Are You Doing What You Should Be Doing?
Bob Hyatt
January 23, 2020

When we first start off in ministry, whether as an intern, a youth pastor, or an associate, our ministry duties mostly consist of what other people give us to do and things we have to do because they are in our job description or because there’s no one else to do them, irrespective of whether we enjoy those things or are even good at them.

And if we’re not careful, that pattern can persist throughout our ministry “career.” Doing what we do because it’s expected of us, because there’s seemingly no one else who can or will do those things, and precious little time and attention given to the pieces of ministry we actually love.

This passive stance towards our own job descriptions leads to burn out, dejection, and pastors who either quit… or wish they could.

But freeing ourselves from the hamster-wheel of duty and expectations and embarking on the journey of moving our job descriptions towards what we are good at and passionate about is easier than you might think.

And it all starts with identifying what you do, what you love doing, and what you are good at doing.

Take a look at the chart above. Begin to think thru all you do in the course of your ministry. What are the things you are good at? Not great at? What are the things other people could do if they were given permission or mentoring? What are the things only you can (currently) do? Draw this quadrant grid and start plotting!

Is there anything is that lower left corner? What will you do with those things? The one thing you probably shouldn’t do is keep doing them? What’s in the lower right quadrant? What steps will you take to get batter at those things? Spend some time thinking and praying about how to get better here- what classes (online or local) can you take, books can you read, mentors or coaches can you enlist?

Now do the same with the grid above. What pieces of ministry do you LOVE? Which would you never do again if you could avoid it? Plot it all.

Now, put your results together. What are you good at AND passionate about doing? What should you be working towards getting off your plate? And…

What would the IDEAL future job description look like? What conversations with staff, elders or others do you need to have to move closer to this? What would you ADD if only you had time? What can you give away to MAKE that time? What do you LOVE doing, but need to get more skillful at? And how can you grow in those things?

Doing this exercise as a Lead Pastor with 10-15 years under her/his belt will look different than doing it as a first year associate. When we start out we have little power to shape our jobs- but we can identify what we love doing, what we need help in learning how to do better and what we could give away. Later, as we gain experience and seniority, and with it, the freedom to choose more and more what we will do and what we won’t, intentionality and being honest about what we are good at, could get better at and is worth our time getting better at, and what we can and should just give away will help us make it for the long haul.

Do yourself (and those working with and/or for you) a favor and spend some time thinking about what you are doing, what you could stop doing and where you could grow.

Tithe.ly is Partnering with Ecclesia!

By Bob Hyatt • September 15, 2025
A New Ecclesia Network Benefit! 

An Ethical Response to Violence

By By Jim Pace • September 15, 2025
In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s shooting, social media has been filled with perspectives, as is typically the case. I am reluctant to add mine as there seems to be no lack one way or the other. To be clear, this is not just about Charlie Kirk, this is about violence across the board. I did not feel led to write this because it was Charlie Kirk specifically, but rather another in a long and winding line of acts of violence, that my ministering at Va. Tech gives me a bit of personal experience with. But as I have just finished teaching two classes on Christian Ethics, and as I was encountering again the spread of responses from my Christian sisters and brothers, I felt led to look at this event through that lens. Ethics, at its base, seeks to answer the question, “What is better or worse? Good or bad?” As a follower of Jesus, this is what seems right to me… 1. We never celebrate harm. Whatever our disagreements, rejoicing at a shooting violates the bedrock claim that every person bears the imago Dei (Gen 1:27). Scripture is explicit: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls” (Prov 24:17); “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5:44); “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21). I don’t love blasting verses like this, but you cannot get away from them if you are reading the scriptures. 2. Moral responsibility sits with the shooter—full stop . Saying “his rhetoric got him shot” smuggles in a just-world logic that excuses violence. As a contextual theologian, I have an enormous amount of respect for the impact our various narratives have in shaping our understandings of the world around us. They are inescapable. But that is not what I am talking about here. Ideas can be wrong, harmful, or worth opposing vigorously, but vigilante ‘payback’ is never a Christian category. My primary gig is that of a consultant for churches and non-profits. Today, in my meetings and among friends, I have heard some variation of “He got what he deserved,” and “I vote for some very public justice for the shooter.” Both of these views speak of revenge; the follower of Jesus is called to lay these down as our Messiah did. Not asked to, told to. 3. Grief and outrage about gun violence are legitimate; schadenfreude is not . Channel the pain toward nonviolent, concrete action (policy advocacy, community intervention, survivor support), not dehumanization. Here are four thinkers who have had a profound impact on the Christian ethic I try to work out in this world. As I share them, three things are worthy of mention. One, I certainly do not claim to follow their guidance perfectly, and at times I do not even do it well, but they have all given me what seems like a Jesus-centered and faith-filled direction to move in. Second, I do not claim to speak for them in this particular matter; I am merely showing how my ethical lens has been formed. Third, clearly I am not dealing with all the components of our response to these types of violence, this is not a comprehensive treatment, merely the reflections in the moment. Stanley Hauerwas : “Christian nonviolence is not a strategy to rid the world of violence.” It’s part of following Jesus, not a tactic we drop when it’s inconvenient. Stanley Hauerwas, Walking with God in a Fragile World, by James Langford, editor, Leroy S. Rouner, editor N. T. Wright : “The call of the gospel is for the church to implement the victory of God in the world through suffering love.” Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good. In other words, we answer evil without mirroring it. David Fitch : Our culture runs on an “enemy-making” dynamic; even “the political rally… depends on the making of an enemy. Don’t let that train your soul.” The Church of Us vs. Them. Sarah Coakley : Contemplation forms resistance, not passivity. For Coakley, sustained prayer trains perception and courage so Christians can resist abuse and give voice against violence (it’s not quietism). “Contemplation, if it is working aright, is precisely that which gives courage to resist abuse, to give voice against violence.” Sarah Coakley, God, Sexuality, and the Self. Coakley would say that far too often we react before we reflect. This is the problem that Fitch is getting at in much of his writing, that our culture actually runs on antagonisms, the conflict between us. We need to find a better way.