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Where Do Pastors Go to Cry?

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Contents

Acknowledgements.................................................................................viiIntroduction.....................................................................................ixChapter 1 Understanding Your Call................................................................1Chapter 2 Don't Be Afraid of Their Faces: Handling Critics.......................................7Chapter 3 The Pastor As C.E.O....................................................................15Chapter 4 Are You and Your Ministry a Good Fit?..................................................21Chapter 5 Leading a Church Meeting...............................................................30Chapter 6 Keeping Balance in Ministry and In Your Life...........................................36Chapter 7 Before Construction Starts: What You Need To Know Before You Build.....................42Chapter 8 Dealing With Staff / Associate Minister Betrayal.......................................49Chapter 9 Know When Your Assignment Is Over......................................................55Chapter 10 Where Do Pastors Go To Cry? Find A Mentor.............................................61Chapter 11 The Power of Preaching the Word.......................................................67Poem.............................................................................................72Chapter 12 Go to the Rock: Spending Time with the Lord in Prayer.................................73Poem.............................................................................................79Conclusion.......................................................................................81Notes............................................................................................84Reflective Questions.............................................................................87

Chapter One

"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall ..." II Peter 1:10

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When God created us, He put something in us that we can use to equip the saints and edify the body of Christ. We all have been given at least one gift we can use for the service of the Lord. Every pastor has a specific gift. He or she may be a great preacher, teacher or administrator. But there is at least one gift every individual possesses. Some pastors are multi-gifted. What a blessing if the Lord has given you more than one gift. To God be the glory. There are many churches around the world that were built because of great preaching. Then there are also churches worldwide that were built by pastors who were what I consider administrative geniuses. Before one can become great and efficient in any area of ministry, he must know and understand his specific ministry calling.

It should go without saying that before pastors can understand their call, they must first know what is a call into ministry. All Christians are called into ministry. We are called into service of the Lord. The first call one receives as a saint of God is the call into salvation. We have been called out of darkness into God's marvelous light (I Peter 2:9). Once we have been called into the family of God and have become the people of God, the Lord then chooses an appointed few into professional church leadership. All Christians are saints by calling, but not all saints are preachers by calling (I Corinthians 1:2). According to II Corinthians 5:17-20, we see that ministry is for all.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ behalf: Be reconciled to God."

Every Christian ministry should be engaged in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ through word and deed.

There are many forms of ministry as seen in Ephesians 4:11, "It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers." Every call into the ministry is not necessarily a call to be a pastor. When one is sensing the call of God on his or her life, some hard questions must be asked. What is God saying to me? What is He calling me to do? Am I sure I am hearing God's voice? Do I know His voice without a doubt? Am I willing to heed to the call?

Once it has been confirmed in your spirit that God has called you into the gospel ministry, get an understanding of your specific call. Where are you called to serve? It has been previously mentioned that being in ministry is more than being a preacher / pastor. Being a pastor is only one aspect of being called into ministry. One can work in a para-church setting, as a chaplain, an evangelist, a missionary and so forth. Why not develop or start a ministry that is different and unique? Think of ways that will attract people to come and hear about Jesus Christ.

Seminary Professor and author, Elmer Towns says that there are three ways to describe the call to full-time Christian service: the burden, the desire, and the fruit.

1. The call of God begins with a burden. Several of the Old Testament prophets indicated that their message was the burden of the Lord (Mal. 1:1, Hab. 1:1). A burden is an obligation or a compulsion. A young man who is called into full-time Christian service has a burden or a compulsion to serve Jesus Christ.

2. The call to full-time Christian service involves desire. A man knows he is called of God when his greatest desire is to serve Jesus Christ with every part of his life. This involves his will; it is surrendered and he wants to spend all of his time serving Jesus Christ. Usually the call to full-time Christian service comes to those who are actively involved in ministry in the local church.

3. The call of God is evidenced by fruit. When God has put his hand upon a young man and separated him to full-time Christian service, there will be corresponding fruit. Therefore, before a council ordains a young man into full-time ministry, there should be some evidence that God has used his preaching and teaching of the Word of God.

It is abundantly clear that God bestows on some persons gifts that seem best to fit the demand of a particular time and place. The Bible is very persuasive on this point. God equips people for a purpose. We cannot discern any general ability in persons that God always relies on. Biblical figures receive their summons in a variety of ways, depending upon their unique personalities and situations: some through dreams and visions, some by contact with significant people, some through tumultuous inner experiences. And some are receptive to the summons and others are very resistant and reluctant.

It is interesting to see throughout the Bible how God called His preacher / prophets in unique ways. From the call of Moses through a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-4:17), the judges, the prophets from Samuel to Malachi, all the way down to the calling of the twelve disciples of Christ (Matthew 4:18-22), all...