Passion and white-knuckling our way through ministry can be fun, but it is often not wise. Like the church in early Acts and Moses coming out of Egypt, we often do what we think is best in our own eyes, not what is best for the whole.

I spent a decade in youth ministry, and it came with some of the greatest joys of my life. Few things are richer than walking alongside parents to see their teenager come alive in Christ. There were light bulb moments I was able to witness during fun overnight trips—all on very little money and sleep. Helping teenagers follow Jesus is a roller coaster, though. They have these big dreams, desires, and feelings with a very underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, which causes what the Bible might describe as foolishness. It was endearing, though.

The Danger of Passion Without Prudence

Church life cycles are akin to the development of a child. There is an infant stage, and then they hit a teenager stage where they have big vision but very little brain development to support it. Churches want to have great worship gatherings, build a kids ministry, do mercy ministry, and reach the lost—and it’s beautiful. I have served on staff at a church like this. Yet they don’t have the wisdom to accomplish what they actually want to accomplish. Their passion has exceeded their prudence.

And what are the consequences of this?

• We overpromise and underdeliver, and our people learn not to count on us.
• We spend money we don’t have because we haven’t built financial systems to keep track of our resources.
• We have staff who micromanage everything because delegation is inefficient.
• We lose great staff members because they are tired of leading through dopamine rushes.
• We lose members because they begin to see that Sunday mornings aren’t enough.

How many of our church plants or replants are in buildings with stories related to poor leadership decisions or financial negligence?

The early church had this same problem. Luke says, “Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution” (Acts 6:1).

What happened? The church was growing, but needs were being neglected. Jethro’s charge to Moses was similar: “Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you.

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