When to Leave - Boredom in Ministry—What It Means

Boredom in ministry is often a signal for deeper reflection and potential change, marking a phase many ministers face in their journey. Todd Rhodes explores the dynamics of boredom, discussing its roots and offering actionable steps for renewing passion in one's calling.

• Recognizing early excitement in ministry and its evolution 
• Identifying key factors contributing to boredom 
• Emphasizing that boredom is a signal, not a destination 
• Reflecting on one’s calling to reconnect with passion 
• Seeking new challenges within or outside current roles 
• Understanding when it may be time to transition and explore new opportunities 
• Encouraging personal evaluations to re-engage with ministry

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:10

man, you ever get bored in ministry? Hi, I'm todd rhodes, co-founder of chemistry staffingcom, and I am your host here on the healthy church staff podcast. I'm thrilled you're here and man, ministry is a calling that's filled with challenges and joys and sometimes surprise sense of boredom. If you've ever found yourself feeling mad about your role, this episode is for you. Today we're unpacking the idea of boredom in ministry and what it might mean, and we're getting some insight along the way from Wade Hodges' book called when to Leave how to know when it's time to move on before you stay way too long and we're going to explore why boredom happens and what it signals about your calling and potential next steps.

Speaker 1: 1:02

So let's face it ministry it is rarely boring at the start. Matter of fact, it is exciting. It's downright exhilarating. When you start a new role many times Hopefully it is anyway there's so much to learn, so many new relationships to build, so much vision to cast. But over time, even the most exciting roles can start to feel a little routine, quite predictable, or maybe even dull and boring. So Wade Hodges has lived this in his ministry life and he writes about it in his book when to Leave. Stick around at the end of the podcast I'll tell you how to get your copy of when to Leave, absolutely free from us here at Chemistry Staffing.

Speaker 1: 1:50

But Wade in his book identifies maybe four key reasons why boredom might start to creep in into your ministry. And the first is maybe you're just not being challenged. Have you ministered or have you mastered your current role to the point where it feels like there's nothing new to learn, nothing new to conquer? You could do this job with your eyes closed, and maybe sometimes you do but if you're not being challenged, that can really quickly lead to boredom if you're not careful. Maybe your passion has just waned. If the things that used to energize you now feel like a chore, it could be just a sign that your passion is waning a little bit and you're falling into deeper and deeper dissatisfaction. It could be and we hate to ever admit this Matter of fact. It's hard to admit. Maybe your church has outgrown your leadership as churches evolve. Maybe your church has outgrown your leadership as churches evolve. Sometimes their needs change and you might be more of a leader than they need. You might be less of a leader than they need, but your church maybe has just changed and outgrown your leadership. You might find that your skill set no longer matches the demands of the ministry where you are. Sometimes that leads to boredom, and then we talked about this a couple of days ago here on the podcast. Maybe you've just stopped dreaming. We talked about this just a couple of days ago. Losing your ability to dream can lead directly to boredom.

Speaker 1: 3:14

Now, boredom, don't get me wrong. Boredom isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes it's a season. If there's a season of rest or preparation for maybe what's next, that's okay, that's okay. The key is figuring out, though, whether this feeling that you had, this boredom that you're starting to feel, is this temporary, or is this a sign of something bigger. So here's the bottom line for today Boredom is a signal. Okay, it's a signal. It's not a destination, and if you're feeling stagnant, take time to discern what's behind it, and here are some ways that you can start.

Speaker 1: 3:46

First of all, just reflect on your current role. What aspects of your work excite you, what feels like a drag? This can help you pinpoint, maybe, areas of boredom or misalignment, and then go back. I always tell people and this is an exercise I do regularly revisit your original calling. Revisit what it felt like when God called you to ministry? What drew you to ministry in the first place? How did tell me your Jesus story about why you do what you do and spend some time praying and journaling, talking with a mentor about how to reconnect with your why? Because there may just be some mission drift and that mission drift is just causing you to be a little bored. Maybe you just need to seek some new challenges. Maybe that can be inside your church, maybe it's at a point where you need to do that elsewhere. But if your role feels too predictable, look for ways to stretch yourself. It might just mean taking on a new project, maybe mentoring a younger leader or exploring different areas of ministry. It could mean that God's preparing you for a new challenge somewhere else outside of your church, at a new church or a different company or nonprofit who knows? But seek out those new challenges to see again, testing whether this boredom that you're feeling is more of a season or is this something that you really need to take attention to and then finally consider whether it's time to transition.

Speaker 1: 5:14

The longer boredom persists, even despite your best efforts, even if you try some of the things I just mentioned. It could be a sign that God's just preparing you for a new season of growth somewhere else. So here's the action step. If you're feeling bored, okay, this should be easy for you because you're bored. You don't feel like you're bored, so block off 30 minutes. You should be able to find 30 minutes in your somewhat boring day today or tomorrow. Block off I'm joking with you, obviously. Block off 30 minutes to evaluate your current role. Write down one thing maybe that you can do to shake things up a little bit. Maybe it's leading a new initiative, maybe it's attending a leadership conference, maybe it's just scheduling coffee with someone who inspires you. But do something different to see, if that, how does that affect your scale of boredness? And really what you need to determine is this a season or is this kind of where you're at and God's using this to move you forward, to do something different, something else, a new challenge that he's got for you somewhere? Okay, so are you feeling bored of ministry man?

Speaker 1: 6:23

I'd love to hear your story. Email me anytime about anything at podcastchemistrystaffingcom. Your emails to me are confidential. I don't share them. I got to read them on the podcast. I'm really here to listen and to help however I can and if there's any way that I can help you. My main role is over at chemistrystaffingcom. I'm one of the co-founders there and I get to work with churches and individuals on a daily basis just trying to help them with staffing issues, hiring, firing, realignment, salary all those kinds of things I can help you with. If you have any questions or any needs, I'd love to be able to partner with you on that. You can reach out to me anytime at podcast at chemistrystaffingcom.

Speaker 1: 7:07

And finally, if you're tracking on this series that we've been on on transition in ministry, if this topic is really resonating with you, you can check out Wade Hodge's book. It's called when to Leave and you can get a free copy right here. Just go right now to chemistrystaffingcom slash when-to-leave. Chemistrystaffingcom slash when-to-leave. It's really a great resource and Wade some great insight. He's been there, been there, done that a couple times with transitions and ministry and discerning really tough ministry decisions, and he shares a lot of his insight in this book. I think you're really going to love it. Get a box of Kleenex too, because it might bring some tears as well. It's a very emotional book at times, so it's a great read.

Speaker 1: 7:55

Thanks for joining me today. Remember, boredom doesn't have to be the end of your story, but you can't continue in it forever. It will kill you. It's an opportunity to reflect and to calibrate and reignite your mission. And you're not alone. There are other people that feel exactly the way you do and there are steps that you can take. Any way I can help. Let me know. Podcastchemistrystaffingcom. All right, take care, I will see you again tomorrow as we close out our week right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. You.