Immeasurable: Reflections on the Soul of Ministry in the Age of Church, Inc.

by Skye Jethani

receive. Without a robust communion with God through which we discern His call, we revert to the autonomous self. We think that our work in the world is determined by ourselves. We ask, “What do I want to do?” rather than, “What is God calling me to do?” The former is predicated on personal preference or self-awareness, the latter on prayer and self-surrender.

Many of the callings that have shaped my life have been received in silence and solitude, including my call into ministry. These callings were subsequently affirmed by others in the church, but the process started by cultivating the space in my life for prayer and reflection.

the fruit of our work is not determined by how much we accomplish around us, but by how connected we are to God’s Spirit within us.

When I left my full-time pastoral role some years ago, I began keeping track of my time in a journal. What I found surprised me. Between my work, my family relationships, the tasks of maintaining my home, yard, and fitness, I concluded that about 12 percent of my time was flexible.

It was often indirect and subtle, but from the moment I entered the church building on Sunday mornings, I felt like my 12 percent was being targeted.

But after a few months in the pews rather than the pulpit, I felt exhausted. After a challenging week of work, there were some Sundays when attending a worship service brought more noise than music to my life.

This led me to reflect more honestly on my

was I helping to create a harmonious rhythm of work and rest or adding to the cacophony of noise and the idolatry of achievement? I wonder if our culture’s addiction to work, including within the church, is contributing to the church dropout rates.

Of course the work we’re calling people to in the church is good, godly, and important, but when they’ve not been shown how to bring redemptive patterns of work and rest, activity and silence, into their professional lives, and when healthy rhythms of rest are also absent in the church’s life, eventually the sheep will leave to find a pasture where they can lie down—even if it’s a couch in front of a television on Sunday morning.