walk together to follow Jesus.