Nearly every single day I meet with a pastor who tells me of an overwhelming challenge. A sermon needs to be written. The ideas are not coming. … A parishioner in the hospital is very ill. … A leader in the church has a child who is in big, big trouble. There are no good solutions. … The church budget is being stretched and stretched — something has to go. … Someone on the staff is not a good fit. Should we let the person go now or wait and see if things improve? … The worship leader on Sunday is stepping down. No one is stepping up.
Sounds about right, doesn’t it?
Today a pastor asked me, “What do you think I should do?”
Like I have done hundreds of times I turned the question back to the pastor. “What do you want to do?”
Everybody has options. This fellow told me he felt he had no options — zero. I responded, “Well, you could quit.”
“I can’t do that,” he said.
“Well, okay,” I said. “That’s a bad option. Now let’s find some good ones.”
When you think you have exhausted your options, well, you probably haven’t.
I’m not an expert on any pastor’s life, but I listen well. I ask great questions. I really do care. I’m a pretty good encourager. And thankfully, day after day I see the Holy Spirit at work in this group of church leaders that I have so come to love and respect.
Not everyone should be a pastor. It’s very tough work, especially emotionally. Pray for your pastor.
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