There seems, at least in my perspective, to be an unfortunate emphasis on the negative side of the pastoral ministry – conflict, long hours, budget woes, neglect, burnout, etc. Is that all the ministry amounts to? Not a chance! And I think pastors need to be guarded and resist the temptation of letting those things quench the gratitude we ought to have for the great service we’ve been entrusted with by Jesus Christ.

The other day I was reading what could probably be called a pastoral resume. It was filled with an honest assessment of what the ministry had cost this individual. There were notes about abuse he had experienced, exhaustion in both body and soul, the hardships and disappointments that had followed him. For this man the ministry demanded nothing less than his life – spending and being spent for the sake of the gospel. Yet, this same man writing in another place to a younger pastor wrote: “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service” (1 Timothy 1:12). The Apostle Paul knew better than almost anyone the hardships of ministry. But never did those hardships quench the gratitude he had for serving in the ministry.

In my almost six years of pastoral ministry I’ve often returned to those words. In knowing a lot of pastors I’m aware that the ministry is difficult for many of them. I remember reading a letter from Mary Winslow to her son Octavius where she reminded him: “When you accepted the pastoral office you commenced a life of trial both from saint and sinner.” There’s a note of experienced wisdom in those words. But there seems, at least in my perspective, to be an unfortunate emphasis on the negative side of the pastoral ministry – conflict, long hours, budget woes, neglect, burnout, etc. Is that all the ministry amounts to? Not a chance! And I think pastors need to be guarded and resist the temptation of letting those things quench the gratitude we ought to have for the great service we’ve been entrusted with by Jesus Christ.

There really are so many blessings and joys that accompany gospel ministry. So, from a pastor’s perspective what are some of those?

It’s a blessing to be accepted into the life of a church. I became a pastor of a close-knit congregation that has a long history together. But very quickly people began weaving us into their lives and I’ve never been made to feel like an outsider or even a guest. It’s often amazed me how quickly the Lord established the fellowship of the Spirit with affection, compassion, and love.

It’s a joy to see the way my children are loved. Though grandparents live far away our children are privileged to have a congregation where they (with the other children in church) are known, cared for, valued, invested in, and protected. From the littlest things like when my daughter lost her blanket after an evening activity and it turned into a church-wide blanket hunt, to when we had a sobbing child getting stitches and a woman from church came and sat with her in the ER. Members in our congregation read the stories they write, look at the artwork they draw, greet with smiles and hugs, and remember their birthdays.

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