What About Me?

So much of what goes on in ministry goes without detection by the church in general. The pastor of the Local Church can live in virtual isolation, without someone to encourage him or speak into his life. It isn't necessarily by design, but the thing that happens by default as they seek to protect and serve the sheep of their fold.

We seek, as pastors, to serve our parishioners and meet them in their need with answers to their problems. In the process, how do we deal with our own issues? You know as well as I do that we are just like our people, have all the same challenges, all the same kinds of problems and are subjected to all the same kinds of temptations. They have us, but who do we have?

In ministry, we who are leaders must have people who speak into our lives, leaders we can turn to for encouragement, and counselors we can look to for sound, biblical advice as we seek to do the will of God in our lives and in service to our congregations. All of us, no matter how high in the food chain, need these key elements to healthy Christian living. We need each other!

It isn't always easy. Sometimes those we serve cause us great pain as they reject our counsel, fail to heed the Word, and seek their own agenda. We cry over them, lose sleep over them, and cry out to God on their behalf, but we cannot change their course. When I see this, I have to ask myself, "Do I do this to my pastor, my overseer, my Lord?" It is sobering to think that we could be the cause of such heart ache.

As a pastor, I want God's best for every member of my congregation. My heart's cry is to see them rise to the full potential of all God has for them. I thank God for those who have sown into my life, have given me the leadership that has led me to this path toward my destiny, and who never give up on me. They answer when I call, help when they can, and pray for me continually. They are my heroes.

I trust that you are seeking to be a hero to those who follow you, but also that you have heroes you look to who will be a great resource in the actualization of the pursuit of the will of God for your life. I leave you with the passage below.

"Obey your leaders and follow their orders. They watch over your souls without resting, since they must give an account of their service. If you obey them, they will do their work gladly; if not, they will do it with sadness, and that would be of no help to you." (Hebrews 13:17 TEV)

Take time to meditate on this passage, and see what the Father shares with you. Don't focus on just those who you serve, but look also at those to whom you submit yourself. Are you a source of joy? Are you a living example of what God desires? Let's rise to God's standard and see His best in our lives and in the lives of those we serve. Let's be a source of joy to our leaders.