What's holding you back from becoming an entrepreneurial pastor (entrepastor)?

Many masters of success through the years recognized that success or failure begins in our minds.

There’s the old reality about training an elephant for the circus. Trainers learned that if they tie a baby elephant to a stake, which they cannot get away from, the elephant develops an untrue brain pattern that says, “I cannot get away from that stake.”

As the small animal grows into a mammoth one, which could easily overpower the stake, its mental pattern continues to believe wrongly, “I cannot get away from the stake.” And it will go through life tied to that little stake.

Many humans are not so different from elephants. Filled with raw, often untapped skills, they go through life never maximizing their potential. Instead, they get stuck into some learned mental behaviors – and stay there the rest of their lives.

For many pastors, the idea of jumping into some kind of entrepreneurial pursuit in addition to their pastoral ministry is “out of the box.” They were conditioned, perhaps as young adults, maybe by other pastors or seminary professors, or maybe from people in churches to think they should not try to do anything else. We’ve all heard (and probably thought at one time or another) . . .

• If God called me to do ministry, I shouldn’t want to do anything else.
• It’s wrong to have ambition beyond local church ministry.
• I shouldn’t want to make more money. I should be content with what I have.
• I must not love Jesus like I should if I want to explore other potential         money-making pursuits beside pastoral ministry.
• What would my parents, grandparents, childhood pastor, seminary professors, church members (you fill in the blank) think?

These are some of the mental hurdles EntrePastors have to overcome in order to use their God-given talents to develop additional streams of income and achieve financial freedom. 

Following God's calling into ministry doesn't mean you have to live a life of scarcity and meagerness.

We believe God is a God of abundance who gave you multiple talents to build and serve His Kingdom. By using ALL of your God-given talents, you take better care of yourself and your family, and become a better pastor in the process.

5 mental roadblocks pastors often have to overcome in order to move forward positively

1.  “I’m called to ministry…not business.” 

Although people in the Bible like the apostle Paul engaged in both evangelistic preaching and business (tent-making for him), many pastors have learned to think that if they are called to serve God’s people, they have no other options. We believe nothing could be further from the truth. 

2.  “It’s not ok for me to be wealthy.” 

The idea of the starving pastor barely making enough to keep his or her family afloat has somehow become a sign of godliness. However, in the Bible we see numerous persons who had great wealth yet were mightily involved with God’s activity. Think about Abraham, Isaac, David, Barnabus, and Aquila and Priscilla, to name a few.

3.  “I don’t have permission.”

Sometimes people allow the opinions of other people stop them from taking action. And sometimes those are not actual, but perceived. Because pastors often are wired to want to please other people, worrying what people would think if I took action can paralyze some people. There are ways to navigate the maze of relationships we have with wisdom and integrity as you seek to develop your God-given potential in different avenues.

 4.  “I don’t have any skills that could be rewarded in the marketplace.” 

Many pastors have accepted this lie by default. Did you know the #1 fear most of our society has is that of speaking publicly? Yet pastors do that week in and week out. Most pastors possess and utilize a host of skills – or strengths – that can easily be transferable into other types of work. You just might be surprised. 

5.  “I’m scared.” 

Fear has kept countless people from fulfilling their God-given potential. Napoleon Hill, a notable author and speaker in the arena of success and achievement, said, “Fears are nothing more than a state of mind.” What fears might you be bowing to that keep you from taking action?

Tom Ziglar writes in his book, Choose to Win, “The mental input, what you choose to think about, determines everything about how you live.” It is necessary to get hold of and root out the incorrect mental patterns that would keep you, like the elephant, tied to a limiting stake.

If any of these roadblocks are standing in the way of YOU taking action and becoming an entrepastor, we invite you to reach out to Jon and Les for a conversation to help get you unstuck and moving in the right direction. 

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