Last email, I wrote about ministry walls.

Have you ever come up on a situation in ministry that you know will be difficult? If you could find a way to move through it, both you and your ministry will be able to bear more fruit.

That’s a ministry wall.

Understanding ministry walls is important. Ministry walls, if left unscaled, have the ability to create blockades. Personally and congregationally, these blockades limit how we fulfill the great commission. Ministry walls also chase the pastor. Even if they change congregations, if left unscaled, the boundary remains intact.

Think about it.

• Conflict Resolution.
• Time Management.
• Leadership Development.
• Reaching and integrating new people

These are the limitations you grow beyond. If left in place, they will constrict not just effectiveness, but emotionally erode and lead us to burn out.

Here’s the good thing.

Ministry walls can often be scaled.

There are a few different people who can help you scale a ministry wall, and in specific ways.

Those on the journey with you.
​Think about getting over a wall on an obstacle course. The few times I have done it, I’ve found the most valuable people to me are the people right before and right after me. We each seem to have the same understanding of what is going on and have these unique ways we can help each other because of proximity.

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Some of the most valuable people to have when trying to scale ministry walls are other Pastors or ministry leaders who are at the same point in the journey. Similar sized churches, similar experience level, they are true partners in exactly what is going on.

We can take it a step further and talk about other mentors. Those who’ve been in ministry longer, have seen more, and can help from higher up…since they’ve already gotten over this wall.

Note that the further someone might be from this wall, especially in time, their technical solutions might not be as helpful, but their encouragement and support in the development of the soul is priceless. Get help from those who have either just gotten over the wall or those who are right behind you.

Those who are just ahead of you.
Chad, you just talked about this in the last section!

Yes. And No.

This category is about those leaders you might not know or have the ability to talk with. Or it might be a pastor you do have a relationship with, but their church is of a different size, the specific wall-climbing tactics might not fit your context. Strangers or friends - this group can still be helpful because you can learn what they did and let that begin your thought process for what might happen.

You know that first person over a wall, or the last person…the one who has to get a running start and just seems to have the athletic ability you don’t?

That’s this person. Their help will be wildly different from those alongside you on the wall, but it will give perspective from the other side. So read up, listen to podcasts, learn from what you can access.

Those boosting you up.
​Another group of people. There are normally a couple of types of people in this category.

One is your leadership at your church, who’ve charged you and trusted you to get over this wall. Or other pastors who are looking up to you for experience and advice.

These are those who are boosting you and know they will have to make a similar journey once you are over. This category has a vested interest in what’s going on.

Those cheering you on.
​On those dreaded team-building experiences, this is me. Sitting it out and cheering everyone else on (no one wants to drag me over a wall, and I know it).

The cheerleaders are people who will be affected by your wall scaling, and get the benefit of life on the other side, but not might be scaling the wall themselves. This is your on-mission congregation. These people will reap the benefits of the tough work you are doing.

The one who knows the wall can be scaled.
It’s Jesus.
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Don’t neglect the spiritual dimensions of what might be happening with this wall. Getting over this wall is also a tremendous show of faithfulness and trust taking you to the next level in the journey. It’s building up those onion-like layers in a story of relying on the work being done inside you as a spiritual leader.

I’ve left one person off this list - and it’s you.

Yes, we can recognize a ministry wall in front of us. We can do the work to get over the wall. We set ourselves to the purpose…but then look for the people to help.

In no way is this an individual process.

Jumping up and down, trying to grab a hand over the top, dragging ourselves up and over by sheer determination doesn’t get us over the wall. It only leaves us exhausted. We become a one-trick pony lying at the bottom of the wall in a heap of brokenness.

Rob Henderson has a great quote in an article called “Killing a bad strategy before it kills you.”​

“Great leaders are often undone by conflating means with ends, thinking that by virtue of their desiring a particular outcome it will naturally come to pass.”

Working harder doesn’t always work.

Remember, ministry walls left unscaled create boundaries around our ministries. Getting over walls helps us step into our call.

Chad

PS. I was able to be on my friends' (Roz and Callie Picardo) podcast twice this month.
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One episode is why I am in LOVE with Self-Publishing. The other is where I walk through my new book and talk about how normal-sized churches can objectively understand ministry health and move towards greater vitality.