At the moment I'm reading a book called Faking Church. In the book the author talks about the fable "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Andersen (you can read the story at http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/Emperors-New-Clothes.htm)
He makes the point that we are like the ministers in the story. We fear being labeled incompetent and incorrectly compare ourselves to one another.
Truth being told, this was me all too often in ministry. At times i was hounded by the fear of being caught out. Eventually, i was sure that the realisation would hit everyone that i was unfit for my position.
Furthermore, i was sure that everyone else in my position was doing fine.
Now I'm not looking for a pat on the back or fishing for compliments. I also know that I'm not the only one in ministry who has ever felt these feelings.
If i go back into church work, I'm pretty sure the feelings will return at times. But, luckily enough, God still uses those who can identify with characters in 150 year old stories...
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