The Home Run Complex

Like every other kid who grew up playing baseball, I dreamed of stepping up to the plate and hitting a walk off home run to win the game and the glory. Even though my coach would yell at me in vain over and over to “just get a base hit…just get on base”, I often ended up striking out because I was always swinging for the fence.

That swing for glory was something I took into vocational ministry in my 20’s. Everyone knows that self-promotion is the very antithesis of a Jesus follower, but that didn’t stop me from trying to sneak it into my ministry carry on bag. For years, each time I stepped into the batter’s box of the pulpit to preach, I was trying to hit a home run.

Maybe that sounds admirable, but what I was looking for wasn’t kingdom advancement, I was looking for applause and acclaim. Sadly, many times I got it. As I matured I began to realize that none of this was about me. It was about Jesus, and the the people he’d call me to shepherd.

While my heart was changing, old habits die hard, and I continued to feel the pressure to perform well. While I would never have said it out loud, I drove home many Sundays asking myself, “How can you top that next week? How can I hit another home run?

That type of pressure is relentless and often crippling.

Thank God, I’ve grown. I’ve learned that trying to hit a home run every week in my preaching is unrealistic and unhelpful. I still bring my best each week, but I’ve learned to take the long view in my life and ministry and that my biggest contribution each Sunday is to simply “get on base”, to help those I’m leading to simply take their next step in Jesus. That’s sustainable, faithful ministry. I can do that.

What would it look like for you to take the long view in your work and ministry?