Savour the Gift of Ministry

The attrition rates for pastors are alarming. Far too many begin working in Christ’s church full of enthusiasm and energy, only to leave the ministry within a few years,

disenchanted and discouraged.

At one time these men were eager to preach the gospel and ready to be God’s instruments in changing lives. But shortly after the ordination service came the first leadership meeting: a flood of information about the congregation to digest, a labyrinth of ecclesiastical regulations to navigate, and the crushing sense of being handed a near-unachievable assignment. The joy of ministry soon evaporated.

Or perhaps the first year went well, and everyone loved the pastor’s preaching and appreciated his care. But then it seemed like he started to run out of things to say in his Sunday sermons. Then came a disastrous pastoral visit in which he ran afoul of one of the longstanding members of the church. Now the pastor is questioning his wisdom in coming to this place. He’s starting to doubt whether he’s cut out for ministry after all.

I will not try to persuade you that pastoral ministry will be easy. If you are a pastor, you already know that it is not. Nor should we confuse “little things” of ministry with “easy things.” Rather, we expect that being in a position of church leadership will be hard.

The Scriptures themselves give pause to any man who contemplates entering pastoral ministry. For instance, there is James 3:1: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

Nevertheless, the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1 assumes that men will “[aspire] to the office of overseer.” They will desire this position, and well they should, for he affirms that it is “a noble task.” Paul calls his own ministry a “gift of God’s grace” because he was allowed to “preach . . . the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3: 7, 8). It’s remarkable that he counts the work a privilege, because for Paul the task of being

a missionary-pastor-preacher meant floggings, shipwrecks, prisons, and daily anxieties for the churches (2 Cor. 11:22–29).

While not every pastor will suffer like Paul, it would be folly to expect a tranquil path of ministry, since our Lord Jesus himself suffered intensely in ministering to others (Matt. 10:24–25).

Yet Scripture insists that it is a “noble task.” Paul impressed on the Ephesian elders the high calling of taking care of the church of God, “which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). This is reward enough: Pastors get to minister to Jesus’s own blood-bought people, sinners elected by the Father from before the foundation of the world and now ransomed and renewed by the Son of God. It is the pastor’s privilege to share in such a stunning work: to preach this gospel and to minister in it to sinners.

Ministry is a gift to savor, not least because when a pastor labors faithfully, God adds a multitude of blessings.

Having to counsel others moves you to search the Scriptures with greater diligence. You realize that if you want to have something worthwhile to say when you visit, you will need to be deeply steeped in the Word of God.

Getting acquainted with people’s hurts and heartaches leads you to develop the discipline of intercessory prayer. You realize that you cannot fix anyone’s problems, but that they—and you—must cast every care on God, who daily bears our burdens.

Helping someone effectively (by God’s grace) gives you the deep satisfaction of being able to make a difference. You are humbled by how the Lord sees fit to use you to give understanding or to share comfort, to prepare someone to die or to pull someone back to life in Christ.

Ministering to fellow members connects you more closely to the other parts of Christ’s body. You gain a deeper sense of how intricately joined fellow believers can be and what joy there is in the church’s unity.

Needing to make serious leadership decisions causes you to ask more fervently for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You soon thank God for the unfailing promise of his wisdom in James 1:5.

Carrying the weight of your pastoral assignment, you’re forced to acknowledge your weaknesses and to rely utterly on God’s mighty strength—which is one of the Christian life’s most important lessons.

In so many ways, being a pastor is like enrolling in an intensive school for training in the faith. No wonder Paul assumes that men will aspire to this good work.

And no wonder the Spirit says that church leaders should be able to do this work “with joy” (Heb. 13:17). For not only are these labors essential for the health and growth of Christ’s church, they’re also deeply beneficial for those called to ministry: “Those who serve well . . . gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 3:13).

Amidst the obligations and stresses of pastoral ministry, it can seem like a small thing—maybe even counterintuitive—to treasure this opportunity.

But it is a noble task, and it’s a gift to be savored.

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Excerpt from The Ministry of Small Things: Wisdom for Those Who Serve the Church