As we step into a brand new year, what better time to reflect on the baggage we carry into our ministry? Today, we explore the importance of assessing and discarding heavy weights that hinder our mission and obscure our light soul in service. Head to today's Healthy Church Staff Podcast episode for a deeper dive into the topic.
Church staff may greet the New Year carrying a cumbersome backpack filled with more than just plans. Pressures, expectations, insecurities, old wounds, unresolved issues from the previous year frequently accompany us, resulting in a sense of exhaustion even before resuming work.
Hebrews chapter 12 advises us to discard everything that hinders us and the sins that entangle us, enabling us to run with persistence the race set before us. This verse speaks not just about sin but about weight. Among the burdens you might be shouldering into the New Year are outdated roles, deprecating internal narratives, bitter feelings from unresolved hurt, misconstrued expectations, and the compulsion to do everything, instead of focusing on what you should do.
This kind of weight isn't just emotional. It's spiritual and strategic dead weight. Church staff, often the glue that keeps the church together and operations running smoothly, tend to carry unseen burdens. Over time, your job becomes a lost and found for everyone else's expectations, leading you to operate from depletion rather than overflow.
Carrying this load will impact how you respond, plan, and lead. It's crucial to remember that you don't need better plans this year, but rather a lighter soul. The pace of your ministry will always be limited by the weight of what you refuse to lay down.
Reflect on what weight you're carrying into this new year that God never tasked you with. Imagine the transformation that could happen if you led from a lighter, freer pace. Begin to release what's not yours to hold and embrace the freedom that comes with a lighter load.
For a more in-depth look into this topic, listen to today's Healthy Church Staff Podcast episode. As we usher in 2026, let's commit to leading with lighter hearts and a freer pace. Here's to a year of impactful, liberating ministry.