Taking the heat

There is a funny thing about working in Ministry; your social life is your work life.

I live and breathe my church. I love the people I work with and work for. Some of the families I work with are also my friends. The young adult small group I lead is a portion of my friends network.
Its really a fun thing until it gets tough.

The past couple of weeks I have taken some heat from a couple of parents. Some are justified and make good points, others make good points in a bad way, a few others make points that are misguided, and a few even still just take shots for no reason at all.

When these things come down the pipe; which they are bound to do because I work in ministry; I have to be prepared. I need to have people in my life who are outside the church and my ministry. I need to have people I can go to and hash things out with. Friends who will tell me I am wrong when I am wrong. But Friends who will back me up, or encourage me when I feel down.

Last night was great. I went to a friends birthday dinner and rock climb. We sat out on a rock face and ate some burgers and did a climb each. It was really fun to be with them. I got to decompress and be myself without having to worry about the things on my mind from the church.

Everyone needs that, you may not need many friends in life. But a few friends in different places that you can turn to, sure is a big help.