The Disillusioned Pastor pt. 3

1.      Discouragement: We as pastors are not immune to discouragement. It is common for us to be weary in well doing. Paul admonished the Galatian believers that they would reap if they fainted not. My wife recently decided to try planting a tomato plant and some sunflower. She purchased seed, fertilized soil, and some planters to start her endeavors. She put dirt in the planters and then added the seed and watered it. When nothing came up within three days, she became discouraged and she dumped one of the planters out. She became weary in well doing. Discouragement is not all that uncommon to Spiritual leaders. David encountered it often. Elijah faced it. John the Baptist experienced it. Anytime you base your success or value of the ministry on those who you work with, you can be sure you will find yourself discouraged.

2.      Disenchantment: Now, I don’t know about you, but I find the ministry to be pretty entertaining. Some of the funniest moments I have ever witnessed happened in the ministry. An example of this was one of my own doing. Our church was in need of some energy efficient structural repair. I am not a carpenter by any stretch of the word and yet I volunteered myself to repair a door which was not closing on our newly altered doorway. During the winter months, heating our building was near impossible due to cracks, holes, and wear and tear. My genius plan was to add a wall at both sides of the auditorium, add some doors and it would hinder the warm air from escaping to those vulnerable areas upstairs. Shims were needed to complete the project and instead of going to the hardware store and purchase the needed items, I thought I could make one myself. I would like to reiterate the fact that I am not a carpenter. I took a scrap piece of lumber and began to cut the board in half and then into smaller sizes so that I could use it as a shimmy. I cut the piece too small and the chop saw “sucked it in” and shot it off the wall which was less than four feet away. Believe it or not, the small wooden projectile ricocheted off the wall and hit me square in the forehead just above the bridge of my nose; right between the eyes. The precise point of impact caused me to lose consciousness for a few seconds. I literally knocked myself out. When I set out to be the pastor of my first church I never dreamed that I would have that particular moment in that particular day. However, it happened and I can tell you that I became disenchanted with the whole “enchilada.” For weeks I had asked during the scheduled church service if someone who was skilled in building or repairing things could assist me so the church could lower its fuel consumption. For weeks, nobody could get free or would spare the time to make these needed repairs. I became disenchanted at that very moment. This is not what the ministry is all about. I remember people being turned away from special projects in the churches that I grew up in because there were so many volunteers. “This is not what the ministry is all about.” I complained to my wife as I iced my forehead. I was disenchanted with the ministry.

Many pastors face being disenchanted with the ministry. When the offerings are down and when the attendance is down their value of their ministry is diminished. Someone once said “never undo in the dark what you have done in the light.” When a pastor looks around at the empty pews and the empty coffers he can easily become disenchanted with the ministry. Remember Elijah? Sure you do. He was the only one, or so he thought, that was serving God. He had a showdown on Mt. Carmel and single-handedly took on the nation’s top spiritual leaders. After fire was sent down from heaven, Elijah ran for his life at the threats of one volatile Queen Jezebel. He was disenchanted with his ministry. He was discouraged in the ministry. Most of all, he was depressed in the ministry.

3.      Depressed: Depression is an interesting condition. I know there have been times in my short life in the ministry where depression was present. I knew who I was in Christ, but the expectations which I had for me had been unrealistic. When discouragement is overwhelming and the ministry becomes undesirable, you have pretty much described “ministerial depression.” It is a sin, in this case, to be depressed. Depression is a form of pride and rebellion against God. Being in the ministry is a labor of love that is a fact. However, the purpose for ministry isn’t to promote one’s own reputation or name. In fact, being in the ministry should be synonymous with anonymity and servanthood. When a pastor finds himself depressed, he has lost his purpose in the ministry- and that is to serve God.