Galatians 6:9 says: “And let us not be weary in well doing.” How is that working for you?
I cannot be the only minister who has been challenged, discouraged, tempted, sad, angry, etc. during 2020. I wasn’t aware of how badly I was being affected until it dawned on me one day that the word “idiot” had become a staple in my vocabulary. At about the same time, I spoke with a fellow CMC minister who said he discovered that he was “angry and looking for a fight.” I had been to the dentist that very morning and had my temperature taken before I could receive treatment. The first question on the sheet I had to fill out was, “Are you running a fever?” That did not go well and I immediately identified with my brother and the anger issue.
In addition to the normal ministerial tasks, pastors now have to keep the maskers and the non-maskers, the reopen church folks and the Zoomers, the conspiracy theorists and those who believe COVID-19 is a natural thing that just “happened,” untangled from each other. Some pastors have had real struggles with how to handle the reopening of the churches they serve. During this time, there have to have been some who, like me at times in my 46 years of preaching experience, have wanted to get on your proverbial horse and ride off into the sunset.
Your godly influence and steady leadership for the souls God has given you are not a trial run.
Given the lack of in-person fellowship and encouragement at our annual Pastors Conference and our annual summer conference, we must find ways to combat the discouragement temptation by staying in touch as best we can by modern means of communication, as well as by remembering God’s promises and the needs of those God has entrusted to us.
Besides the obvious things, such as prayer, reading and studying the Word, etc., remember these truths:
- God chose you for “such a time as this.” It is no accident that you are where you are.
- God will never fail you or let you down. It may not seem that way at times, but it’s true.
- Your people need you now more than ever. Love them and love serving them through this “valley of the shadow of death.”
- Keep eternity in view. Your godly influence and steady leadership for the souls God has given you are not a trial run. This is for keeps!
Asaph confesses in Psalm 73 that God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. He moves on to describe his own situation as being quite discouraging. He speaks of the wicked and the impunity with which they sin. He seems to be on the verge of giving up on his own commitment until he goes into the sanctuary of God, then he understands their end. At the end of the psalm he says, “It is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works” (v. 28 KJV).
May it never be us, but some are giving up. Suicide, divorce, and domestic violence rates are rising, and we the ministers, are not immune. I recently heard of a pastor who went to his church, walked up behind the pulpit, and committed suicide.
May we all hear these words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Galatians 6:9 not only says, “And let us not be weary in well doing”, it also says “for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Hold on! There is too much at stake to fail.
6 Responses
“In addition to the normal ministerial tasks, pastors now have to keep the maskers and the non-maskers, the reopen church folks and the Zoomers, the conspiracy theorists and those who believe COVID-19 is a natural thing that just ‘happened,’ untangled from each other.”
You describe the complexities of this time so well!! How deeply disturbing all of these divided opinions have been! I’m not surprised that all of this stress led a pastor to suicide, but how terribly tragic that is!! I pray that you and all the other pastors and all of us who serve the church in some way will not become weary in well doing. May we continue to run the race marked out for us with our eyes fixed on Jesus!! (Heb 12:1-2)
Thanks, Dale, for your reminder from the Word. Your writing is so appropriate for our times. God Bless you for sharing!
If I may display the unmitigated audacity of commenting on an article directed primarily at those residing somewhere above my ecclesiastical pay grade, there is encouragement here for even us plebes. We are all ministers of some sort as we endeavor to serve Our Lord. Beyond that, while it is apparently not Mr. Keffer’s intent to voice a position on controversial issues, sometimes I wish our leaders would, well, lead. It is not imaginable that Mr. Keffer has no opinion on whether we ought reopen our churches or not, in fact he seems, to my admittedly limited knowledge, probably opinionated about a wide assortment of things, a trait that likely assisted in making “idiot” a regular part of his lexicon. Given the national situation, resorting to such terms seems almost inevitable for anyone paying attention, if only privately, while still not compliant with our understanding of scriptural mandates.
Of course, I am aware, as certainly every minister with any experience is as well, that any position taken will be argued with, or ignored by, a segment of us among the hoi polloi, who, it would appear, have nothing better to do than to express an alternate view simply for the sake of debate. But iron sharpening iron can be beneficial as well as enjoyable. The greater danger in my view is that we gradually come to see the church as something with very little impact in practical terms, further eroding our sense of brotherhood. We come to view that which goes on in Ohio as irrelevant. It does not seem like a good sign that the Beacon articles inspire so little feedback. Angry contention must be shunned while contending for the faith must be embraced, but always being safe may not be a fulfillment of our calling. Live dangerously, Dale, express an opinion.:-)
Thanks Dale for the encouragement, it certainly has been a challenge
Dale, thank you for these encouraging words! The first of your “truths” was especially resonate with me: God chose you for such a time as this. We aren’t here by accident. Thanks for your faithfulness!
Thanks for these encouraging words. We must never give up, GOD BLESS