Early in our ministry career, my husband and I arrived as new youth pastors of San Jacinto Assembly of God in San Jacinto, CA. Student Ministry was our passion and all that we desired to do in ministry, forever. So, none were more surprised than we were when three years later, a sudden turn of events led us to the lead pastor position where we would stay for the next two decades.

I remember that first year, feeling so overwhelmed and over my head in my new role. Becoming lead pastors wasn’t something I had ever imagined for us, even though God undeniably had spoken to our hearts and directed our steps. 

So when we got the chance to attend Jack Hayford’s Pastor’s School a few months later, I arrived with pen in hand, leaning in to receive every drop of wisdom he had to share. 

His opening statement hit me hard, “The problem with ministry is it can be learned.” Didn’t he understand? THAT is why I was there. There was so much to learn, so much I didn’t know. 

While there are many benefits to learning by experience, education, peers and mentors, there also is a pitfall to depend on what we know instead of bringing God into everything. If we are not intentional and aware, a subtle danger lurks; to lead apart from His leading.  It becomes second nature to “lean on my own understanding” (Prov 3:5). 

I’m thankful He doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Since then, I have acquired some ministry experiences. I have continued to be a lifelong learner by continuing my education, reading books, and attending seminars and conferences. Today, I know some stuff: how to lead a small group, how to prepare a message or an order of service. I have learned people skills, organizational systems and ministerial best practices that have helped me pastor over several decades. All of this is good and helpful, but it has another edge to it. I now must fight the temptation that I have learned to do ministry. It’s easy to go on autopilot. 

To fully rely on God in ministry means living from a posture of continual dependence rather than confidence in my own abilities. It’s beginning every assignment with prayer, seeking His wisdom before offering my own, and remaining sensitive to the Holy Spirit even when experience suggests I already know the way. It’s choosing obedience over convenience, humility over expertise, and faith over familiarity. When I rely on God, I serve with a surrendered heart knowing that lasting fruits come not from what I can accomplish, but from what He accomplishes through me. 

In a day and age where we can Google everything from complete sermons to worship playlists, we must remember the wisdom from John 15:4-5, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (NLT)

In his book, Lead So Others Can Follow, Dr. James Bradford writes, “Over my years of pastoral ministry, I’ve found that the best antidote to the toxic tendencies of ministry leadership is to live with the lifegiving constraints of three biblical experiences: (1) being broken before God, (2) abiding with Christ in His Word and prayer, and (3) living in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” (p.26)

I am thankful for that first Pastor’s School I attended and the excellent wisdom from a seasoned and spiritual leader who spoke into my life. His words have served me well. 

Experience may inform us, and education may equip us, but only God can lead us. Our true strength as ministers and leaders is found when we lay down our understanding and follow our Shepherd. We lead not from what we know, but from Who we know.