THE STORMS OF LIFE AND PUTTING BROKEN LIVES BACK TOGETHER AND PASTORAL HELP
I have to realize that we as pastors/ teachers/ leaders/ counselors have to deal with a world of broken lives.
To be critical of people who you don't believe to be faithful to the Lord's work, one has to stop and realize that maybe it's because they are faced dealing with broken lives. I have to stop to realize people who do love the Lord and love the church, are sometimes faced with broken lives in their family.
I am glad that because of our love for our family we don't kick those who have broken lives out of the house. While it's hard for me personally, (maybe it because of my gender) to be emotionally involved with people, I do realize the emotional burden that parents, especially moms have toward their family.
HELP FOR PASTORS:
We live in a broken world. "It’s a Jungle Out There" Each year, the administrative, legal, and regulatory challenges of ministry seem to grow more time-consuming and complex.
Because of the chaos of many lives, their lives affect others as well. As Christians we usually are affected by the chaos of our family and church family, and often they feel drained by the stress and frustration. As a result the energy to spiritual service is forced to the back burner.''
"Tide was high, I don't wanna knock my head on rocks."
THE CHALLENGE OF MINISTRY
- Getting the work of ministry done is always a challenge. The ability to motivate and engage others in the work to be done is a critical aspect of achieving your ministry goals. And, without able and energized volunteers, any church will grind to a halt. How to cultivate and nurture effective ministry in lives of those who are spiritually challenged is a task.
- The world in which we live has become increasingly complex and filled with laws affecting our ministries that we did not need to deal with in the past. Regardless of the state in which you minister, you are subject to “abuse reporting” rules of some type. The failure to comply can affect your ministry and subject you to personal fines or even incarceration.
THE STORMS OF LIFE
Ministry is just a succession of storms of life. There is always a storm coming through our ministry. Mark 4:1-2 You believe you are ready for any storm that comes into your life and the life of the church; but as you come into the storm, you begin to realize maybe you are not ready.
Storms in life, broken lives coming into our care, will bring out your belief in God. The challenge is to put our faith in a God who is in the boat with us. "Lord, do you care for us, or not." Mark 4:35-41. "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" You are sleeping during our storm.
What do we really believe about God, what is your theology? It comes to light in a storm.
The challenge in the pastor's life is to know God is in this ministry with us. The challenge with the people is to know God is in the boat with us as we deal with storms and broken lives that come into our life. The challenge with pastors, elders, is to let the people know, you too are in the boat with them.
I fail to realize I need to say, "How can I help you?" But maybe the Lord is still teaching us. The Lord is giving me wisdom and understanding as I have taught in Proverbs 4:1-10 this past Sunday.
