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For pastors, missionaries, and ministry leaders, the greatest danger is rarely inactivity. It is activity that becomes detached from first things.
A word for pastors, missionaries, and ministry leaders navigating urgency.
Christian leadership almost always feels urgent.
There are people waiting.
Decisions that feel time-sensitive.
Needs that do not pause simply because your soul is tired.
Emails stack up. Conversations linger. Sermons must be prepared. Crises arise without warning. And in the middle of it all, leaders often carry a quiet, unspoken pressure: If I don’t act quickly, something important might fall apart.
In those moments, seeking God can subtly shift from being the foundation of leadership to something we intend to return to after the work is done.
After the meeting.
After the sermon.
After the season passes.
Yet Scripture insists on a different order altogether.
Seeking God is not a pause in leadership.
It is not a retreat from responsibility.
It is not a luxury reserved for slower seasons.
Seeking God is the strategy itself.
For pastors, missionaries, and ministry leaders, the greatest danger is rarely inactivity. It is activity that becomes detached from first things.
The Pressure to Lead From Urgency
Ministry urgency often feels justified because much of it is.
People’s lives are involved. Souls matter. Time feels precious.
But urgency has a way of quietly becoming the primary driver of leadership if it is left unchecked. When that happens:
- Decisions are made quickly, but not always prayerfully
- Prayer becomes preparatory rather than relational
- Scripture becomes fuel for output rather than nourishment for the soul
- Leaders begin reacting more than discerning
Over time, leadership that is driven primarily by urgency begins to feel heavy, not because the work is wrong, but because the pace no longer reflects trust.
This is where Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33 confront our assumptions:
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Jesus does not deny the reality of need.
He does not shame responsibility.
He reorders leadership at its core.
"Seek First" Is Not Passive Leadership
Matthew 6:33 is often read devotionally, but it is profoundly practical for leaders.
“Seek first” is not an abstract spiritual posture.
It is a
daily ordering of attention, affection, and trust.
Seeking first means leadership decisions emerge from God’s presence rather than pressure. It means leaders listen before acting even when action feels urgent.
Throughout Scripture, this pattern is unmistakable:
- Moses meets with God before confronting Pharaoh
- David inquires of the Lord before going into battle
- Jesus withdraws to pray before choosing the twelve
None of these leaders were passive.
None were disengaged.
None lacked responsibility.
They simply refused to move ahead of God’s leading.
Seeking first is how God trains leaders to move at His pace, not merely at the pace of demand.
Psalm 127 and the Limits of Human Strategy
Psalm 127 offers a sobering word for leaders who feel responsible for outcomes:
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
This is not a critique of effort.
It is a clarification of limits.
Human strategy, even when well-intended and well-executed, has boundaries. Leadership strategies detached from God’s leading may appear productive for a time, but they exhaust the leader and rarely produce lasting fruit.
God does not ask leaders to secure the future of His work.
He asks them to
walk with Him in the present.
When leaders quietly take responsibility for outcomes God never assigned, anxiety creeps in. Rest begins to feel irresponsible. Delegation feels risky. Slowing down feels dangerous.
This is where Psalm 127 gently but firmly confronts our illusions of control.
When Leadership Is Driven by Outcomes
Many ministry leaders feel an unspoken pressure to justify their work with visible results.
- Attendance numbers
- Growth metrics
- Expansion opportunities
- Financial sustainability
- Measurable impact
None of these are inherently wrong. But they become spiritually dangerous when they quietly replace faithfulness as the primary measure of leadership.
Scripture offers a different metric altogether:
“It is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”
1 Corinthians 4:2
Faithfulness is the measure God uses.
Outcomes belong to Him.
When leaders are driven primarily by outcomes:
- Decision-making narrows
- Risk aversion increases
- Burnout accelerates
- Trust erodes
But when leaders "seek first", they are freed from carrying what only God can produce.
"Seek First" Reorders Time and Trust
Seeking first reshapes how leaders steward both time and responsibility.
It changes not only what leaders do, but how and why they do it.
When God is first:
- Prayer becomes central, not squeezed in
- Decisions slow down enough to discern God’s leading
- Rest is received without guilt or fear
- Sabbath and sabbaticals are honored as acts of obedience
- Trust replaces control
This does not mean leadership becomes careless or disengaged.
It means leadership becomes aligned.
Christian leadership that seeks first trusts God with continuity, trusting that the work of God does not hinge on constant visibility or relentless presence.
Seeking First and the Theology of Rest
This is where Christian leadership and sabbaticals intersect deeply.
Rest is not a retreat from responsibility.
It is a declaration of trust.
A sabbatical does not say, “The work does not matter.”
It says, “God governs what continues when I stop.”
For many leaders, the resistance to rest is not logistical, it is theological.
Rest forces leaders to confront questions they would rather avoid:
- Do I believe God sustains this ministry apart from me?
- Do I trust Him with what happens when I am not present?
- Have I confused stewardship with ownership?
Seeking first is not only about prayer and discernment.
It is about trusting God enough to stop.
A Word for Leaders Considering Sabbaticals
For pastors, missionaries, and ministry leaders, a sabbatical is not an escape from work.
It is an act of obedience.
Taking intentional rest is one of the clearest ways leaders can say:
- God is at work even when I am not present
- My leadership is stewardship, not ownership
- Obedience matters more than visibility
- Trust matters more than control
Sabbaticals, when rooted in seeking first, become a form of leadership rather than a departure from it.
They preach, quietly but powerfully, that God remains faithful beyond any single leader’s effort.
Why Seeking First Is Not Optional
Seeking first is not an accessory to Christian leadership.
It is the only way leadership remains faithful over time.
Without it:
- Urgency becomes the master
- Outcomes become the measure
- Leaders carry weight they were never meant to bear
With it:
- Leadership flows from trust
- Decisions reflect discernment
- Rest becomes possible
- Faithfulness is preserved
Jesus’ invitation remains the same...not conditional, not delayed:
"Seek first".
A Closing Prayer for Leaders
Lord,
Teach us again to seek You first.
Free us from the weight of outcomes that belong to You alone.
Restore trust where urgency has taken over.
Align our leadership with Your presence and Your pace.
Amen.
