Ministry Mantras

By CLF Staff | September 17, 2025

2014-12-23

Ministry can be spiritually, emotionally, and even physically taxing.  So, how do clergy keep at it for so long?  What helps them stay fresh, alert, and focused on mission?  Recently, I asked a Facebook group of Unitarian Universalist ministers to share their “ministry mantras,” using no more than 8 words.  A ministry mantra might be something a pastor says inwardly, as a reminder; or, it could be a line they use often in ministry, with others.  It could be a guiding principle or belief.  Whatever it is, it’s a short line that helps keep focus, purpose, and perspective.  Their answers are moving, funny, wise, and helpful.  I hope you enjoy them as much I did.  Here they are:

  • I’d rather deal with that person than be him.
  • It’s all just information. (Translation: see the reality in front of me and choose my response to it, rather than exerting myself to reframe it the way I wish it were.)
  • It isn’t better in the UCC.
  • No one purifies another. (from The Dhammapada)
  • Small things often.
  • Breathe and allow
  • “Good information to have.”
  • Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.
  • It’s not (really) about me.
  • Assume Good Will most of the time.
  • This has happened before and will happen again.
  • There’s always another degree to get.
  • “Let me get back to you on that.”
  • Change is Constant.
  • “Thank you for sharing.”
  • Breathe deeply, speak slowly, love the people
  • Show up. Pay attention. Tell truth. Let go.
  • Authenticity trumps perfection
  • Not too long till retirement.
  • You gotta love the people.
  • Don’t take it (other people’s bad behaviors) personally
  • Let go of the tasks and love the people
  • Change is inevitable; progress is optional.
  • Lead with empathy, follow with curiosity.
  • In times of trouble, spend more time with God.
  • Duck feathers. (It means let things roll off your back).
  • This too shall pass.
  • Ministry is impossible, start there.
  • You can’t save them.
  • More love, less control.
  • Meeting deadlines is a way of showing respect.
  • These are my people and I love them.
  • Prepare for every meeting, no matter how small.
  • Always remember how lucky you are.
  • By your stumbling, the world is perfected.
  • God, please give me the right words.
  • They’re not out to get me—today, anyway.
  • Don’t resist the resistance—feed the health.
  • Nothing a half-hour meditation wouldn’t solve.
  • Less muscle, more love.
  • “Your words, not mine.”
  • This is not about me.
  • We’re building the ark before the rain.
  • We are the luckiest people in the world.
  • Always in beta mode. Try something new.
  • Don’t be the hero of your own story. (A preaching mantra)
  • Only solve real problems. Don’t build boats for ducks.
  • There’s got to be more to ministry than just hating the people. (from The Simpsons)
  • It’s all an experiment.
  • Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
  • I’m not running for Jesus. (from The Simpsons)
  • This is the business we have chosen. (from The Godfather II)
  • House of the Holy/Home of the Human
  • If I stay grounded and centered, then….
  • Who’s NOT the savior: you aren’t.
  • Never call them jerks (to their faces).
  • Be ye wise as serpents and gentle as doves. (Matthew 10:16)
  • This, too, shall pass.
  • When in doubt, love.
  • Always choose love.
  • Be a broken record (until they start saying the same thing).
  • You WILL fail. Go.
  • One needs to love one’s people.
  • It’s not about me, it’s a larger system operating, often an anxious system.
  • Whatever it takes.
  • Bless their hearts.
  • The system is the system.
  • Trust God’s love.
  • It is what it is.
  • They are who they are.
  • “We do not negotiate with terrorists.”
  • Remember why you love them. Because you do.
  • Make Jesus visible in the world.
  • She/he/ze is beautiful and worthy.
  • Toward a better self and a better tomorrow.
  • Per/her/his gifts are better used elsewhere.
  • Just doing the work of the Lord.
  • The church is not your boss. Pray. Sing.
  • When in doubt, use puppets.
  • It’s not about what you know; it’s about who you are.
  • Forgive them; for they know not what they do.
  • Sometimes, being a non-anxious presence makes me anxious.
  • Don’t let the bastards grind you down.
  • Ministry comes in many forms.
  • Comfort the afflicted; afflict the comfortable.
  • If it’s difficult out here, imagine what it’s like to be inside that person.
  • From Byron Katie’s “The Work”: “Is it true?” “How do I react when I believe that thought?” “Who would I be without that thought?” And then to reflect on the “turnaround”—the opposite of that thought.
  • They need to be loved.
  • Be the non-anxious presence.
  • Good to good people, good to bad people. (from The Tao te Ching)
  • God, guide/help me to do the next right thing.
  • God don’t make no junk.
  • What can you do TODAY?
  • Always in beta.
  • It’s all just information.
  • Dear God, help me not be an a$$hole. (from Anne Lamott)
  • Action is the antidote to despair. (Joan Baez)
  • The interruptions are the work.
  • Not feeling great about your ministry? Go visiting.
  • May I minister to these people in Your love.
  • “It’s interesting that you think you’re more stubborn than me.”
  • You are the minister. This is what you do.
  • Just finish one thing today.
  • Effort, not outcome.
  • The interruptions are the work.
  • I never lost sleep worrying. If there’s something that I can do about it, I get up and do it. And if there’s not—might as well sleep.
  • Speed of church.
  • Size is no barrier to being a caring community.
  • When all else fails, lower your expectations. (Gloria Vanderbilt)
  • Feel the fear, and do it anyway. (Susan Jeffers)
  • Power means not having to respond.
  • “What you think of me is none of my business.”
  • “What does my anger have to do with you?”
  • When I breathe in, I breathe in peace. When I breathe out, I breathe out love.
  • Don’t let the crazies make you crazy.
  • Never underestimate the capacity of the liberal heart to bleed for the wrong object.
  • Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
  • Chaos is the disguise life’s changes wear as they move toward order.
  • When I am kind to myself, I am kinder to everyone around me.
  • Let go or be dragged.
  • Never fight with a pig. The pig likes it, and you only get dirty.
  • We teach best what we most need to learn. (Richard Bach)
  • Just keep swimmin’. Just keep swimmin’. (Dori)
  • Here not to make friends, but to usher in the kingdom of God….
  • Live well; love openly; laugh much; leave gracefully.
  • Nothing human surprises me. (Terrence)
  • We exist for two reasons: to change lives and to change the world.
  • Hmmmmmm…..
  • To grow our souls, to build a beloved community, and to serve the world.
  • [When church members are messing up] Help them (the wayward members) to succeed.
  • Don’t give sunshine to weeds.
  • Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. (Voltaire)
  • I wonder what will happen today? (Pema Chodron)
  • You become what you resist.
  • You can’t teach a dolphin to type.
  • A minister is not always right, and humility does matter.
  • You could be wrong.
  • There are always more than two options.
  • How might we re-frame that?
  • Remember, everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
  • If you are too busy to be kind, you are too busy.
  • This, too, shall pass.
  • All things in moderation—including moderation.
  • If you give a mouse a cookie….
  • We are a religious/spiritual community, not a therapeutic community…
  • It’s just church.
  • Don’t process in the pulpit.
  • Make ‘em laugh. Make ‘em cry. Make ‘em feel religious.
  • OK, [name]. You wanted to be a minister.  Here it is: do the ministry.
  • They come from central casting.
  • May I offer something they need.
  • Preach from your scars, not from your wounds. (Bolz-Weber)
  • God help me.
  • God, how may I help—right here, right now?
  • “Say more…..”
  • This is the work, these are the people.
  • We’re here to further a mission, not to make everyone happy.
  • Doing the best I can with what I’ve got.
  • With love and consultation, clarify responsibility, authority, accountability.
  • When things get intense, it’s time to double my spiritual practice.
  • God, you put me here. What do you want me to do?
  • Where you are, God has drawn a circle on a map. (Hafiz)
  • Give it to G-d.
  • Let’s experiment!
  • Walk slowly. Bow often. (Mary Oliver)
  • Ministry: going where you can’t possible know what you’re doing.
  • The opposite of love isn’t hate: it’s efficiency.
  • It’s because I’m the Mint’ster. (Leaves out the “I”)
  • All in over our heads.
  • When things work out, to the tune of “Mystery, Mystery…”: Victory, victory, sometimes I get to say victory!
  • The main thing is to find the main thing (and to keep the main thing the main thing. That’s the main thing.)
  • The purpose of the church is to keep the saints from killing each other.
  • We see the world not as it is, but as we are.
  • Worship, fellowship, education, service.
  • Connect, grow, serve, reach, worship.
  • Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.
  • It’s all good.
  • Let it go, let it go, let it go. (Sung to tune of “Let it Snow”)
  • Live loving; love living.
  • You can’t replace the Bible with bylaws.
  • If you’re going to preach socialism, you have to dress like a banker. (John Haynes Holmes)
  • Not my circus. Not my monkeys. (Let go of outcomes and responsibility for solutions)
  • It’s an aff-gee (AFGE: Another Freaking Growth Experience).
  • Deeds, not creeds.
  • Lord have mercy.
  • “Bless Your Heart.”

 

 

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