Ministry Mindset Part 4 – Who’s Your Boss?

By Mike Henry Sr.

Who do you work for? More and more of us now work as independent workers in some capacity. In the few brief moments of research I did, the statistics I could find were contradictory. Regardless, I expect over 60% of people in the US work for a company and report to a boss.

When we decide to follow Jesus, we choose a different, higher path. Our life aim and trajectory changes but our circumstances remain. Before we began following Jesus, we followed a different god. I followed me. I wanted what I wanted. I made the choices and the trade offs. And one of those was that I worked for someone else so I could make some money and live my life.

My plan was a version of the baby-boomer plan. I would work very well, get recognized, get ahead, rise up through the company and become wealthy. I discovered several problems with that plan, the first one being, most of my bosses didn’t share my vision of what it meant to work very well. A boss is the person who decides whether your work is good. Sometimes, what my bosses wanted and what I thought they should want were different.

When I started following Jesus, I repeated my tendency to think I knew better. I spent several years frustrated that I couldn’t get Jesus to do what I wanted. But as I pursued Jesus, I realized a new strength or power to serve my coworkers – even my bosses.

I begged God to give me a full-time ministry. And over the years he has. Not by giving me a job at a church, but by helping me develop a ministry mindset. I try daily to ask God how I can serve the people I’m with all the time. As I continue to make Jesus my treasure, my heart joins in his work within my sphere of influence. My career and my work are still judged by an employer, but the one I ultimately serve isn’t myself, it’s Jesus. And he has different goals for my time at work.

Fortunately, perfection isn’t expected, at least not on this side of eternity. Progress seems difficult or absent at times. But I am also learning to trust Jesus in the process. Romans 12:1 says that I will be transformed, but it’s my job to develop a new mindset.

Have you made the shift to Jesus as your boss? Do you experience his direction and his work in extraordinary conversations and opportunities to serve others? Would you share about your experience working for Jesus in a regular day job? And if you still struggle, share that too. We all can improve daily by turning our mind and our spirit to him to get our direction each day. After all, he is our boss.

This is the 4th post in a series about developing a ministry mindset. The other 3 posts are here, here, and here. Check them out.

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