In many contexts, faith communities are learning that people of all ages are burdened with stress, anxiety, overwhelm, over-scheduling, overcommitment, and exhaustion.
As faith communities progress through our Ministry Transformation Lab, we guide them to explore the root causes of what they’re observing in people’s lives in their context. Together, they’re invited to wonder: Why is our community the way that it is? Why is the dominant challenge people are facing happening?
When they plunge beneath the surface to ask “why” their people are exhausted, they’re realizing that it’s systemic and rooted in the often toxic, individualistic, American culture.
The root cause in many contexts is the Hustle Myth that proclaims if people can just hustle fast enough or accomplish enough, then they’ll finally be enough.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we should be the first to know this is a lie. After all, one of the most commonly cited scriptures contain Jesus’ words to the overburdened and exhausted crowds recorded in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Countering Hustle Culture During Lent
America’s hustle culture has become increasingly entangled with the Church. Many faith communities and ministry leaders buy into the notion that countless programs and innumerable committees must be a reflection of vital ministry.
At the Innovation Lab, we often meet with faith communities who have a number of committees and programs in the double digits, even as participation and volunteers are in steep decline. The leaders at those same faith communities are held to standards for numerical growth that haven’t been realistic for the Church since the 1950s.
All this leads to stress, anxiety, and exhaustion that exemplify and perpetuate the toxicity of the Hustle Myth.
Against this backdrop, the Lenten season brings sacred opportunities for needed reflection and repentance. Lent can be a season to recognize which story is dominant in your own heart, actions, and within your faith community: the Hustle Myth or the Gospel.
Use the questions below to spur your thinking about your leadership. These questions will help reveal if and how your faith community is buying into the Hustle Myth more than the Gospel.
- How do you see yourself and your faith community believing the Hustle Myth?
- What impact could it have to fast for the season, not from sweets and screens, but from overcommitment? How could you take on this fast personally and invite your faith community to do the same?
- What specific types of “rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29b) do the people in your community need during this season?
- What extra details and logistics could be eliminated during worship services and programming throughout Lent to help you and your faith community experience rest?
If you’d like assistance auditing your faith community’s programming and structures, check out our customized consulting services. Contact us today to learn more.
About the Author: Meghan Hatcher is the director of the Innovation Laboratory. She has served diverse faith communities through pastoral leadership, youth ministry, new church development, community engagement, and ministry innovation. Meghan has a Master of Divinity, a Master of Science in Sustainable Development and Applied Sociology, and a Bachelor of Journalism.