that hurts

I'm just going to get this one started and then come back to it later. [I should be working on my paper write now, but have too much in my head so I'm dumping some out] How much of the decisions we make or don't make as leaders of the church are made because of hurt feelings? The reports we send and don't send, the people we ask for help from and those we don't, the programs we set up or can-how much of that has to do with feelings? And what are the things our feelings are hurt over the most? It seems like it has to do with anything that we attach as ours. Women's ministry is mine. Prayer ministry is mine. Men's ministry is mine. If you say something against this ministry or worse you don't say anything about it at all-that's the same as if you were to do it to me. That hurts my feelings. Is there an extent to where we can over-identify with what we do? When do you cross the line of "taking ownership." Should our identities be based at all on our performance, ministries, occupations? It seems like the things we do, where we work, what our titles are, etc change so frequently that that would be really rocky for an identity to handle. If our identities, our cores, are so tightly inter-connected to the ministries we lead then we're going to experience a lot of unnecessary ups and downs, hurt, and frustration.

We live by encouragement. And without it we die slowly, sadly, angrily.