{"id":31908,"date":"2022-09-10T15:48:43","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-my-diagnosis-led-to-a-new-season-of-ministry\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:48:43","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:48:43","slug":"how-my-diagnosis-led-to-a-new-season-of-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-my-diagnosis-led-to-a-new-season-of-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"How My Diagnosis Led to a New Season of Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"
LinkedIn Sales Navigator photo – Unsplash <\/p>\n

By Maina Mwaura <\/em><\/p>\n

I was fired from my ministry job.<\/p>\n

But they didn\u2019t use the term fired<\/em>. Instead they dressed it up: \u201cWe need to move in another direction. We love you, Maina, and we think you\u2019re a great guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deep down, in a place I tried to ignore, I knew my short attention span had something do with this seemingly sudden need for a new direction.<\/p>\n

My lack of focus had been an issue for as long as I could remember. No matter how hard I strained to focus my mind, nothing seemed to help from calendars to several high-end calendar programs. I knew in order to move forward, I was going to need assistance.<\/p>\n

For years, my wife had been encouraging me to seek help. And as my last church was letting me go, my wife had the insight to ask them if they would cover the cost for testing and counseling. They agreed. Her one question, in the midst of turmoil, set into motion the path of healing that I walk today.<\/p>\n

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When my counselor and I finished the two-hour testing, I walked out of the office fully committed to my healing. That commitment was followed by immediately being tested for adult Attention-Deficit\/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)\u2014a form of mental illness characterized by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain, which causes the lack of focus.<\/p>\n

At the second appointment, my counselor reviewed the results with me. Of course, the test came back positive: I was diagnosed with adult ADHD. She explained that on a scale of 0 to 100, I scored a 72. I recall sitting nervously in my counselor\u2019s office, feeling hopeless.<\/p>\n

But over time, I learned several truths about vulnerability in leadership. Here are a couple of them.<\/p>\n

God uses areas of vulnerability or weakness to accomplish His purposes. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

I hate to admit it, but I was prideful in dealing with the reality of ADHD. Although I accepted help, I believed because of my education and tenure in ministry, people shouldn\u2019t know about my diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Ironically, I had to come to the end of myself to begin anew. As the counselor began to explain adult ADHD, I felt a burden lifting.<\/p>\n

Through a series of events since that time, doors opened up for me to tell the stories of people making a gospel impact around the globe. As a journalist, I get a front-row seat to watch the giftedness and calling of others play out in chapters of God\u2019s story. He used a weakness to have me removed from a church staff role to position me to carry out His will for this season of my life\u2014to minister through telling His stories.<\/p>\n

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See also  5 Fatal Flaws in Ministry<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I can boast that in my weakness that God is strong and I’m not.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just okay<\/em> to ask for help\u2014it\u2019s crucial<\/em> to Christian community. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

It didn\u2019t take long after my diagnosis to realize coping skills and organizational movement wasn\u2019t going to be enough to manage my ADHD. In my case, medication was prescribed (which isn’t for everyone and should only be taken if the doctor recommends it).<\/p>\n

I asked myself questions like, \u201cDo I really need this?\u201d And, \u201cCan I go on without it?\u201d I even tried to rationalize my situation by convincing myself that my ADHD wasn\u2019t as bad as those close to me are making it out to be.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what your weakness is\u2014be it a diagnosis or a less-than-desirable trait of humanity\u2014humility is a critical step on the path toward thriving. I\u2019m thankful that a couple of my accountability partners encouraged\u2014and maybe even pushed<\/em> me\u2014to go in and have the prescription filled.<\/p>\n

The next day they kept me accountable when it was time to actually take the medication. I would, highly recommend to anyone\u2014especially those in leadership\u2014to find a group of people who will boldly and biblically speak into your life. And don\u2019t wait until you have a crisis or a weakness exposed; establish this band of people when things seem to be going well in your life.<\/p>\n

The season leading up to my ADHD diagnosis was one of the most painful in my life. During the time, there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. But now, as I sit on the other side of what was, at the time, a humiliating discovery, I can see how God used a weakness to show Himself strong in my life and put me in a place where He wanted to use me.<\/p>\n

And He can do that for you, too.<\/p>\n

MAINA MWAURA<\/strong> is a freelance journalist and minister who lives in the Atlanta area with his wife, Tiffiney, and daughter Zyan.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n
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Leading with a Limp: Take Full Advantage of Your Most Powerful Weakness<\/h2>\n

Dan B. Allender<\/p>\n

FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Related posts:<\/h3>\n
What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times? What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation? 3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LinkedIn Sales Navigator photo – Unsplash By Maina Mwaura  I was fired from my ministry job. But they didn\u2019t use the term fired. Instead they dressed it up: \u201cWe need to move in another direction. We love you, Maina, and we think you\u2019re a great guy.\u201d Deep down, in a place I tried to ignore, … Continue reading “How My Diagnosis Led to a New Season of Ministry”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31908\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}