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1/ Pastors don’t necessarily have harder jobs than anyone else. I watched my dad come home from the railroad exhausted and soaked in sweat on a daily basis. It was often brutal. He worked harder than I ever will. (Thanks, Daddy!)
2/ So, I’m not saying that anyone should feel sorry for pastors. Not at all. Teaching, construction, sales, trucking—all hard jobs, too. Beyond this, pastoring is privilege. I liken it to a front-row seat to the work of God.
3/ I can’t count the conversations I’ve had with Christians that left me inspired, humbled, shaking my head, and amazed at God’s grace in His people. What a gift to see that up close, and I wouldn’t it trade it for all the money in the world.
4/ Having said all that, this is a particularly difficult season for many pastors. The pandemic upended in many ways what pastors dearly love—the weekly gathering of the saints.
5/ For several months, that meant no gatherings at all or extremely limited ones (sadly, for some, this limitation remains). Best case, gatherings have resumed but you feel like you’re preaching in an ER.
6/ It’s forced many into unwanted roles as (bizarre) event managers, stressing about health protocols and government restrictions. It’s created lose-lose decisions about masks, childcare, and crowd sizes.
7/ Added to all this we’ve had heartbreaking racial strife in our country. Pastors want to say what God says, and in the main that’s easy—racism is wrong, injustice is wrong, equality is right.
8/ But the particulars are incredibly difficult. Few pastors moonlight as professional sociologists, legal scholars, historians, criminologists, and education specialists, and that simultaneously. The ability to speak on any one slice of things isn’t as simple as we may think.
9/ And even when speaking, the words may not match the moment. Nuance may not be provided or heard. Understanding and perspective are inherently limited. Moreover, the middle ground is treason in a tribal age. That’s hard.
10/ And wouldn’t you know it, we have a dog-gone election this year. Less than ideal! Again, words are hard here. We need to be prophetic without being partisan. Again, that’s easy in the main—Jesus is King!
11/ Yes, pastor, I know Jesus is King, and that’s most important, but, tell me, who should I vote for?” Sometimes, the divisions mentioned above map right onto the election divides (or the other way around, perhaps).
12/ Doubtless, things could be magnitudes worse. There are brothers and sisters around the world who are carrying crosses that are far heavier and far bloodier. Lord, help them!
13/ Again, this isn’t a call to pity. But it is a call to prayer, a call to mutual encouragement between congregations and pastors, and a call to understanding that builds up rather than accusation that tears down.
14/ Maybe as much as anything, this is a plea to other pastors to quit attacking other pastors. I’m not talking about areas of heresy or unfaithfulness but in areas of understandable difference or emphasis.
15/ Really, I’m talking about Christian charity. You are probably having a hard go of it. I’m sorry about that. I really am. Just remember that the other guy probably is as well. We have a real enemy, and he ain’t it.
