“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters.” (Matthew 23:8 CSB – Read the chapter)
The average pastor in America (or anywhere else in the world, for that matter) works hard in a little church in total obscurity. He loves his people and they love him. He spends a lot of time working on multiple messages for each week. He visits people in hospitals and in their homes. He meets people for coffee or a meal at least once a week. He does a fair bit of counseling, some of it formal, much of it informal. He has to be reasonably well-versed in managing both people and finances. He has to remember the names and faces and stories of a lot of people in one shot. He probably spends less time with his family than he should, and he definitely doesn’t give himself and his needs (spiritual or physical) the attention they deserve. But he loves the Lord and is utterly in awe of his call to do all of this whenever he has time to stop and think about it. He will one day reach the end of his journey and hear from his Lord, “Well done good and faithful servant.” This is all how God designed pastoring to work at least in this particular cultural context. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t. Let’s talk today about a couple of reasons why and how to avoid them.
REad the rest…
The Nexus 