Hidden Springs for Pastors

I urge you, brethren--you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints--that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us. 
                                                                                              [1 Cor 16:15-16].

Today people change churches the way they change cars: When one gets tiresome and requires too much service, they trade it for another. It’s been 68 years since Huxley detailed our "throw-away society," yet his words ring truer than ever as we face a new century. In many people’s minds churches can be a suitable addition to the refuse heaps of their lives. So can pastors.

The Protestant Reformation was a time of realization that because of Jesus, every believer has direct access to God, not requiring a priest to intervene. Clergy are not imparted divine authority by ecclesiastical bodies, but like all believers they are members of the Body of Christ, serving as the Holy Spirit calls and enables them.

In a desire to live the truth of Scripture, however, and in reaction against the top-heavy hierarchy of Roman Catholicism, a spiritual egalitarianism has developed within the Church. Pastors are no longer highly esteemed as servants of God. An attitude of disrespect is normal among unbelievers, who by nature hate the people of God. But when Christians treat pastors with arrogance or even contempt, the Holy Spirit is grieved and His work is hindered.

Scripture teaches that we are to submit to pastors. We may disagree with how they conduct their ministries, but that does not void our obligation of loyalty to them. We may not appreciate their skills in preaching, but that does not absolve us of our responsibility to listen. We may notice their faults, but that does not obligate us to gossip about them or oppose them, unless they have sinned repeatedly and need to be called to accountability. All of these cases call for patience, prayer, and love. When Saul was unjustifiably trying to kill him, David refused to attack Saul, because Saul was "the Lord’s anointed."

Are there times when a pastor needs to be removed? Certainly, but God will judge such an action not on the basis of how well it is justified, but by the love with which it is carried out. Can we ever justify treating a fallen pastor with less care and regard than we would an unsaved person? When Peter betrayed Jesus by denying him, Jesus did not kick him off the team. Rather, he prayed that Peter would not give up in despair, but would return to strengthen the others.

According to The Pastors’ Institute, "Some surveys show that an average of 1400 men and women are leaving the pastorate each month in the United States due to burnout, disillusionment or forced termination. Other studies report that two out of three pastors wish they could leave the pastorate. Nearly ninety percent of pastors believe they are under-trained to meet the expectations of the ministry. Most pastors feel isolated and have few close friends."

In their book Pastors at Risk, H.B. London and Neil B. Wiseman write, "Contemporary pastors are caught in frightening spiritual and social tornadoes which are now raging through home, church, community and culture... Ministry hazards are choking the hope out of pastors' souls. They feel disenchanted, discouraged and often even outraged. ... Overwork, low pay and desperation take a terrible toll as pastors struggle to make sense of crammed calendars, hectic homes, splintered dreams, starved intimacy and shriveled purpose. Many hold on by their fingernails, hoping to find a hidden spring to refresh their weary spirits and scrambled thoughts."

Is your pastor’s calendar crammed, his home hectic, his dreams splintered, his intimacy starved, and his purpose shriveled? Is your pastor holding on by his fingernails? If he felt that way, do you think he would be comfortable and secure enough to confide it to the congregation so that something could be done about it? Are you a hidden spring of encouragement that refreshes his weary spirits?

It’s enough to drive a believer to his knees. Right?

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