“hot affair” with Brigitte Nielson. So you might be wondering, how does this apply to ministry? Here’s how. Arnold’s personal life never really interfered with him getting where he wanted to get in his career. He just did what he wanted, how he wanted it. That doesn’t exactly work for us, ministers. Our personal lives and work lives are so completely meshed tougher that if either one of them is out of balance, it could cause some serious issues. So what do you do when your personal life interferes with your work life? By that I mean, what happens when your personal life is in shambles and you still have to hold your job as a minister? What happens when your marriage is going down the tubes, or your own child has behavioral problems or your daughter gets pregnant out of wed-lock? Maybe you think that nothing like this could happen to you, but what if it does? What do you do then? How will you respond and how will your church respond? Don’t think this would never happen to you? Think again. I’ve been in full-time ministry for over 14 years and the amount of disfunction I have seen in Ministers personal lives is there. I have seen marriages fall apart. I have seen children turn away from the Lord. I have seen drug and porn addiction. Some things that happen are out of your control, but affect you personally. There is chaos that affects our personal life and it DESTROYS great ministries and really good people. As I have dealt with a variety of “personal”, real life issues, I can’t honestly say how you should respond because every person and situation is different. I can’t say how your church should respond because again, every situation is different. But what I can say is 2 things:
- Never stop pursuing Christ through it all. I know that is the “standard”, “Christian” thing to say. But it is true. He never promised you smooth sailing (in fact, he shares often about hardships you will encounter). But he does promise us that he will be with us. When Joshua is getting ready to take hold of leadership of Israel and move them into the promise land God says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9). God will be with us, even in the midst of the chaos and the storms and HE WILL bring us through it.
- Also, I will say be proactive, not reactive. Don’t wait for your marriage to fall apart before you to try to save it. Spend more time with your spouse now. Don’t wait for your teenage child to come to you saying they are expecting a child. Invest time in them now.