I always appreciate hearing a person’s response after reading my blog.  One of the nicest compliments I receive is when someone says, “I like your transparency.”  There are a number of misconceptions about ministers.  Things like:

• God answers all your prayers
• I can hear God’s voice in each situation
• I do not experience disappointment and pain in my relationship with God
• I do not sin
• I don’t ever get into a funk

Even writing this short list, I am chuckling…none of that is true….at all!

Presently, I am going through a tremendously busy time in my life.  If you read an earlier post, I am an executive pastor at a church that believes in creating opportunities for people to accept Christ.  We do that through weekend services, events, small groups, classes, etc.  Being a leader in that atmosphere means that there are always “moving parts” in your professional life.  I have been a part of two weddings in my household in the last six months.  It is not all intense – I have enjoyed some trips away from the routine to relax and refresh.  It’s just busy.

Here is where I get into a funk.  All this time, I have been wrestling with a couple of questions and situations in my own journey.  Like many other people, I can see all the pro’s and con’s and do the math about how these play out.  I can run all the scenarios and what they  yield in the end.   I envision how people are affected by those steps and what it will do to them in the long run.  I ask God to show me what I need to learn and how I can convert that into growth in my own life.  (When others don’t do the same thing, I get disappointed.)  I try to foresee what is coming next and anticipate future situations.  After while, it get’s me into a funk.  I get bummed out, discouraged and I question what is God doing in these situations.

So, some would expect that as a minister, God gives me a verse or a profound step to get out of the funk.  He doesn’t do this.  Nor does a worship song play in my life, like a movie sound track or a supernatural appearance of an angel happen.  Instead, this is how I get out of a funk.  I have a couple of catalysts that help me climb out.  One, is my own personal time with God.  Even when it feels like I am hitting a “brass ceiling,” I keep my time with Him consistently.  Also, I have a circle of people who speak into my life and challenge me. (My wife, my personal board and a close circle of people who just “get me.”)  Finally, I have to make the choice to “get out of the funk.”  You can point all the fingers you want, tell how unfair the situation is, and take the role of “victim” until you wear yourself out.

It is at that point, I encourage you to take two steps.  Choose to take a step forward and go back to your foundation.  Here is how how I go back to the foundation.  I know that God is for me and not against me.  He loves me right where I am at and doesn’t want me to stay there.  I know that I do not walk alone in these situations and that He is Big.  I know what brings true happiness and joy in my life.  Finally, I know what my purpose and calling is today.  (If God wants to change that, He will let me know.)

Are you in a funk today?  Maybe, you’ve been in one in the past.  Go back to the basics of what you believe.  Life changes and moves fast all the time – He doesn’t!