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#4: Why Does My Struggle Matter?
47 Plays4 months ago
In Episode 4 of the NextGen Matters podcast, Why Does My Struggle Matter, Rich Brown speaks directly to ministry leaders about the reality of struggle and why it carries eternal significance. Whether it’s late nights after youth group, personal hardships like grief or financial strain, or the quiet ache of burnout and imposter syndrome, struggle is part of both life and ministry. Rich shares from his own early days as a young youth minister, reminding listeners that even in seasons of pressure, God’s faithfulness is present. Grounded in Scripture, he highlights how struggles come from external attacks, internal doubts, burnout, failed efforts, and the brokenness of the world—but they are never wasted. Struggle can refine us, deepen our dependence on God, and shape us into Christlike leaders who model resilience and authenticity for the next generation. Your struggle matters because it is formative—building character and humility—and transformative, leaving a legacy of faith for those you shepherd. In God’s hands, even the hardest battles become seeds of hope.
Resources Mentioned
• The Bible (Scripture references: 2 Corinthians 1, 1 Timothy 4, 2 Timothy 1–2, Matthew 16, Luke 8, James 1, Romans 5, Hebrews 12)
Timestamps
• 00:01–01:30 — Introduction: The reality of struggle in ministry and life
• 01:30–04:55 — Everyday ministry exhaustion and internal personal struggles
• 04:55–06:13 — The human condition of struggle and biblical grounding
• 06:13–09:04 — Rich’s early ministry story: Expectations, pressure, and first challenges
• 09:04–12:52 — Ministry hardships across multiple churches
• 12:52–14:58 — Why our struggles matter and how God works through them
• 14:58–22:44 — Five biblical sources of struggle
• 22:44–32:44 — Four ways to find success during struggle: Recognize, see reality, be refined, receive reward
• 32:44–37:32 — Biblical, ministry, and personal perspectives on suffering and growth
• 37:32–38:28 — Call to action and closing encouragement
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Next Gen Matters Podcast
00:00:01
NextGen Matters
Hey, ministry leader, welcome to the Next Gen Matters podcast, a show for ministry leaders seeking to move beyond overwhelm and move into leading with clarity, confidence, and consistency.
Exploring Struggles in Life and Ministry
00:00:13
NextGen Matters
I'm Rich Brown, and in this episode, we're going to be speaking into a topic that everyone in life is going to face, and that is the issue of struggle. If you've listened to the previous episode entitled, Why Does My Ministry Matter?,
00:00:28
NextGen Matters
Well, this episode goes even further into the hard side of ministry. Now, I recognize that today's episode may be touching on some sensitive areas for some listeners. Yet my desire is to honestly acknowledge the reality of struggle while inviting God's divine perspective into this needed, candid conversation.
Personal and Internal Struggles in Ministry
00:00:53
NextGen Matters
sir Have you ever sat alone after your youth group on a Wednesday night or a Sunday night and you just are staring at the empty chairs wondering if anybody heard anything you said?
00:01:08
NextGen Matters
Or maybe it's on the drive home. It's after a late night of ministry. Or how about after an exhausting Sunday where you realize you spent more hours at the church than you did with your own family on what we call the day of rest?
00:01:28
NextGen Matters
The late nights, the constant meetings, The never ending texts. I know in our small group in my church, I'm involved in a text thread or a text group. And it when it just ramps up at night, these dudes just keep going and going and going.
00:01:44
NextGen Matters
So I get that. Or maybe it's the consuming energy poured into the students who sometimes don't even seem to notice. Now, those struggles are more on the church related side.
00:01:59
NextGen Matters
But you could be doing well. You could be in a great season in your ministry. But also now your struggle is not necessarily external from the church, but it's more internal in your own life.
00:02:12
NextGen Matters
For example, maybe your struggle has to do more with the personal side of you and your spouse are really struggling with some financial difficulties.
00:02:26
NextGen Matters
Or maybe you or your loved ones could be going through a very significant health or medical situation. Maybe you've recently lost a loved one, a parent, or even a spouse or a child.
00:02:45
NextGen Matters
I say these because I know of ministry leaders who have gone through everything I have just mentioned.
00:02:57
NextGen Matters
Or maybe things are okay right now and that's it.
Public Nature and Magnified Struggles
00:03:02
NextGen Matters
They're just okay. You just seem to kind of hit the wall professionally. You might feel like you're playing the role of the imposter. You know, the gifts that you have and the responsibilities you have are not the right match.
00:03:20
NextGen Matters
Or maybe your gift set and your responsibility set are the right match. but you've been doing it a long time i and honestly, you're just getting bored or potentially even burning out.
00:03:34
NextGen Matters
So when I say struggle, I'm not necessarily only referring to deep, hard pain. I'm referring to even from the athletic sense when a basketball player is struggling from the free throw line.
00:03:47
NextGen Matters
You know, instead of hitting eight out of 10, he or she's hitting, you know, three out of 10. That's a big struggle. Now, full disclosure, this is November of 2025. I'm a Minnesota Vikings fan.
00:04:02
NextGen Matters
I have been a Minnesota Vikings fan all my life. I grew up in New York State, but since the time I was eight years old, Lord, why did I do it? But I chose the Vikings, and I'm a loyal dude. I have been loyal all these years.
00:04:17
NextGen Matters
If you're tracking with football right now, Minnesota is just pathetic. They have the highest payroll in the NFL. They have some of the most talented players.
00:04:28
NextGen Matters
They're a joke right now. To say they're struggling is beyond it's beyond struggle. It's just pathetic. What I'm getting at is sometimes struggle isn't always deep pain. Sometimes struggle is a broader sense of you just kind of going through the motions.
00:04:50
NextGen Matters
Well, here's the deal. No matter what you're going through in your sense of struggle right now, whether your struggle bus is small or big, the reality is the human condition that we are in in this world, in this human condition, we will have trouble.
00:05:09
NextGen Matters
It was the Lord Jesus Christ who said that the night of his arrest in John chapter 16. In this world, you will have trouble.
Finding Success Amidst Struggles
00:05:16
NextGen Matters
And for us in ministry, When we go through trouble, it is exponentially magnified because we, in our positions, we are serving in the public spotlight of ministry.
00:05:30
NextGen Matters
So I got mine. Get you coffee, grab your seat, and let's journey through this topic together.
00:05:41
NextGen Matters
We do need to face our struggles. But you may be wondering if there is such a thing as success during times of struggle. And I'm going to say absolutely.
00:05:54
NextGen Matters
So in this episode, we will speak into what are some of the sources of struggle and also finding success during or in the middle of our struggle. After all, the struggle is real.
00:06:07
NextGen Matters
So let's jump right in.
Rich's Early Ministry Experiences
00:06:10
NextGen Matters
I got to back y'all up. The year was 1985.
00:06:15
NextGen Matters
What was playing in the box office were movies where Doc Brown was going back to the future. There were five teenagers in trouble at school, and they were spending a Saturday in a high school building looking to find breakfast in a club.
00:06:36
NextGen Matters
Goonies came out, and Rocky made another movie, Rocky IV. What was playing on the radio? Foreigner. was still wanting to know what love was.
00:06:49
NextGen Matters
Darrell Hall and John Oates were out of touch. Tears for Fears, they were looking to rule the world and AHA was taking on me.
00:07:00
NextGen Matters
In that same year, i started youth ministry and in that same year, I got married. In that same year, Ronald Reagan was president and the Bears were the best defense the NFL had ever known.
00:07:13
NextGen Matters
So yeah, that's the culture I step into my first ministry in. As I jump in, all excited, I'm hearing from the deacon board and this was a church where the deacon board made those deacon decisions to everybody wants to rule. you know what I'm saying, right? Okay. So those that deacon board was kind of large and in charge. All right.
00:07:39
NextGen Matters
When they hired me, this is what I was told. Word for word, this is what I was told. Again, 22, just got married. They told me they were hiring me in faith.
00:07:51
NextGen Matters
which sounds really spiritual. Okay. They were hiring me in faith, believing God would grow the numbers of the youth ministry. They said that through what I'll be doing in my ministry, more teenagers will come into the ministry.
00:08:07
NextGen Matters
They will then bring their parents into the church and those parents will become went what work tithing and giving members. Therefore, they said that my position would essentially be paying for itself.
00:08:24
NextGen Matters
Thus the phrase, they're hiring me in faith.
00:08:28
NextGen Matters
At the time, I was too young and probably too naive to fully grasp what they were saying. Honestly, I was just thrilled to be getting a paycheck to do what God had called me to do.
00:08:43
NextGen Matters
I just finished my four year youth ministry degree. As I said, we just got married. I'm stepping into a place to go make disciples and go and go reach the world for Jesus.
00:08:55
NextGen Matters
Give me a super soaker in the gates of hell. Let's go. Well, here's where that landed. Three years later. Yeah. The youth ministry did grow in size and we definitely grew in depth.
00:09:10
NextGen Matters
but that church didn't grow. You see the church 10 years earlier had 1500 in attendance. When I jumped in, it was a 200 and continually going down.
00:09:22
NextGen Matters
So three years after my hire, the church was continually going down. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was put into a position that really was a no win situation.
00:09:35
NextGen Matters
And I'm in the monthly board meeting because I was on the board, the senior pastor myself and the deacons. And they began to let the senior pastor and I both know that our salaries will be being cut 10%. Now,
00:09:50
NextGen Matters
now I was making 12 grand a year. So 12,000 bucks a year. All right. So that's going to be cut 10%. Then they also looked at me and they said, and we're looking to you to say, we are going to be looking into cutting your salary in half to take you to part time.
00:10:07
NextGen Matters
And are you willing to go? And this is exactly word for word what I was told. Would you be willing to go get a job at McDonald's?
00:10:16
NextGen Matters
McDonald's. Of all places, they're asking me to go find a job.
00:10:24
NextGen Matters
McDonald's.
00:10:26
NextGen Matters
Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. McDonald's. They could have said Lowe's. they They could have said another Red Robin. But no, I was told McDonald's.
00:10:41
NextGen Matters
And looking back, It's a little deeper than I thought because what is McDonald's? You're hiring high schoolers and young college-age persons because it's an entry-level job?
00:10:52
NextGen Matters
And in reality, that's how they saw youth ministry. I was entering into an entry-level position.
00:10:58
NextGen Matters
Well, the senior pastor who, full disclosure, was my father, and he looked at me later that night and he goes, Rich, it's okay. He goes, just start looking at another place. He realized this is this is not going to work.
00:11:11
NextGen Matters
I can smile now. So as I'm going through this, I actually had an offer from a different church an hour away. and i And I said, okay, Lord, this is what you're leading us into.
00:11:24
NextGen Matters
Jumped on that. Three years later, it was copy and paste. Because that church also, 10 years earlier, had the 12 to 1500 attendance, was down less than 200.
00:11:36
NextGen Matters
And that ship was going down. That plane was going down. And then I'm in another deacon meeting three years later where I'm hearing, and they were very gracious about this one. They actually had tears in their eyes that the chair of the board said, we don't want you to leave, but we don't know what else to do. We can't afford two pastors.
00:11:56
NextGen Matters
In reality, student pastor, senior pastor, who's going to go, right? Got provided. Another ministry actually opened up. They reached out to me. I jumped into that situation, all excited.
00:12:11
NextGen Matters
I did not realize it, but the church board was pulling a political coup against the lead pastor. Within three months, I realized they were trying to get him out.
00:12:24
NextGen Matters
And within a year he was gone. And it was just, I was the only pastor left on this board. That was a deep struggle. That was a very difficult season. And of all three of my first churches, that was the most difficult.
00:12:40
NextGen Matters
I'm saying that because the struggle bus for me was very big and very real. Three years later, another church reached out to me.
00:12:50
NextGen Matters
i was in conversation. My lead pastor found out and they literally terminated me right away. Now in sports terms, I'm a free agent.
00:13:02
NextGen Matters
And all I want to do is be a student pastor and just be in a healthy environment. And yet going through those difficult seasons, I knew I was called and and I knew what my ministry was to be all about.
00:13:18
NextGen Matters
And I knew why it was to reach the next generation.
Biblical Framework for Understanding Struggles
00:13:21
NextGen Matters
And that's exactly why I've laid these these episodes out in the way I have. This one I'm sharing is not to get anyone down or discouraged, just the opposite.
00:13:34
NextGen Matters
I want us to realize that while we're in realville and you and I may be going through various struggles, you've got your war stories, I've got mine.
00:13:44
NextGen Matters
But how can we see the handiwork of God through this? And can God still be using us in the middle of our struggles So I want us to take a look into five, what I call sources of struggle.
00:14:01
NextGen Matters
I see five and they're all from scripture. The first one is based on 2 Corinthians 1.8. The Apostle Paul says, and I have the scripture in front of me, we do not want you to be uninformed brothers about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure so that we, you ready? Here's Paul, the Apostle Paul. This is what he says. So that we despaired even of life.
00:14:29
NextGen Matters
He despaired of life. Indeed, our hearts, we felt the sentence of death. So here's the first of the five. When we are facing attacks from outsiders, we are facing attacks from those outside ourselves.
00:14:45
NextGen Matters
of ourselves In other words, in the church or even outside the church. In this context here, he says that he was in the province of Asia going through great pressure. Many commentaries and commentators attach this to Acts 18 when he, Silas, and a young teenager named Timothy were starting that church plant in the city of Ephesus.
00:15:06
NextGen Matters
Because the Ephesians did not, let's say, really enjoy the theology of Paul because he was teaching monotheism and the God we serve, the God he serves, is immortal, invisible, and the God only wise, who revealed himself through his son Jesus Christ, who resurrected from the dead and is now in heaven. And there were no statues to the God of Paul.
00:15:33
NextGen Matters
There were no idols to the God of Paul. There was an invisible God. And Paul is preaching the truth of the gospel in a culture that's polytheistic.
00:15:44
NextGen Matters
And they express their worship by by by worshiping idols and statues. And all of a sudden, as people are coming to put their faith in Jesus, they're discarding their statues and they're burning their witchcraft books. That's Acts 18.
00:16:01
NextGen Matters
In the middle of that, the economy begins to crash. And that's when the revolt took place. Paul was facing the attack of those outside.
00:16:13
NextGen Matters
And maybe you've gone through that. Whether it's someone in the church or outside the church, you're facing direct attack. It's a source of our struggle. We also could be feeling the imposter syndrome. Yeah, you've heard the phrase, right? Imposter syndrome, kind of fake it to make it, or I'm just trying to pretend that I am somebody or I have talents that I really don't have.
00:16:36
NextGen Matters
Timothy, I'm going to suggest, was feeling imposter syndrome because in 1 Timothy 4.12, a classic verse we somehow always use for junior high camp, let no one despise your youth, but be an example in.
00:16:50
NextGen Matters
That wasn't referred referring to a 13-year-old. Timothy was in his early to mid-30s. We know this because the timeline when Paul wrote to Timothy. Paul was in the Mamertine prison in Rome, the mid-80s,
00:17:06
NextGen Matters
Timothy joined team Paul and Silas around the age of 16 in the year AD 49 AD 50 right coming off of the Jerusalem council of chapter 15 of Acts. Paul writes Galatians right then. That is AD 49 Timothy was an older teenager then.
00:17:24
NextGen Matters
It's about 15 years later. You see, the church that Timothy was, I'm air quoting here, was the youth intern at the church at Ephesus, the church plant.
00:17:36
NextGen Matters
He's the young teenager, 15-some-way years later, he's now responsible for this church body, this church family, and to raise up excellent leadership as Paul is in prison on death row.
00:17:49
NextGen Matters
And Paul says, let no one look down on you because you are young. He was feeling like like every one of us, especially in student ministry, feel when we start off at a young age.
00:18:00
NextGen Matters
People in the church, older, look at us like, oh, that's really cute. And when are you going to grow up? What are you going to do when you grow up? I remember I could, dude, I could not wait to turn 30.
00:18:12
NextGen Matters
So I could kind of feel like I could sit at the adult table at grandma's house for a meal. If you know what talking about, it's right now, the recording time is a week out from for Thanksgiving, actually a few days from Thanksgiving. So my brain goes back to my grandma's house in upstate New York. And there was the kid table and the adult table. I remember finally in college, I got to bump up to the through the adult table.
00:18:36
NextGen Matters
And it's kind of that metaphor I'm using here. See, Timothy was being looked down on by those older people because they remember him as the young man. And now he's back, but they don't see him as that 30-something adult.
00:18:50
NextGen Matters
They're looking down on his youth. That's how they see him. He's feeling the sense of imposter syndrome. And maybe you're going through that. There's also a third way that is a source of what I call the source of a struggle.
00:19:06
NextGen Matters
And that is we're fighting. Yeah, we're fighting the blahs. We're fighting the burnout. We're fighting even through a sense of being in fear. Same Paul, same Timothy, 2 Timothy 1.7, where Paul reminds Timothy to fan and to flame the gift of God which is you through the laying on of hands. And i read this verse two episodes ago on calling, referring to Timothy's calling and specifically there his ordination, if you will.
00:19:36
NextGen Matters
But what Paul says there is fan into flame the gift of God. in other words, his fire was going down. He needed to have that that fire rekindled, that fire of passion for ministry. He was fighting the blas. He was fighting even potential burnout.
00:19:51
NextGen Matters
And the very next verse, which actually is the same sentence, verse 7 says, "...for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline." So yeah, Timothy was going through some real so some real heavy stuff when you look carefully into 2 Timothy.
00:20:09
NextGen Matters
He was fighting through the blahs, fighting through the burnout, fighting through the fear of ministry. Matthew 16 tells us when Jesus looked at the apostle Peter.
00:20:22
NextGen Matters
He called him out. And here's what I'm going to say is the fourth source of struggle. When we are failing in our own efforts, we're failing in our own efforts. It's no one else's fault but us.
00:20:34
NextGen Matters
And sometimes it's on us. It's our fault. okay We say things that are stupid. we We say things that we don't need to say. We actually talk out of out of school, as we say. In other words, a fool uttering all his mind. Sometimes in leadership, we're given information that doesn't need to go farther out, but we want to connect with people, so we share it.
00:20:55
NextGen Matters
Sometimes we we shoot ourselves, basically. okay In this case, Peter had his own agenda. He knew messianic prophecies had the Messiah existed. bringing back the kingdom of Israel to its rightful place of ownership and rulership.
00:21:13
NextGen Matters
Get the Romans out. And Jesus is declaring in Matthew 16, I will be going to die. I will rise again. and Peter looks at the Lord and he says, no, that is not what you're to do. And Peter is calling out Jesus and Jesus speaking of dying for our sins.
00:21:33
NextGen Matters
And Peter looks right or Jesus looks right at Peter and says, Satan, get behind me. Now, we don't know exactly what was going on there, but we do know what Jesus said.
Recognizing and Confronting Struggles
00:21:47
NextGen Matters
Peter had his own agenda. He was failing in his own effort. Sometimes we do it to ourselves. The fifth source I see of struggle is the very simplicity of we are living in a fallen world.
00:21:59
NextGen Matters
Our world is broken and sin-drenched. Creation, then fall. And then, of course, will come redemption through Christ, ultimately then restoration. In the middle of that, Jesus, the night of his arrest says, in this world, you will have trouble.
00:22:17
NextGen Matters
Matthew 5, it rains on the just and the unjust. Life has life hits just because we're in a fallen world. So I look at those five sources of struggle. There's more. I just wanted to focus on those five.
00:22:30
NextGen Matters
So this is what's going on. You probably identify with one or more of those, potentially all five.
00:22:39
NextGen Matters
How do we find success during the seasons of our struggle? I'm considering four areas I want to share with you really quick. One, we have to recognize it. We have to recognize our our struggle.
00:22:52
NextGen Matters
We have to recognize the struggle. Now, Jesus, I'm looking now at Luke 8. Jesus and the 12 are going across the Sea Galley to the eastern side into this tomb area called the Garanzines.
00:23:06
NextGen Matters
And there's this man who's demonically possessed in the Garanzines. He's kind of a monster, if you will. He's just a maniac, right? People are afraid of him. They've they've chained him up, but the chains don't work. Jesus looks right at him and he says, what is your name?
00:23:22
NextGen Matters
And Jesus wasn't talking to the man. He was talking to what was inside the man. Now, I want to be careful. As I say this, I am not suggesting. I am not suggesting. No, no, no, no. I am not suggesting that you've got a demon issue.
00:23:37
NextGen Matters
What I am saying is face the giant. Look at your issue and what is it? Jesus looks at that man and says to those demons, what is your name? And they said, our name is Legion for we are many. You know the rest of the story.
00:23:50
NextGen Matters
But Jesus looked at it. He recognized it. And I'm saying to you right now, my friend, we're talking about the struggles we go through. Recognize it. What is the struggle? Is it a financial struggle? Then look right at it. Look hard at Don't pretend it's not there.
00:24:06
NextGen Matters
Maybe there's another issue you're really struggling with. Look at it. Identify it. Recognize it. Second step. See its reality.
00:24:17
NextGen Matters
It's realville. Ministry isn't easy. Paul the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 4 says that he was hard-pressed on every side, but he was not crushed.
00:24:29
NextGen Matters
Struggle is not a sign of failure. Actually, it's an evidence that you're in the good fight. If you were just giving up, there wouldn't be a struggle.
00:24:39
NextGen Matters
You'd just get steamrolled. But a struggle means you're not failing. You're just in the middle of it, man. So ministry isn't easy. That's the reality. Also ministry and the pursuit of godliness is going to get pushback.
00:24:56
NextGen Matters
It is absolutely going to get pushback. Paul even calls it persecution. And if anybody knows what persecution is is, Paul because he did it to the believers in his life before Jesus. And of course, he began to then receive it from others as a follower of Christ.
00:25:13
NextGen Matters
Second Corinthians 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And he's going beyond just being made fun of.
00:25:25
NextGen Matters
He's talking about actual physical persecution. My point is ministry and being godly is going to get pushed back. So ministry is not easy. Ministry and being godly is going to get pushed back.
00:25:38
NextGen Matters
And then something else about the reality that i want to I want to mention. Paul reminds Timothy of Jesus and even himself as he's writing from the Mamertine prison in Rome in 2 Timothy 2.
00:25:53
NextGen Matters
He says to Timothy, remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. He says, this is my gospel for which I'm suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal.
00:26:08
NextGen Matters
but the word of God is not chained. As Timothy wants to quit ministry, because that's verse one, be strong in the grace in Christ Jesus. As Timothy is looking to unplug, I mean, his buddy Demas just left. He just bounced.
00:26:20
NextGen Matters
So Timothy's really going through this, y'all. And as Timothy's contemplating what it's going to look like if he just jets, Paul says, Timothy, remember Jesus.
00:26:31
NextGen Matters
He was crucified for us and he was raised from the dead. Consider what I'm going through right now. I am chained to a wall, like a criminal.
00:26:43
NextGen Matters
Jesus was crucified. i am chained to a wall. It's kind of like in my words, and what's your problem? in other words, Timothy, come on, let suck it up, bro. And it's the next chapter.
00:26:56
NextGen Matters
He then says, for everyone who wants to live godly in Christ, Jesus is going to go through persecution. What he's saying is this.
Refinement Through Struggles
00:27:05
NextGen Matters
Timothy, ministry is very hard.
00:27:09
NextGen Matters
That's the reality. Okay. Now it doesn't, it doesn't make it easier, but I'm just trying to tell you, we have to, we have to call it what it is, recognize it and notice the reality.
00:27:20
NextGen Matters
Now, what can our struggle cause in us in the sense of to be successful? Number three is let it refine you. Let it refine you.
00:27:33
NextGen Matters
James 1, 2 through 4. And even in that first church setting, my dad would so many times quote these verses to me. It'd be kind of like in my head going, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's true.
00:27:44
NextGen Matters
He would quote this scripture to me. So even now as I'm quoting to you, I'm seeing my pops back in the day, 30 or actually 40 years ago, telling me these verses. So here it is.
00:27:54
NextGen Matters
your trials will perse will produce perseverance, and your perseverance will then lead to character or to maturity. Trials produce perseverance, and perseverance produces maturity.
00:28:08
NextGen Matters
My struggle, your struggle, our struggle is shaping us into the kind of leader that God can trust with this next generation. Parallel passages, Romans 5 and verses 3 to 5. You may know these.
00:28:24
NextGen Matters
but in the sense of familiarity, don't just blow them off. Don't do what I did at 20 something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen to the word of God. The word of God is not chained like Paul said. Romans 5, 3 through 5.
00:28:36
NextGen Matters
Suffering produces endurance. Endurance produces character. Character produces hope. Elpis in the Greek.
00:28:47
NextGen Matters
It means a confidence in a future event that based on a past occurrence. Jesus will return our blessed hope and peace, confidence in a future event based on the facts of a previous event.
00:29:01
NextGen Matters
Because he resurrected and you saw him go into heaven, he will a know why and he will likewise and no doubt come again. That's the idea here. Hope means trusting God, that God is sovereign and God is in control.
00:29:18
NextGen Matters
What else does suffering do in me? How it refines me? Makes me more like Jesus?
00:29:26
NextGen Matters
Hebrews tells us that for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. He despised the shame. And he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. And then we are told to run the race with endurance.
00:29:39
NextGen Matters
We are to become more like Jesus.
Endurance and Divine Appointments
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NextGen Matters
So the refining doesn't always mean that he takes away the struggle. but he gives us the character to be more like Christ through the struggle.
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But there's also a reward. wanna point these out. There's a reward that takes place when you're going through struggle. There is a success of the reward, yes, in this life, and yes, in the next life.
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In this life, my character will grow through my struggle. And also my ministry impact will grow through my struggle. 2 Timothy 2.10, I'll let you with verses eight and nine earlier.
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where he says, remember Jesus and how I'm chained like a criminal. you know Then Paul says this, therefore, i endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
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In the midst of the struggle, Paul says, I will endure all the stuff I'm going through. Because God is providentially preparing people to hear the message of Christ.
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So here is the beautiful doctrine, ready, of human responsibility and God's sovereignty, not being antithetical, but coming together to work everything out for his glory's sake.
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I must endure. God sets divine appointments up. I must share the gospel. And God gets the glory. You are going through things right now that actually can put you in place shoulder to shoulder with other people that are going through something very similar.
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And you'll get them and they'll get you. And out of that, the gospel of Jesus is shared. Not only in this life, but also in the next life. 2 Corinthians 4, 17, that passage in chapter 4 we've been referring to, all right?
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In verse 17, Paul reminds us that our struggles are achieving an eternal glory. What feels heavy now is producing something very weighty in eternity.
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Listen to this verse, verse 16. Paul says,
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though outwardly we're wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all so We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
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Since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
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Your struggle matters because it's part of a bigger story. God's story. God's story of redemption. It was passed down to you and it's going to be passed on through you into the lives of another generation.
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Why does my struggle matter? It's a powerful question. And as a next-gen ministry leader, your struggle carries a unique weight because it's just not about you.
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Remember, your life is on the public stage. You are being watched. It's about the generations that you are shepherding. Your struggle matters because it's both formative, it's God is shaping you into the leader that you need to be,
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And it's transformative because through it, God will impact the lives of those that you minister to.
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As you bring this to a close, I think of the way these truths connect biblically, ministerially, and even personally.
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When I'm going through times of suffering, in times specifically of struggle, I have to have a biblical perspective. I am participating in the sufferings of Christ. Again, 2 Corinthians 4.17.
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My struggle is part of sharing of Christ's story, which gives eternal significance. I'm also having my faith refined. This is the biblical perspective. James 1.2 and 4.
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My trials produce perseverance, maturity, completeness, and character. my so My trials are shaping me into more of a Christ-like leader. My struggles and my concerns are also having a ministry perspective.
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You see, i am modeling, you're modeling by going through it. We are modeling resilience to those who are watching us. Students thrive on authenticity.
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They don't need a flawless leader. They need a leader who shows them how to walk with Jesus through really difficult challenges.
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Also, what I learned through a ministry perspective is I now have more empathy and a connection with other people because my struggle is equipping me to empathize with the pain and confusion of others.
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Paul actually says that 2 Corinthians chapter 1.
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He says, the father of comfort comfort and compassion, this God of all comfort who comforts us with in the midst of all of our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
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In other words, God has been comforting me in the middle of it. Now, through my it, my struggle, I can help comfort someone else. So I have more empathy and connection with people.
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I also have that legacy of faith. The way that we navigate through hardship sets the precedent for another generation. They will remember more than just what we taught and preached.
Growth and Connection to God Through Struggles
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They actually remember more of how we lived, especially when we lived through difficult times. And then our personal perspective. Some of the benefits I see of going through times of struggle personally is I'm beginning to own my own humanity.
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The struggle reminds me that I'm not invincible. I'm not invincible. Keeps me grounded. How's to lead me from a place of humility rather than just being a performer.
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It also deepens my dependence on God. It's being connected to the vine. Personal hardship strips away self-reliance. It shapes my character.
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Struggle refined, just not my faith, but my personal integrity. Teaches patience, resilience, authenticity, qualities that overflow in every one of my relationships.
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And lastly, it fuels my empathy. When I've walked through the pain, like I've already been saying, I now have a sense of deeper compassion for others.
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My personal scars become bridges of connection. So next gen leader, take heart. Your struggles matter because it refines you. It connects you closer to God and even those you serve.
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And to remind you of the eternal glory that far outweighs it all. So keep on pressing on. Keep showing up because in the hands of God, even your hardest battles become seeds of hope for the future.
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Here's our call to action. I want you to identify a struggle you went through years ago, years ago. that As you look back at that struggle now, you realize how you have grown through that struggle and identify how you began to see God's faithfulness during that season. So think back on that time.
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Now, also want you to think about current. Identify a struggle you are currently going through. Continue to give it over to the Lord, asking him to teach you what you need to learn, not around the process, but through the process.
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So thanks for joining me. Next week, we're going to be exploring why our devotional time matters. And if this episode has encouraged you, hit follow so you don't miss what's next and share it with another leader.
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Until next time, leader remember, your leadership matters because your ministry matters because the gospel matters. Have an amazing week.