What's making you weary? Maybe you're off mission.

You're a youth pastor or a youth director. You're happy in your current job. Ministry is going well, and you love the teenagers and leaders you get to work with. And while you're certainly not driving a Mercedes, you've got decent medical insurance, and you're paid well enough that your family can cover its bills and perhaps even indulge in the occasional vacation that doesn't involve going to stay with whatever family you have within reasonable driving distance. You enjoy the people you work with, and you have a good relationship with your church's senior leadership. There are definitely seasons where you put in some very long days, but in general, your schedule allows you ample time to spend with your family, and you even have some time each week to go to the gym or play in a community basketball league. In short, you've got a good job, you're not burned out, you've got a good relationship with your spouse and kids, and life is going well.

Yet for some reason, you find yourself to be very weary most of the time when it comes to ministry.

Sound familiar?

If you can honestly say that things are going well and that you're spiritually, emotionally, and relationally healthy, let me suggest a pretty decent possibility for why you're weary: you're off-mission.

To put it simply, being "off-mission" means that you're not doing what God has called and created you to do.

Of course, way too many pastors are weary because they're over-worked, neglect their marriage or relationship with Jesus, or have been hurt in ministry. It's easy to blame our weariness on being off-mission when in reality, the issue is our own sin. But what do you do when things seem to be going well, and you don't have any obvious reason to be weary or have a heavy heart? Since I'm no leadership expert, I can't claim this is any more than a hunch, but I'd be willing to bet that there are a lot of ministry leaders that are weary simply because they are off-mission.

Want to know if you're off-mission? Here are a few questions to ask:

Am I using my gifts on a regular basis? I once served at a church where I was in charge of the youth ministry and the children's ministry. I love kids, but leading a children's ministry does not match up with my skill set or passion AT ALL. Aside from a few bumps, things ran pretty well, and I didn't spend very much of my time each week on children's ministry because we had some amazing volunteers. But it wore. me. out. What are you doing that God hasn't really gifted you to do? It might even be just a small chunk of your time that's taking all your energy. Or maybe you need to spend some serious time in prayer asking God if he's leading you to do something else altogether. By the way, you can't use this point as an excuse to not roll up your sleeves and do the hard work of a leader. ("Oh, sorry, moving chairs around because we're short-staffed today and we need to set up for a funeral just isn't my spiritual gift.") But if there's something you're doing that you're just not built to do, consider finding a way to spend more of your time doing what God has gifted you to do.

Am I being obedient to God? It could be you're weary because you're not doing what God has asked you to do. Maybe you do have a good ministry job, and God's asking you to step out in faith to do something a little less...secure. Just because you work at a church doesn't mean that you're doing what God wants you to do. Your weariness could be the Holy Spirit telling you that he's got something else planned for you, and it's time to get moving.

Are any of my dreams "on hold" right now? I'm not talking win-a-million-dollars-and-retire-to-southern-Florida kinds of dreams. My dream of being a Major League baseball player has been on hold since I could first swing a bat (and missed), and I'm pretty sure God's not calling me to get ready for spring training with the Colorado Rockies this February. But there are dreams that God places on our hearts for a reason. Maybe you had some dreams before the reality of raising a family or paying off school loans brought you back to Earth. They may seem far-fetched, but we serve a God who specializes in helping the far-fetched become reality. Perhaps it's time to revisit that dream of planting a church, starting an inner-city ministry for the homeless, or adopting a child who needs a home. Maybe something you dream of doing but you've set aside as impossible is exactly what God wants to do in your life.

Does this ring true for you? Has there been a time when you've discovered you were off-mission?

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