Leaders Out In The Cold...
You are a workhorse! Most true leaders are.
Workhorses get worn down. They get tired.
They feel unnoticed, unappreciated, and often - misplaced. 
These feelings can pull your eyes toward "greener pastures". You just feel out of place where you are right now. You feel God surely has to open a door so you can launch into the deep of what seems will be fresh, new, and successful.
***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***
SLOW DOWN JUST A MINUTE...and think this through. 
EVERYONE gets burned out at some point in time. Regardless of whether you are the CEO or the janitor, secular laborer or in ministry. Burnout, by automatic default, does not mean "move out". Ministry, especially bi-vocational ministry, is tough. Mr. Ox, don't think that tredding out the corn is an easy job. You may simply be exhausted and need a 'breather'.
We must also take into consideration that Ministry has seasons. 
It's not always spring and harvestime... sometimes you have to rake leaves and deal with the numbing cold. Seasons in ministry and life are simply God's method for cycle of growth.
Also - as a leader, you are not the only one to consider in the equation... the leaders or the organization you serve may be going through a season in their life cycle as well. It serves leaders well to develop their discernment of seasons.
The leader has to determine whether they are going through a season... or is this a climate norm? Is this weather condition in my life the way it will always be, or will it change? Is it something you cannot change? Is it something that you cannot control? Are you experiencing 'variable cloudiness with snow showers" or have you permanently moved to the Tundra? Are you stranded in a desert?
There is a HUGE difference between a 'season' in ministry and a 'climate' in ministry.
Seasons have to do with necessary cycles - Climates have to do with the present chemistry, atmosphere, and the unchanging LOCATION. Both conditions require grace and mercy... and a heart for God and not self.
Either way... weather is always a determination of 'atmosphere'.
There have been times I thought that I was at the end of my rope, with icecicles hanging off the end of my nose... but the season changed. However, it doesn't always change for every leader - if it would have been a permanent climate condition, eventually the icecicles would have turned into hypothermia and frost bite. God never intended for this to be. If you are in a place of permanent climate, it will eventually bring harm and, often, irrepairable damage to you, your family, and the people you lead.
Leaders must determine...
...am I to work through this season, winterize the house and shovel snow until spring...
Or ... am I locked in Antartica?
It is not the will of God for anyone to live in an igloo... it is the will of God for us to submit to the 'seasons' and allow them to work the process of growth in our lives.
BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO MOVE FROM THE LOCATION OR POSITION YOU ARE IN...
you need to determine if you need to just "settle in for the winter" and allow time to balance things out or if you need to keep an eye open for the next step of your ministry.
Prayer will be your forecaster - the weather may be changing down the road.
Have you thought it through?
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About Me-
- Jayson Pagan
- Salina, Kansas, United States
- Being raised in a home void of leadership, leading people does not come natural for me. After creating much havoc and chaos, it is my endeavor to share with others the lessons that I have learned along the way. I am a bilingual minister with the UPCI and have spent time pastoring, evangelizing, and have functioned for the last 8 years as the Administrator of a wonderful and growing Church in Southern Illinois. I have also been at the helm of successfully growing a small construction company to become a multi-million dollar industry. Space does not permit all the lessons learned!