As a lifelong Cowboys fan and sports talk radio junkie, I tend to live on a roller coaster after weekends in the Fall. Randy Galloway terms this as "overreaction Monday." If the Cowboys win, they are the best team ever. If they lose, the sky is falling.
As a church leader, it is tough to not overreact when an event doesn't go as I planned. When attendance is down, the sky is falling. When the altars are full of people crying out to God, it is the best feeling ever. The question is how do you deal with the overreaction roller coaster.
Ask yourself:
1. Are you being faithful in what God has called you to do?
Should we be concerned with results? Yes!!!! However, our feeling of worth or value should not be tied to the results. Our job is faithfulness. When we get our eyes on results, we end up thinking more or less of ourselves than we should.
2. Did you give your best?
God did not call us to coast. As a young youth pastor, I heard Jeanne Mayo say her philosophy of minstry was "Pray your guts out! Work your guts out! and Love their guts out!" Did you work your hardest or did you try to get by?
3. What can you learn from the experience?
I believe in evaluation. If your Sunday is a win, what could you do to make it better? If your event was a flop, what worked or didn't work? If there was something great, build off it next time. If an idea bombed, own the mistake and move forward.
4. Are there outside circumstances that impact the event?
Every town has a different culture. For example, in small town Texas, you probably don't want to plan a major event during the county fair or homecoming week. There are things you can't control, like weather, that will have an impact. There are things that happen on a regular basis. As a youth pastor, I need to no when the standardized tests and other school events occur because that could impact the attendance to an outreach event.
Be encouraged! Do what God has called you to do! Be faithful! Remember, he's the only judge that matters. Live for His pleasure!