Feeling rejected? Wondering what the deal is with your ministry? Been discouraged by others recently? At some point I believe we have all been in that moment before. We have all had things that have presented themselves as very humbling experiences, right? Trust me, I have seen it all. While singing and speaking in times past I have had people in full blown conversations, texting on their cell phones, sleeping, leaving, shaking their heads, eating, posing an intentional distraction. I’ve had people turn down my microphone on purpose, get up and leave and return when I was finished, tell me to my face that I preach too long, and inform me that I would never preach at their church because I was too radical. I have had people inspired (all of a sudden) to have their personal bible study and not pay attention for the entirety. I have even been cut off right in the middle of exhortation simply because some were afraid of things getting a little too exciting. I wish I could say that one of these were my personal favorite experiences that helped me grow, but the truth is that at the time it really hurt to feel! I am happy to know that as I have grown that God has given me the wisdom in this area and I am going to share some concepts with you that have helped me stay effective.

When it comes to being effective in your ministry, one thing will always be clear in relevance to growth: in order to be a successful worker for God you must be able to continue in spite of facing rejection or a lack of support. The bible gives reference to the perfect scenario: “And whosoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.” This passage in Luke 9 opens up a very interesting thought and question I have today. Consider when you attend your own church and do your absolute best that you can and feel rejected. Does it mean that if you were not received that you are a failure and that its time to hang it up? No, in fact this should begin to allow you to understand the difference in the rejection of the word that you bring versus a rejection of just you.

A rejection of the word of God is often times perceived to be the dislike of a person. Think about the passage that refers to the bible principle that “light has no fellowship with darkness”. I send a word of encouragement to tell you that everyone does not despise YOU, but the word that is WITHIN you. If you are continually waiting for the perfect fellowship with people that you know need to hear a strong word then you are going to be waiting forever. I’ll be as bold to say that you will never have the FULL support of any church no matter where you may roam. Why? Because if there are those that are not walking in the will of God or have a relationship then a natural fear of change from their sin or unwillingness that simply cannot accept the word when they choose not to. So when we say to shake the dust off your feet as a testimony “against them”, it is simply saying to show others that you will not be moved from the call or the obedience that the call brings. Remember that Jesus was not even received in His own country and how you may not be either. You may just have a situation with a very simple solution: people that know you and grow numb to the value of your call need to see a strength within you that shakes off the bad when they ignore you!

Are we going to begin to dust ourselves off to show the strength of God? Do we realize that it is God’s word that conflicts with people and not a personal issue against us? If we can begin to grasp these concepts there will be so many church services everywhere that we all go that will be saved, salvaged and actually promote the strength of the God’s people to draw others!

The other contrast of this thought that I leave you with is to not be the person that throws the dust upon another. You may have a church where you just have a few that attend and know each other on a personal level. If you do and you find yourself almost getting “bored” with others, I speak with a spiritual urgency to start drawing closer to God for a greater love than what is on the surface. Being bored or complacent in church shows a lack in breaking down self. Remember that we need each other and that one day you will miss the worth of those around you when God moves them to another chapter in life.