It’s been a few weeks since the Phoenix Suns lost to the Dallas Mavericks in Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs. Suns fans, myself included, were devastated because they had made the NBA Finals last year and had the best season (64 wins) in franchise history this year. Our hopes were crushed in Game 6 at home when the Mavericks dominated the Suns. The Suns had their worst game of the year.
Ever have a Sunday like that? After hours of preparing all week nothing goes right and you’re tempted to throw in the towel.
The Way I See It…Every pastor will have an off game once in a while.
Here are 4 Ways to Cope with a Bad Sunday:
- Own It. Don’t excuse it away, but take ownership of it. Rejoice when things go well but take ownership when things don’t go according to your plans. Admit where you had responsibility and came up short.
- Evaluate and Improve. Take a step back and assess where things went awry. Think through what you could do differently and learn from it. Make it a practice to do this often with your Sunday morning team (paid and volunteer) as a way to grow in your leadership abilities, and theirs too.
- Don’t Dwell On it. Next Sunday is only 7 days away. Don’t dwell on it. After you have evaluated and made plans to improve things, don’t continue to rehash the bad things. Move on. Just like in professional sports, there is always another game to be played. There is always another Sunday to prepare for. Give your best next Sunday.
- Trust in God’s Word and Work. When things don’t go as planned on Sunday, remember it’s not about you. It’s not about your reputation as a preacher. In fact, sometimes things may go wrong just to keep us humbled. Isaiah 55:11 tells us that the Word of God does not return void. The Lord is more than capable of accomplishing His work in people’s lives even with all our flaws and even on our worst Sunday.
We are all flawed, not one of us is perfect. When you experience a rough Sunday, know that your heavenly Father sees you and cares for you. And He is who matters most.
Keith Durham 