Wouldn’t you like to know what other pastors never get used to in ministry? I know I would. That is why I have asked some of my close pastor friends to share their list with us. Perhaps this will help more of you understand what your particular pastor deals with each week.
Today’s insight is from Dr. Ron Ethridge, pastor of Huffman Baptist Church.
Positive:
- Sensing God’s actual presence when His people meet for worship on Sunday…
- Observing the joy in a person when God brings them from darkness to light…
- Seeing people’s eyes and hearing their voices when God reveals His truth to them…
- Knowing that each Sunday I worship with people I’ll see in heaven forever…
- The joy of God’s people in Him when they suffer significant adversity…
- Watching so many of God’s people engage in significant ministries that few know of…
- The regular and constant encouragement I see and receive from God’s people…
- The dynamic of God’s presence as I write messages to deliver to His people…
- Realizing that I get paid to study Scripture, Pray, Visit, Preach, Counsel, and Teach Scripture…
- The sense of knowing in my spirit that God is actually using me… a sinner… to shepherd HIS people…
- And there are many more… these are enough.
Negative:
- How easily I can cause people to stumble by what I say or a look I give…
- Satan so easily causes people in church to stumble (Refer to previous thought)…
- Being misunderstood (Refer to previous two thoughts)…
- Being misrepresented by people about who I am… my vision & motivations… (Ditto)
- It seems that many are so slow to embrace something that takes faith to accomplish…
- The constant pressure to serve faithfully and to know that I will stand before God to give an account for everything I say and do as a pastor (Hebrews 13:17b).