If, as a six-year old, you addressed your teacher the same way you addressed your dog, you soon learned that relationships are not all the same. In ministry, we juggle many kinds of relationships. How do we navigate them well and determine what’s appropriate to share with whom, when to maintain professional reserve and when to disclose personal opinions and emotions, and who receives a greater investment of our time?

While Jesus was the epitome of selflessness, he had a clear sense of how to invest (and not invest) in a relationship, even in ways that sometimes seem harsh or exclusive to us.

Generally, in ministry, most relationships will fall somewhere on the scale between “I’m here for you” and “You’re here for me.” While most relationships lie in the space between those two, first let’s look at those ends of the spectrum.

1. I’m here for you

Some folks in our communities just aren’t ready to bear others’ needs, either because ...