Great Advice for Ministry: Improving Your Relationships

Mr. Mark's Classroom

Here is part two of this encore podcast with Miss Amy Adams. Our ministry hinges on our relationships. Everything God does is through relationships. It is worth stopping and evaluating how you are doing with the relationships God has given you.

Change your negative thinking into positive behavior. You are spending way too much energy arguing with people who are not in the room and even losing sleep over people’s actions. Some people, including the ministers on your staff can be jerks sometimes, but that does not mean you have to be a jerk too. Try thanking people and simply stop talking when others are voicing issues. Don’t join their circus because it only spirals out of control. Don’t be guilty of joining this way of thinking because it will soon define your reputation if it hasn’t already. Here are a few more things to watch for:

• Making excuses about your work.
• Blaming others for the way things are going, this includes past ministers or lay people.
• Winning too much. Do you have to win all the time? Why? That repels people away from you.
• Sarcasm might be your humor, but often it sounds negative and it’s not funny.
• Proving “I’m right, you’re wrong” to make yourself feel superior.
• Voicing unneeded judgments.
• Putting in your “Two cents” all the time.
• Speaking when angry.

Try shifting into neutral and apply the brakes. You can improve being nice if you just stop talking, especially when you are not asked anyway. I suggest, change from a “To Do” list to a “To Stop” list and see if your relationships improve.

What other relationship issues do you encounter in the church office?