In the early days of Europeans in Australia, everyone was a pioneer. Plowing up a plot of ground was a vocation, a way of life. You didn’t choose to be a farmer, farming was just what you had to do. It wasn’t even a question. You would only take a break if you really needed to, and even then, you probably wouldn’t.
But the next generation reaped the fruit of those pioneers. They could settle, choose, decide what they wanted to do, and if they worked as hard as the pioneers did.
If you’ve started your own ministry: church planting, mission team, summer camp… You pioneered it. It wasn’t a hobby, it was a calling, a vocation. You gave everything to it, and if you did take breaks, it was probably to keep you from burnout.
But if you’ve joined an existing ministry team, you might feel like the older guys are a bit weird – they seem to work so hard!! You might feel guilty or like there’s something wrong with you for not giving every waking minute to this ministry.
But it’s just the normal difference between a pioneer and a settler.
The trick is, pioneers need to remember that Jesus is the true trailblazer (Heb 2), and settlers need to remember that are not their own, they were bought at a price, they are slaves and their lives and their time all belongs to Jesus (2Cor4).