A Burning Issue
Our Lifegroup meets in our pastor's home almost every Tuesday night for supper and Bible study. Bill and I have loved getting to know some of the people from our church. The food has been amazing. The fellowship has been wonderful. The Bible Studies have been meaningful, even life-changing for some of us. The prayer time has brought us closer to God and each other.
It's a common malady among Christians these days, thinking that God owes us something just because we've been faithful to him. Actually he owes us nothing. NOTHING. All of us are sinners who deserve only death. But God, in his mercy, sent Jesus, who provided a way for each of us to have a relationship with him. (See John 3:16)
Lately, our Lifegroup has been praying together for several pastors that some of us know. Or, perhaps I should say "former pastors." That's why we are praying for them. These men have not only left the ministry, but some have left their wives and families, as well as their jobs. And, worst of all, after years, or even decades of ministry, they are "burned out." They have turned their backs on God, refusing to attend any church, refusing to read their Bibles or pray, refusing to associate with Christians. Invariably, each one feels as though God has failed him.
It's a common malady among Christians these days, thinking that God owes us something just because we've been faithful to him. Actually he owes us nothing. NOTHING. All of us are sinners who deserve only death. But God, in his mercy, sent Jesus, who provided a way for each of us to have a relationship with him. (See John 3:16)
Christian pastors preach this message all the time. It's their job. But, sometimes, I think they get wrapped up with the cares of the world, just as we all do, and when life gets hard, as it always does, it can be so tempting to blame God. We shouldn't be surprised to hear of "burned out" pastors who struggle with their faith. After all, they are just as human as the rest of us.
Sometimes, though, their struggles are harder than ours. It doesn't help when their congregations place them up on pedestals, assuming that they are good Christians who never experience doubt or fear. It doesn't help at all when their congregations isolate them, expecting them to do their jobs faithfully, but offering little encouragement, little real friendship, and lots of criticism. When church members need counselling, they can go to their pastor for the help they need. But when a pastor feels overwhelmed, who can he go to?
Now, I'm not talking about those pastors who leave a ministry because God is calling them to do something different. I've known many pastors who have moved from congregational ministry to become hospital or prison chaplains, or to work with the destitute people on the streets, or to teach in a Bible college, or to do mission work in some exotic location. Those people need our prayers, too, but for different reasons.
And I'm not really concerned about pastors who are secure in their Christian faith, who study God's word diligently, who spend time with God every day. I'm not talking about the ones who are passionate about their calling to minister to the people around them, whether or not they serve in an established congregation. And I'm not talking about the pastors who serve caring, supportive congregations, who receive regular encouragement and genuine friendship from the people they serve.
But maybe I should be more concerned about all pastors. These days, it seems as if the devil is working overtime to impede the work of those who purposefully do God's work.
It's true that our pastors need our prayers, whether they are struggling, or not. We need to be deliberate in our prayers for our pastors and their families. We need to ask God to protect them from anything the devil would do to harm them or their ministries. We need to ask God to make our pastors strong in their faith, strong in their family relationships, and strong in their health, so that they will be able to do the work God wants them to do.
And, we need to do more than pray. We need to offer and give real help when we see that it is needed. We need to speak words of encouragement often. We need to humbly ask our pastors to forgive us when necessary, and extend our forgiveness to them when needed. We should make it possible for our pastors to gather together with other pastors on a regular basis, so they can pray together and build each other up. We need to take an interest in our pastors' lives outside of church. We need to spend time with our pastors and their families, socialize with them, get to know them, so that we can all "do life" together, even when life becomes hard.
I am issuing a challenge to each of you today. Pay attention to your pastor, and I don't mean just when he's giving a sermon! Pray for your pastor and his family. If he seems to be struggling, help him, or find someone else who can help. Offer words of encouragement often, not only during October's Pastor Appreciation month. Get to know your pastor and his family. Communicate with them! Accept them as fellow children of God. After all, we are all in this together.
When Jesus was asked "Which is the greatest commandment in the law?" this is how he replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22: 36-39
Now, I'm not talking about those pastors who leave a ministry because God is calling them to do something different. I've known many pastors who have moved from congregational ministry to become hospital or prison chaplains, or to work with the destitute people on the streets, or to teach in a Bible college, or to do mission work in some exotic location. Those people need our prayers, too, but for different reasons.
And I'm not really concerned about pastors who are secure in their Christian faith, who study God's word diligently, who spend time with God every day. I'm not talking about the ones who are passionate about their calling to minister to the people around them, whether or not they serve in an established congregation. And I'm not talking about the pastors who serve caring, supportive congregations, who receive regular encouragement and genuine friendship from the people they serve.
But maybe I should be more concerned about all pastors. These days, it seems as if the devil is working overtime to impede the work of those who purposefully do God's work.
It's true that our pastors need our prayers, whether they are struggling, or not. We need to be deliberate in our prayers for our pastors and their families. We need to ask God to protect them from anything the devil would do to harm them or their ministries. We need to ask God to make our pastors strong in their faith, strong in their family relationships, and strong in their health, so that they will be able to do the work God wants them to do.
And, we need to do more than pray. We need to offer and give real help when we see that it is needed. We need to speak words of encouragement often. We need to humbly ask our pastors to forgive us when necessary, and extend our forgiveness to them when needed. We should make it possible for our pastors to gather together with other pastors on a regular basis, so they can pray together and build each other up. We need to take an interest in our pastors' lives outside of church. We need to spend time with our pastors and their families, socialize with them, get to know them, so that we can all "do life" together, even when life becomes hard.
I am issuing a challenge to each of you today. Pay attention to your pastor, and I don't mean just when he's giving a sermon! Pray for your pastor and his family. If he seems to be struggling, help him, or find someone else who can help. Offer words of encouragement often, not only during October's Pastor Appreciation month. Get to know your pastor and his family. Communicate with them! Accept them as fellow children of God. After all, we are all in this together.
When Jesus was asked "Which is the greatest commandment in the law?" this is how he replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22: 36-39
If we want our pastors to be "on fire" instead of "burned out," if we want them to strive to keep that greatest commandment to love God with their whole beings, then I think that we, the people in their congregations, need to try keeping that second commandment, as well as the first. Because our pastors are our neighbors, too.
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