A Reason to Stay: A Pastor's Encouragement

Recently, I attended our church’s business meeting and as part of the agenda for that meeting the pastor was going to introduce us to a gentleman who had felt the call into pastoral ministry on his life. Those who have felt that call can probably remember that moment with some vividness. For me that moment still brings me both awe and excitement and if I’m being completely honest, a little trepidation. As a pastor, I love to see the Lord working in others’ lives, and especially within churches that develop and foster those who feel that call on their lives.

Toward the end of the meeting the pastor brought this gentleman up and asked him, “Why is it a moral imperative for you to go into ministry?” Great question to ask someone who is thinking about going into ministry. After he shared, the pastor then got up and encouraged people to stand up and encourage this brother as he begins his pastoral ministry. Some stood up and said good things about him and his family, others encouraged him and spoke to how he had already impacted their lives and were excited for this next step in his journey. Still others sought to encourage him in the future trials he would encounter in his ministry, and called on him to look to God for strength, saying things like “the enemy will have his sights set on you now”, and “I pray against the afflictions you will suffer while in ministry”.

While these are well-meant words, and can be of some encouragement, the reality that most pastors face is that the afflictions they will suffer will come from those they are called to shepherd. While there will most definitely be attacks from the enemy on the outside, Satan knows the most effective attacks will come from those the pastor calls brother or sister or friend. How is a pastor to respond when those he is closest to, loves truly, and desires to shepherd are the ones who cause the most discouragement and are often the main reason pastors abandon pastoral ministry?

I remember when I spoke to my pastor after feeling the call to ministry and him telling me that “if there is anything else you can do with your life, do that instead… but if God is genuinely calling you, you won’t be able to do anything else.” My first week in seminary the President of the seminary, Dr. Bailey, met with all the incoming students and shared a surprising statistic with us. He told us to look to our right and look to our left. Out of the three of us, only one would still be in ministry after five years. That’s a 66% rate of attrition. And I can tell you that it has held true. While at seminary we were placed in groups called spiritual formation groups, we liked to call them forced discipleship groups. In my group we had six members, although it dropped to five within a semester, because we already lost one! I have had the pleasure and joy of being in vocational ministry now for just over a decade. Out of the six, only two of us remain in ministry.

From my experience pastors leave for a variety of reasons, but I would argue that the majority of them leave because of how they have experienced the church. I’ve seen it due to years of being underpaid and unable to support their family, and then being shamed for asking the church for more. I’ve seen it happen because of poor leadership, because of betrayal, because of apathy in the church, and many more reasons. Several months ago I resigned as a senior pastor after experiencing a betrayal by men I had trusted and served alongside. It has been one of the most difficult things my wife and I have gone through in ministry. I still pray for that church.

And despite that hurt, I still find myself in love with the local church. I don’t say this because I think I’m special or more resilient than pastors who leave ministry, but rather I see it as a grace of God. You see one of the things a pastor must have is a right understanding of his calling. First and foremost, we are called to love God. For pastors, that love of Christ leads us to loving what He loves, His bride, the church. You must have a passion for it, to see it thrive, to see it grow, to see it multiply.

Pastoral ministry is hard, primarily because the ones you love, the ones whom you are called to care for are more than likely the ones who are going to cause you the most suffering. If I might encourage you pastor, or future pastor, or maybe friend who used to be a pastor, remember that God is faithful. He is faithful.

While I did not stand up and offer these thoughts at the business meeting, I would tell the man that the hardest days will come from those inside that room, from people he will know, he will love, whose kids he might have baptized. And I would tell him that on those days he will need and want a reason to stay.

Here is the one that I have for him: Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:16-18,

“At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

2 Timothy 4:16-18

There are some things worth seeing for all who are in ministry. First, the Lord will sometimes be the only one who stands beside you, and standing true to the calling when that is the case is what genuine faithfulness looks like in ministry. Second, He stood beside Paul for a purpose, so Paul would deliver the message of the Gospel to the Gentiles. The Lord strengthens you for a purpose, and that purpose is for you to point people to Jesus. Third, He rescues Paul. Paul declares in verse 18 that the Lord will rescue him from every evil deed and bring him safely into His heavenly kingdom. We have that promise as well, but we should also recognize that the statement transcends this earth. The reality is that Paul was most likely executed not long after writing this. We should recognize that it is a rescue into the kingdom, and that is the only rescue that cannot be taken from you. So rest in the promise that no matter the evil deed done to you He will rescue you and bring you safely into His heavenly kingdom.

My encouragement to those still in it is this. Stay near to Him, trust that He is faithful. If you have left, know that He has not left you. He loves you. And if you are perhaps reading this from the pew (or chair), go and tell your pastor that you see the work he does, and you appreciate it. This is something Scripture actually tells us to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13.

“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

It will take you two minutes, but it might be the encouragement that he really needs.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.