Top Ten (Pt 9)

I have been sharing the Top Ten Things Every Pastor Wished Their Congregation Knew, but Was Afraid to Tell Them. Here is number 2: Peace and joy are supposed to be the characteristics of the Christian life. Since I have become a pastor I have experienced more pressure and stress than I ever thought possible. Pray for me! Love me! Encourage me! Give me time to rebuild! – 1Cor 2;3; Mk 6:31-46

One of the things I hear regularly from young pastors is that they didn’t realize how hard it was to be a pastor. Is God’s grace sufficient? Yes. Do I believe that I can do the work of the ministry with the help and strength of God? Absolutely! Yet I have to be honest, sometimes as a pastor I feel like I am torn in a dozen ways at the same time. People with a passion for a particular ministry, issue, or concern can’t understand why their pastor isn’t as fired up about it as they are. In the mean time three other people are saying the same thing about their particular interest.

Think with me for just about moment just about this past year. Covid-19 hit. Some people in our churches were saying that we need to immediately close church. If we ever open we need to make sure that everyone wears a mask. This is a dangerous virus. Others in our church are telling us that it is all a hoax. Closing church, wearing masks, receiving vaccinations, that’s all just a pathway to total government control. We need to stand as the people of God and fight this. Okay, so you are the pastor. You have your own ideas about the virus, the government, and what it means to be a church. If you choose to request masks you are going to lose half your church. If you choose to stand against government control and refuse masks you are going to lose the other half of your church. What do you do? You pray about it. You agonize over it. You counsel with wise, biblical counselors, but no matter what you do it will be wrong.

And that is just one issue. You will never know the burden pastors carry for their congregations; you will never know that anxiety caused by their congregations; you will never know that pain they feel when someone gets mad and leaves; you will never know the frustration caused because someone you wish would leave continues to stay and cause problems. You will never know the pressure, stress, and anxiety your pastor experiences because he takes his ministry and calling seriously. A number of years ago I wrote a poem that starts with this line: “Empty, Dead, Dry, Devastated, Worn out, and Exhausted – Sometimes I feel like a piece of beef jerky.” Your pastor feels that way far more often than he cares to admit.

Paul told the Corinthians that when he first came to preach there, “I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling” (1 Cor 2:3). As a pastor I realize that Peace and joy are supposed to be the characteristics of the Christian life. But, since I have become a pastor I have experienced more pressure and stress than I ever thought possible. Pray for me! Love me! Encourage me! And, please give me time to rebuild and renew!