As another Pastor put it long ago, ‘I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.’ (3Jn 4). To see the members of the church responding in a godly way to the preaching of the word, to their afflictions, witnessing to their non-Christian friends, loving the brethren, delighting in the truth, bearing one another’s burdens, forgiving one another and all of that – it makes all the agonies and heartaches worthwhile!

A couple of months ago a young man considering pastoral ministry sent me (and several others) a list of excellent and searching questions about ministry. I thought the answers might provide useful insights for others thinking about Christian ministry, as well as a window into the life and soul of a Pastor for church members. Perhaps my fellow bloggers here on Gentle Reformation might like to answer some or all of the same questions, to provide a range of views on these things?

1. What is the most difficult or challenging thing about being a pastor?

The most difficult/challenging thing about being a Pastor is probably the fact that I am doing a difficult task (ministering the Word of God accurately and clearly, pastoring and counselling in a wide range of settings involving all kinds of people and problems) for which I will be judged more strictly, which requires not just technical abilities (in language, intellectual understanding, creativity, etc.) but above all godliness. In other words I can’t snap at my wife or children in the morning and then go off to work effectively, in a way that might be possible in another kind of work. I need to keep a conscience void of offence before God and man in order to do this job.

2. What has surprised you the most about being a pastor?

The depths of sin and hypocrisy in my own heart – how I can fall prey to temptation even while engaged in the holiest of work, even while preaching a sermon. I suppose I’ve been surprised by the sins of others too, which as a Pastor I have been made aware of in a way that I wouldn’t have been otherwise. And yet I’ve seen people at their best as well – it’s surprising (though it shouldn’t be) to see how people cope with the most difficult of circumstances by the grace of God.

3. What thing do you know now that you wish you knew when you first became a pastor?

I wish I had known how quickly the years would fly past, that every week counts, that I need to redeem the time, that there is never going to be a large chunk of empty time when I can read that book and so it’s better to get on with it as soon as possible!

4. Knowing how essential and vital bible reading and prayer are, aside from these two—what other things do you do to keep motivated and encouraged?

The fellowship of like-minded men in the ministry is a great encouragement: good pastors’ conferences are oases, especially where I can hear preaching live that will feed and water my own soul. Reading good Christian books for pleasure and not for work. Listening to good preaching online is the next best thing to hearing it live in a worship service. My wife is my best encourager, giving honest feedback lovingly.

5. Considering Paul’s explanation to Timothy of the biblical character traits of a truly gifted and called minster—what would you wish to elaborate or “add to” (you know what I mean) that list?

I’m always struck by how the qualifications for the elder have to do with characterrather than gifts primarily. Not that gifts are irrelevant, but graces matter even more. And once you’re in the ministry you realise how true this is. Robert Murray M’Cheyne said ‘My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.’ The longer I’ve gone on in the ministry the more I’ve appreciated this axiom. It relates to what I said on question 1 – the heart of the ministry is bound up in the heart of the minister.

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