Glory and Joy

Pastoring is a funny thing. You've probably heard it said that being a pastor is hard. However, as a pastor, I can tell you pastoring is anything but hard. When I think of hard jobs I tend to think of physical labor. Ditch digging is hard. Farming is hard. Concrete work is hard. Some of the hardest work I've ever done has been on missions trips. But it's also been some of the most rewarding work. Why? When I finish a block wall, I can see it. I go to bed at night knowing it's done - never to need rebuilt again.

I think that's what pastors are saying when we say ministry's hard. I think what is really meant is wearisome (exhausting in an emotional way). I was reading Thessalonians this morning. In the first few chapters Paul shares how he struggled for them. He worked all day and all night. He agonized in prayer for them. He worried about them - to the point of sending Timothy to them, for they were (as he put it) his glory and joy. I think that's what pastor's mean. Ministry is never done. We agonize over the flock day and night. The "wall" (people and their lives) can tumble down at any time during the night. Personal joys often seemed dampened by the "weight" of others' struggles and sadness. Family nights (and they don't come often), depend on the phone.

Pastors can't do anything else. Before you think this sounds whiny, let me say true pastors willingly give themselves because like Paul, the flock is our glory and joy. Lisa and I took the weekend away. We needed some quiet time to refresh, but also a time to let God re-calibrate the calling. Honestly, when pastors grow weary of the phone, it's time to do that. Getting away always stirs in me a desire to get back. My heart can't be away from those I care about for long. So, I'm up early today, looking forward to putting a few fallen blocks back up on the wall. God is good. Wait, I think I hear my cell phone...