Monday Morning Insights

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    Pray for This Young Pastor

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    Its 4:30 in the morning. Haven’t slept for three nights now. Never knew I could feel such heart-pain. I hurt Lord..I hurt, I hurt, I hurt.

    I hurt for my child evey time I have to look at hurt and tell her I can’t afford her school..don’t know if the church is going to give me a check this month.

    I hurt as I see my wife growing old in front of me....still strong in faith...man I love her..and I wonder how much more of this can she take...and yet she still goes on and on. I hurt Lord, man the heart-pain is killing me.

    I hurt as I look out over my congregation and have come to realize most do not really believe in the truth of the gospel....

    The ole hymn comes back to me now, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus...look full in his wonderful face.....

    Please pray for me, plese pray for each other...its hard for me even to type this as tears are making it hard to see....I hurt Lord....I never knew my heart could feel so much pain.

    Turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face....

    I received this comment on the blog overnight from a very old post here at MMI. Read this young pastors comments and take a moment to pray for him. You can also offer him some encouragement here. Here is his message; and a re-publish of the original post...

    Comments

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    1. Jim B. on Tue, January 09, 2007

      Unfortunately, many young Pastors, and some who are not so young, in small and mid-sized congregations are in similar situations.  I have long felt that Semiinaries need to help those studying for ministry to realize that many times they may not be pastoring as much as they may be doing mission work.  If this young Pastor were in a foreign country, he would probably see his work as falling more in the realm of missions than pastoring. 


      I do worry for this young man and his family, because many of the young Seminarians I went to school with ended up leaving the ministry to survive these situations and to be able to provide a livable wage for their families. 


      I don’t know what the answer is for these situations, except to seek God’s leading and to realize that a lack of peace about being where he is may be God’s preparing him to move on from this congregation to a new field.

    2. Rev JEFF on Tue, January 09, 2007

      1. true


      2. true


      3. true


      4. true


      5. see #1


      6. true


      7.  Hahahaha true


      8. Um Hmmm,  yep


      9.  Plus, fast food offers (one meal per shift) benefits!

    3. kent on Tue, January 09, 2007

      I do not know your name. I do not know where you are serving, but I do know that you are called. I can tell that you have a passion for Jesus and a passion for the ministry. I also know you have a passion for your family.


      I do not say this reactivily or lightly. I say this knowing your passion. Put your faith and family first. If this means getting a part time job and cutting back at church then get a part time job and cut back at church. If they cannot support you they are already paying you part itme wages. If this means leaving for another church, then leave for another church.  ifyou are struggling financially you are not going to be 100% attentive to ministry, that struggle will always be in the back of your mind. Your family is your first congregation, and if you lose them what have you gained. These are not easy options but they are options. I have no doubt you have prayed and that God is faithful.


      Ministry can and will be a struggle, but the struggles you are dealing are not against the world but against the church you serve. The Bible calls us to stand against the evil one, but to have to slowly die because of the support and attitudes of the congregation is wrong.


      I will pray for you. i will pray for peace, provision and strength.

    4. Camey on Tue, January 09, 2007

      Your pain is obvious. Thru your tears, may it be that some of your chains are made loose. Pain and sorrow are so difficult to experience - to have sunk deep inside the heart. May it be that God alone can ease your wounded soul. And may it be thru His love - He will give the wings to stay and it see it through or the freedom and peace to walk away and let go.


      It is a privilege to pray. Thank you for sharing and allowing others to stand in the gap for you.


      Might i recommend you read: Before You Move - A Guide to Making Transitions in Ministry by John R. Cionca ; Why Churches Die - Diagnosing Lethal Poisons in the Body of Christ by Mac Brunson and Ergun Caner


      Carrying you and all involved to Jesus.

    5. donnie on Tue, January 09, 2007

      Man, I am jouneying with you.  I hear what you are saying and you are not alone.

    6. Andy McAdams on Tue, January 09, 2007

      It has taken me a while to respond to this post.  Mainly because my heart is heavy for this young man…I have been there.  Believe me… I have been there.  I have talked to our Lord a dozen times about this pastor already and shed countless number of tears. 


      He is the reason I no longer pastor a church…not those within the church that seemed to make things difficult at times.  It’s pastors like him that actually caused me to leave the local church pastorate to help pastors in the same situation.  Yes…after 30 years of being a pastor, I have found the joy of being a Pastor to Pastors.  How I wish there was someone like that for me 3 decades ago.

    7. Richard Platt on Tue, January 09, 2007

      It puts lumps in my throat reading this pastors message.  Behind the tears is a loving, caring, sensative and God fearing person.  I have helped to start a couple churchs and one of the main problems has always been the issue of money.   I also know that those hard times are what help us grow in Christ. 


      I want to commend this pastor for being open and honest about his circumstances and how he feels about them.  Far too many hold things inside of them and never let it out until it is too late.  I quote this verse from Genesis45:5(b) “for God did send me before you to preserve life.”  In all cases we are to help others “preserve their life” in Jesus Christ.  We are not always privy as to how we are to do this or at what cost to us…..only to remember that Jesus Christ did the utmost for us so we may have Eternal Life with Him.


      God bless you, pastor, in your ministry and in all you do for Him.  God will surely reward you for your hard labor in Jesus name.  Your profession is a difficult one and requires much from you and your family.  They will grow as you grow; and just as important, they will see you not just as a husband or father, but, as a man of moral character who desires nothing but the best for his family and congregation.

    8. Peter Hamm on Wed, January 10, 2007

      I hurt for you too, man.


      But when you write [I hurt as I look out over my congregation and have come to realize most do not really believe in the truth of the gospel….]


      know that that is an opportunity, not a problem!

    9. eric wright on Thu, January 11, 2007

      I know this pain. It is mine from a couple of years ago. I couldn’t describe the pain because there were no words for how much I hurt. I was crippled by it. I endured it for almost three years. No matter what I did or where I turned there was no relief. I couldn’t find work outside the church, I couldn’t find another church to leave to, and the only time God spoke was to make it clear he wanted me there. I came within centimeters of leaving the church and leaving God.


      Let me offer hope. God uses these times to test us and to make His call on our lives more than mere words. The hope comes in realizing that God is working even though we cannot see Him. He is going to bring something greater out of the whole mess.  He is also going to make sure you depend upon Him in the process. He is there. He does love you.


      Go find someone you can confide in openly and honestly. Get a professional counselor (many offer plans that help when finances are an issue). To echo what was said earlier…do whatever you can to get healthy and to get a healthy perspective.


      I will definitely be praying.

    10. carl on Mon, January 15, 2007

      Please read 2 Timothy 1:15-2:5. Paul starts by saying that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted him. Then he goes on to talk about what a help Onesiphorus has been to him. Do you have an Onesiphorus in your life? You need to find one if you don’t. If necessary, call other local churches until you find another pastor who can be this for you. It doesn’t have to be someone local. Timothy’s “Onesiphorus” was Paul.

      Then in Chapter 2, Paul instructs Timothy to be strong and endure hardship in the grace of Christ. Not in your own strength. Your wife has Christ living inside her. She can handle it in the grace of Christ. So can you. If you were called to do this, you *can* do this in the grace of Christ.

       

    11. Ken Underwood on Fri, September 07, 2007

      Quite, get out and stop trying to be the head of an organization or worse yet an institution!  Stop your crying, a man, a modern “pastor” only exist in the traditions of men and not the Bible.

    12. Bruce van Heerden on Thu, June 05, 2008

      I am so sorry that after 40 years in the ministry in some of the largest churches in the world I read these kinds of comments and as a Pastor now 61 years old I am ashamed to say that I have handed over to the next generation a church that is worse than the church that was handed to me by the great Bible teachers of the past.


      I ask you as a young man to forgive our generation for what we did to the church and for what we allowed to happen, with all the resources we had, we started contemporary gospel music, Christian Television, Mega churches, Televangelists, thru the media we have allowed very average people to become super stars in the ministry, and we have never held them to account for there behavior. with all of that we are losing the fight for the souls of men.


      It is a shame that we will have to answer to God for.


      Young man be bold and courageous and find the place that God has for you.


      Again I repent to all the young men and women for our generation

    13. lola on Mon, July 21, 2008

      hi, i agree with Ken Underwood (a modern “pastor” only exist in the traditions of men and not the Bible)

    14. Randy on Mon, September 15, 2008

      Maybe your calling is not so much to be a pastor to your congregation (as in the head of an institution/club), but a missionary to your neighborhood.

    15. hunting riflescopes on Wed, November 05, 2008

      Harmful not sleep the night 3 row.

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