Yesterday on my Facebook page I posted an article from churchpastor.com entitled "8 Tips for Surviving Ministry." I was a little bit surprised when a friend posted as a comment that "if you feel that you have to have a survival kit for being a pastor. . .you're probably in the wrong profession." She went on to suggest that it should not be a burden to be a pastor or a stressor.
Now I know what she was attempting to say in her response. It is an awesome privilege to serve the King of kings. There are tremendous rewards and satisfaction in fulfilling the task through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. There is an opportunity to develop spiritually in a way that few others possess. However, I would beg to differ with her conclusions. Ministry is an incredible burden, and if you do not feel the stress of the burden of ministry then you really do not have a true understanding of ministry.
Five Reasons Pastoral Ministry is an Incredible Burden:
1. It is the Pastor's primary job to faithfully handle the Word of Truth. When the average Joe Christian reads his Bible incorrectly, he stands individually responsible before our Holy God. When the Pastor makes a mistake with his understanding of God's Word, he is not only accountable or himself, but also he is responsible for all the people he might have led astray into his error. This is why James (3:1) says that not many should desire to be teachers because teachers will be judged more strictly. The man of God who truly understands his role will approach each opportunity to preach and teach with a godly fear lest he mishandle the inspired Word of God.
2. The message is unrelentingly counter-cultural. The nature of the message a true servant of God will bring is profoundly offensive in our contemporary culture. If the Pastor fulfills his obligation to number one on this list, he will find himself at odds with the world in which he lives and, too often, with the very people to whom he seeks to minister. There was a time when the authority of the Bible and of a pastor were highly regarded in our culture. No longer. Today a faithful pastor will be under consistent attack for nothing more than being faithful to his primary task of expounding the Word. Many of today's godly, faithful pastors have more in common with Jeremiah, the weeping prophet than with the happy-slappy ministry types presented on Christian television.
3. The godly Pastor knows what is at stake. For too many in the world of ministry, the issue at stake is the number of warm bodies in the pew. However, the true Pastor knows that it is the very souls of people that are at stake. The man of God does not go into the pulpit to make people's lives more comfortable, or to save their marriages, or to help them raise their children. He carries the burden of knowing that the battle is over the very souls of those who hear his words. Yes, he knows that it is only the Holy Spirit of God that can do this work of saving souls, but he also knows that the Spirit has chosen him to be the instrument through whom He works.
4. When all is said and done, the pastor has very little to tell him if he has been successful in his task. This is one of the hardest aspects of ministry. When Joe Christian finishes his job each day in the factory, he can quantify what has been accomplished. He can say to himself, I worked hard today because I produced 500 widgets. Tomorrow he might have to rebuke himself and say "I need to work harder because today I only produced 300 widgets." How does the man of God determine his effectiveness? Oh we have been guilty of putting notches on our Bibles for the number of people who have come forward in a meeting, or the number of baptisms in a year, or, even more crudely, the number of bums in the pews. Unfortunately none of these things determine our effectiveness. Conversions can be false, people can be baptized for the wrong reasons, and people might just be filling the pews to be entertained. In fact, I would argue that the true minister of God will not know his true effectiveness till he reaches heaven. So where does that leave us today? Well the only biblical standard is faithfulness. Paul says that it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful (1 Cor. 4:2). So we are right back to number one on our list. Have I clearly and accurately proclaimed God's Word?
5. Despite all these things, the man who is called by God can do nothing else but what God has called him to do. This may be totally wrong thinking on my part, but in my lowest hours in ministry, I have felt trapped. I can't just hang up my Bible and go and do something else. Their is a compulsion upon the man of God to preach the Bible. I can identify with Jeremiah when he says "If I say, 'I will not mention him , or speak any more in his name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones , and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot" (Jeremiah 20:9). This is a burden - not a millstone around my neck burden - but a burden nonetheless. It is a profound an sacred responsibility that cannot be shirked no matter what the cost. And sometimes you walk in the sunshine rejoicing, and sometimes you just survive and remain faithful.
Now I know what she was attempting to say in her response. It is an awesome privilege to serve the King of kings. There are tremendous rewards and satisfaction in fulfilling the task through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. There is an opportunity to develop spiritually in a way that few others possess. However, I would beg to differ with her conclusions. Ministry is an incredible burden, and if you do not feel the stress of the burden of ministry then you really do not have a true understanding of ministry.
Five Reasons Pastoral Ministry is an Incredible Burden:
1. It is the Pastor's primary job to faithfully handle the Word of Truth. When the average Joe Christian reads his Bible incorrectly, he stands individually responsible before our Holy God. When the Pastor makes a mistake with his understanding of God's Word, he is not only accountable or himself, but also he is responsible for all the people he might have led astray into his error. This is why James (3:1) says that not many should desire to be teachers because teachers will be judged more strictly. The man of God who truly understands his role will approach each opportunity to preach and teach with a godly fear lest he mishandle the inspired Word of God.
2. The message is unrelentingly counter-cultural. The nature of the message a true servant of God will bring is profoundly offensive in our contemporary culture. If the Pastor fulfills his obligation to number one on this list, he will find himself at odds with the world in which he lives and, too often, with the very people to whom he seeks to minister. There was a time when the authority of the Bible and of a pastor were highly regarded in our culture. No longer. Today a faithful pastor will be under consistent attack for nothing more than being faithful to his primary task of expounding the Word. Many of today's godly, faithful pastors have more in common with Jeremiah, the weeping prophet than with the happy-slappy ministry types presented on Christian television.
3. The godly Pastor knows what is at stake. For too many in the world of ministry, the issue at stake is the number of warm bodies in the pew. However, the true Pastor knows that it is the very souls of people that are at stake. The man of God does not go into the pulpit to make people's lives more comfortable, or to save their marriages, or to help them raise their children. He carries the burden of knowing that the battle is over the very souls of those who hear his words. Yes, he knows that it is only the Holy Spirit of God that can do this work of saving souls, but he also knows that the Spirit has chosen him to be the instrument through whom He works.
4. When all is said and done, the pastor has very little to tell him if he has been successful in his task. This is one of the hardest aspects of ministry. When Joe Christian finishes his job each day in the factory, he can quantify what has been accomplished. He can say to himself, I worked hard today because I produced 500 widgets. Tomorrow he might have to rebuke himself and say "I need to work harder because today I only produced 300 widgets." How does the man of God determine his effectiveness? Oh we have been guilty of putting notches on our Bibles for the number of people who have come forward in a meeting, or the number of baptisms in a year, or, even more crudely, the number of bums in the pews. Unfortunately none of these things determine our effectiveness. Conversions can be false, people can be baptized for the wrong reasons, and people might just be filling the pews to be entertained. In fact, I would argue that the true minister of God will not know his true effectiveness till he reaches heaven. So where does that leave us today? Well the only biblical standard is faithfulness. Paul says that it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful (1 Cor. 4:2). So we are right back to number one on our list. Have I clearly and accurately proclaimed God's Word?
5. Despite all these things, the man who is called by God can do nothing else but what God has called him to do. This may be totally wrong thinking on my part, but in my lowest hours in ministry, I have felt trapped. I can't just hang up my Bible and go and do something else. Their is a compulsion upon the man of God to preach the Bible. I can identify with Jeremiah when he says "If I say, 'I will not mention him , or speak any more in his name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones , and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot" (Jeremiah 20:9). This is a burden - not a millstone around my neck burden - but a burden nonetheless. It is a profound an sacred responsibility that cannot be shirked no matter what the cost. And sometimes you walk in the sunshine rejoicing, and sometimes you just survive and remain faithful.
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