A Bear?

I was walking before daylight out of town recently. Earbuds in. A man coming the other direction said something as we passed. I caught only one word—or at least I thought I did.

"I just saw a... bear... ahead."

Wait. Did he say bear or deer?

There's a world of difference.

One word sent tingles down my spine and made me wonder if I should turn around or end the walk altogether. The other would barely change my stride.

If it had been a deer, I would have kept walking.

If it had been a bear, I would have changed everything.

I kept walking, but I also filed the moment away because it reminded me of ministry.

Wisdom knows the difference between a bear and a deer. Too many of us treat them the same.

Some ministry problems deserve immediate attention. Others deserve almost none. Yet we often react to every criticism, every rumor, every difficult conversation, every unexpected email, and every disappointed face as though we've just spotted a bear on the trail.

Most of them aren't.

Be built for the long walk. Learn to distinguish between the deer and the bears in ministry. If you serve long enough, you're going to encounter unexpected things. Some will be bears. Some will require courage. Most will simply require perspective and a memory camera. 

Don't quit at the first sign of wildlife.

Learn to smile at the deer. Laugh that your heart skipped a beat. Then keep walking, keep moving forward.

Before you let one sentence casue you to quit, remember, not everything that startles you should stop you.