The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
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The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
The Power of Gratitude in Ministry
Gratitude can change your life—even when you're ready to throw in the towel. Today, I wrap up our series on gratitude and Thanksgiving by exploring its transformative power. Join me, Todd Rhoades, as I share a compelling story of a pastor who found his mindset radically shifted by listing ten simple things he was grateful for. What happens when we choose to give thanks "in" our circumstances rather than "for" them? This seemingly small act can have a profound impact on your perspective, leadership, and interactions with others.
Take five minutes to craft your own gratitude list, and see how it affects your mood and outlook during this transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Whether it's your morning coffee or a small act of kindness, acknowledging these things can make a big difference. I'd love to hear how this series has influenced your perspective on gratitude and Thanksgiving. Reach out to me at podcast@chemistrystaffing.com, and let's continue this journey of gratitude together. Plus, if your church is looking to expand its team, I'm here to help with that too.
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Hi there. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm Todd Rhodes, one of the co-founders over at Chemistry Staffing and also, hopefully, your daily friend here and host at the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. We've been navigating ups and downs in ministry life all year and I'm glad that you're here, and we have been talking about gratitude and Thanksgiving, and today we're finishing up this topic as we end out our week. We've talked a lot the past two weeks about the power of gratitude and how it has the power to change our attitude.
Speaker 1:Gratitude can change your attitude. It has an incredible way of shifting our focus off of a really hard time. Sometimes, when we're going through ministry, gratitude can help shift our focus onto what really matters. It pulls us out of the mire and it helps us see the bigger picture. And as we close out today, in 1 Thessalonians 5.18, paul writes to the Thessalonians. He says give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Now you notice that he didn't say give thanks for all circumstances, but he said give thanks in all circumstances. And there's a huge difference there. Tell you this quick story I heard of a pastor who had just come off a particularly brutal, brutal week as a pastor, and if you've been pastoring for three weeks or longer, you've probably had a week like this. There were staff conflicts and budget issues at works, and he just felt drained, honestly, about ready to throw in the towel. But he decided to take a step back, as he was reading this verse in 1 Thessalonians, and do one simple thing, and he just got a pad of paper and made a list of 10 things he was grateful for in that moment, and it wasn't groundbreaking stuff. It was things like I'm thankful for my cup of coffee this morning or the copier work today, some of those things. And maybe you've even been at a time and I know I have where if you tried to write down 10 things, it'd be like you might get to three and be like, oh crap, I got to come up with seven more. But he worked his way through the list and by the time he was done, his entire mindset had shifted. And when his mindset shifted, his approach to all those challenges that he was facing did too. And here's why you see, friend, gratitude has a ripple effect. Gratitude can change your attitude. It changes how we see things and when our perspective changes, the way that we lead changes. The way that we make decisions change and even the way that we interact with others, and maybe even perhaps specifically the way we interact with others changes. Here's your bottom line for today, and this is the last time that I'm going to ask you to do this, because I've asked you to do it a few times before.
Speaker 1:I want to challenge you just to take five minutes today, just five minutes, and make your own gratitude list. Write down 10 things that you're thankful for. It doesn't have to be anything deep or profound, maybe it's your favorite pen or the person who brought donuts to the staff meeting but take a moment to acknowledge these things. Even the smallest things that you can show gratitude for will affect your attitude. Write those things down, see how it affects your mood and your outlook, and maybe even your day. Trust me, it's a small step. It's a small step and it's five minutes of your day. It's a small step and it's five minutes of your day, but it can make a big difference in how you approach your next season here between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Speaker 1:I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, your thoughts on this whole series on gratitude and Thanksgiving. Maybe even make it personal what you did, how you've changed your perspective on gratitude and Thanksgiving, some things you're trying in your life or in your church. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Reach out to me anytime. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom, and I would love to hear your thoughts. And hey, if your church is looking for a new staff member or you're thinking about bringing somebody new on your team, I'd love to have a conversation with you about that as well. That's what I do at Chemistry Staffing, so you can reach out to me at podcastchemistrystaffingcom if you're getting ready to add new staff members at your church this next year.
Speaker 1:Alright, that's it for today and for this week. Thanks, as always, for spending a few minutes with me today. And remember you're not alone. We're all figuring this out together. That's one of the things about this podcast. We'll work through things together and it's okay if it takes time. It's just taking those small steps, even with gratitude, that can really make a difference. All right, thanks so much. We will be back next week right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Have a great weekend.
