{"id":4423,"date":"2019-02-27T15:13:45","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T21:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4423"},"modified":"2019-02-27T15:13:45","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T21:13:45","slug":"the-job-hazard-of-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/the-job-hazard-of-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Job Hazard of Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kevin Riggs<\/strong><\/p>\n

I no longer remember what she said. I vaguely recall the\u00a0context from which she spoke. I am confident she did\u00a0I not mean any harm, and it’s highly possible I took what\u00a0I she said the wrong way. She was not a vindictive person, and she had proven herself to be among the most\u00a0faithful and supportive church members I had. Nevertheless,\u00a0her words pierced me like no sword ever could. They hurt deeply, and I went home and cried.<\/p>\n

After church that Wednesday night, I stood in my\u00a0driveway shooting basketball, crying, praying and, at\u00a0times, yelling at God.<\/p>\n

“Get me out of this church,” I prayed in pain, “l can’t\u00a0take it anymore.”<\/p>\n

“Why aren’t we growing? What am I doing wrong?”\u00a0I asked angrily.<\/p>\n

This “shoot-around” with God lasted about 45 minutes.\u00a0Nothing was settled. I didn’t feel better, and I received no\u00a0lightning bolts full of wisdom. I simply grew tired and went to\u00a0bed discouraged . . . again.<\/p>\n

In the Pit <\/strong><\/p>\n

Discouragement is the job hazard of ministry. I know I\u00a0have been there, and I still struggle with discouragement\u00a0continually. I have pastored my one and only church eight\u00a0years now. That’s over 400 Sundays and 400 discouraging\u00a0Mondays. I came to this church immediately after college at\u00a0age 23, and with virtually no previous pastoral experience. I\u00a0was a prime candidate for discouragement.<\/p>\n

A. W. Tozier said, “It is impossible for God to use a man\u00a0greatly until He has hurt him deeply.”<\/p>\n

I have been hurt deeply. For over\u00a0two years I wallowed in the pit of discouragement.\u00a0Things were not going\u00a0well at church, and I was being attacked by fellow brothers in the ministry.\u00a0Some of the things I was going\u00a0through were my own fault, others\u00a0were not.<\/p>\n

I pictured myself as a jet fighter pilot\u00a0whose plane had been hit and\u00a0was on its way down. I had been\u00a0knocked into a tail spin and was\u00a0fighting desperately to hang on, regain\u00a0control and pull out of the spin.\u00a0Thankfully, I survived . . . but not\u00a0without battle scars.<\/p>\n

Looking back I now know that\u00a0discouragement can be a barren\u00a0waste land in which you feel all\u00a0alone, or it can be fertile soil in which\u00a0your faith and trust in God can grow\u00a0miraculously. It all depends on how\u00a0you deal with it.<\/p>\n

Hard Lessons <\/strong><\/p>\n

I do not consider myself an expert,\u00a0but I have learned some valuable\u00a0lessons. I’ve learned that a person\u00a0never “overcomes” discouragement.\u00a0There are no three steps, and\u00a0“presto-chango,” you will never be\u00a0discouraged again.<\/p>\n

While you can’t permanently overcome\u00a0discouragement, you need not\u00a0be overwhelmed by it either. You can\u00a0learn to deal with it. If you want to survive\u00a0in ministry, you must<\/em>learn to deal\u00a0with it.<\/p>\n

I have learned, and am learning,\u00a0how to deal with discouragement.\u00a0My teacher and mentor has been the\u00a0Apostle Paul, a true expert on the\u00a0subject. The more Paul tried to do\u00a0right, the more he got himself in trouble\u2014\u00a0that’s discouraging. The more\u00a0he tried to help people, the more\u00a0they wanted to stone him\u2014still more\u00a0discouragement.<\/p>\n

On one occasion Paul was in\u00a0prison, but instead of being discouraged\u00a0he wrote a letter emphasizing\u00a0joy. That letter is known as Philippians,\u00a0and in it I have learned three\u00a0things that have helped me deal with\u00a0discouragement.<\/p>\n

Remember Purpose <\/strong><\/p>\n

One thing I have learned is that\u00a0when I am discouraged I must not\u00a0forget my purpose. I must remind\u00a0myself who I am in Christ and what it\u00a0is God has called me to do.<\/p>\n

Paul summed up his purpose\u00a0when he wrote, “That I may know\u00a0him (Christ) . . .” (Philippians 3:10).\u00a0What helped me deal with my discouragement\u00a0was spending time\u00a0alone with God and defining His purpose\u00a0for my life. From that time I determined\u00a0that my purpose is to love\u00a0the Lord with all my heart and love\u00a0my neighbor as myself (Matthew\u00a022:3740).<\/p>\n

Now when ministry gets me discouraged, I remind myself that my\u00a0purpose is not to pastor the largest\u00a0church in the world or even in my\u00a0denomination, but to love God and\u00a0love others. If I am doing that, then I\u00a0am successful.<\/p>\n

Look Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another lesson is that when I am\u00a0discouraged I must not focus on my\u00a0past. It’s easy to look back on past failures and realize I will never be all God\u00a0wants me to be. The Enemy loves to\u00a0remind me of my past, and so do other people. I have learned that focusing\u00a0on past failures keeps me bogged\u00a0down in defeat, while focusing on\u00a0past victories keeps me from seizing\u00a0the opportunities of today.<\/p>\n

When I get discouraged I try to\u00a0say, like Paul, “l count not myself to\u00a0have apprehended . . .”\u2014l know I\u00a0have failed in the past, and I know I\u00a0haven’t been all God wanted me to\u00a0be\u2014”. . . but this one thing I do, forgetting\u00a0those things which are behind\u00a0. . .” (Philippians 3:13).<\/p>\n

I find that when I concentrate on\u00a0the present and plan for the future in’\u00a0stead of dwelling on my past, I am\u00a0not as likely to be overwhelmed by\u00a0discouragement.<\/p>\n

Press On <\/strong><\/p>\n

One final lesson I have learned is\u00a0that when I am discouraged the best\u00a0way to deal with it is to firmly press\u00a0on. I need the same determination\u00a0that caused Paul to say, “I press on toward\u00a0the goal. . .” (Philippians 3:14).<\/p>\n

When I played basketball at Free\u00a0Will Baptist Bible College, Coach Byron\u00a0Deel had a series of agonizing\u00a0drills that were nothing short of torture. It was easy to get tired and lazy\u00a0during those drills. Sometimes I\u00a0would whine and complain saying,\u00a0“Coach, I can’t go on. I need to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Deel would compassionately\u00a0respond by yelling, “Suck it up,\u00a0Kevin, and keep going.”<\/p>\n

If there was anything I heard God\u00a0saying to me that night while shooting basketball in my driveway, it was,\u00a0“Suck it up, Kevin, and keep going.”\u00a0Sometimes the only thing that keeps\u00a0me going is a dogged determination\u00a0that this is where God wants me.<\/p>\n

Lightning Bolt <\/strong><\/p>\n

Not long ago a friend stopped by\u00a0my office just to talk. He brought me\u00a0a Coke, interrupted my sermon\u00a0preparation, sat down on my office\u00a0couch and started talking about\u00a0everything . . . and about nothing.<\/p>\n

A few years earlier this man was\u00a0out of church, an alcoholic with a\u00a0couple of DUIs, and on the verge of\u00a0losing his job and his wife. Now he\u00a0has been sober for more than two\u00a0years, his job is secure, he and his\u00a0wife have two lovely children, and\u00a0they are active members in my\u00a0church.<\/p>\n

As he sat in my office talking, I reflected\u00a0on where God had brought\u00a0him and the privilege I had to be\u00a0God’s instrument in reaching out to\u00a0this man and his family. When he left\u00a0with his young son grasped around\u00a0his leg, I received that lightning bolt\u00a0of wisdom I had been looking for on\u00a0that Wednesday night in my driveway:\u00a0Discouragement may be the job\u00a0hazard of ministry, but the benefits\u00a0far outweigh the danger.<\/em><\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact<\/em>magazine, February 1997.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kevin Riggs I no longer remember what she said. I vaguely recall the\u00a0context from which she spoke. I am confident she did\u00a0I not mean any harm, and it’s highly possible I took what\u00a0I she said the wrong way. She was not a vindictive person, and she had proven herself to be among the most\u00a0faithful and supportive church members I had. Nevertheless,\u00a0her words pierced me like no sword ever could. They hurt deeply, and I went home and cried. After church that Wednesday night, I stood in my\u00a0driveway shooting basketball, crying, praying and, at\u00a0times, yelling at God. “Get me out of this church,” I prayed in pain, “l can’t\u00a0take it anymore.” “Why aren’t we growing? What am I doing wrong?”\u00a0I asked angrily. This “shoot-around” with God lasted about 45 minutes.\u00a0Nothing was settled. I didn’t feel better, and I received no\u00a0lightning bolts full of wisdom. I simply grew tired and went to\u00a0bed discouraged . . . again. In the Pit Discouragement is the job hazard of ministry. I know I\u00a0have been there, and I still struggle with discouragement\u00a0continually. I have pastored my one and only church eight\u00a0years now. That’s over 400 Sundays and 400 discouraging\u00a0Mondays. I came to this church immediately […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4423"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4424,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4423\/revisions\/4424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}