Why: Friend, somewhere between that first holy “yes” and this morning’s third cup of coffee, the noise won. Not dramatically—callings rarely die in explosions. They fade in the thousand small compromises we call “wisdom.” Success became your silencer. Those beautiful gifts that once drew you close to the Spirit now run on autopilot, producing fruit while your roots wither. You stopped listening not from rebellion but from bone-deep weariness, trading sacred conversation for strategic planning until that Voice that once undid you became just another notification to silence.

What: This isn’t burnout—it’s something deeper. You’re still showing up, serving, leading, but you’ve lost the frequency that once made your heart race. Your calling? It remains exactly what it was in that first terrifying, glorious moment when you knew you were made for something More. But layers of others’ expectations, ministry metrics, and good-but-not-God opportunities have created static. You mistake motion for mission, productivity for purpose. The gift still works—that’s the beautiful tragedy. You can still preach hope while forgetting what it feels like.

Where: It lives in the margin spaces. In your car after another “successful” Sunday. During vacations where you’ve forgotten how to sabbath. In meetings about programs that no longer quicken your spirit. It echoes in that canyon between who everyone sees and who you remember being—back when calling felt like fire in your bones, not items on your calendar.

Who: The leader everyone depends on but no one really sees. The pastor whose ministry thrives while their soul quietly starves. The servant who became a system. The dreamer who became a brand. You’re accomplished enough that no one questions your emptiness, experienced enough to manufacture inspiration, weary enough to wonder: Is this all there is?

When: The listening stopped when preservation replaced pioneering. When “sustainable” overtook “surrendered.” That first time you said yes to something reasonable that didn’t make your spirit sing. Then another. Until your life was full of sensible decisions that slowly suffocated your sacred calling.

Ready to remember what you already know is true? At Storyboard Coaching, we create space for leaders to rediscover their original voice. Because sometimes you need someone to sit with you in the quiet until you can hear again. Let’s listen together. storyboardcoaching.com

Here’s the beautiful truth: Your calling is still calling. Still there. Still yours.

Thanks for stopping by the fire,
Coach Dennis