Ministerials

Ministry is a lonely calling, especially for a retiring, studious type. The study is a remarkable place to hide, amidst the bibles and commentaries and dusty volumes on systematics. One can hide from denominational bureaucracy, church politics, isolated and not-so-isolated criticisms. And the sermon needs to get done. As Simon and Garfunkel sang, "I have my books and my poetry to protect me."

There are few who understand the stresses of the work. One group that does understand is fellow ministers. But groups of ministers can be a source of great stress as well. Constant competition about who has the least time to do anything, about how large their church is getting, how the church has abandoned worship for politics, etc. I have been a part of these kinds of ministerial groups, and really didn’t fare well. I am never too busy, and my church really isn’t that large.

So, I thank God that I have a wonderful ministerial group here in Hartland: nine local pastors working well together. This is a group with a long history, with ebbs and flows depending on the personalities of the pastors involved. We gather for prayer every Wednesday morning, which always begins with a conversation about life in ministry. We discuss theology, resources. We joke with each other, and share one another’s struggles. 

AND WE PRAY. We pray for each other. We pray for our communities, the struggling and the sick. We pray for our nation. But mostly we pray for revival. We pray for a working of God’s Holy Spirit. And the Spirit moves in that room, as I am overcome each week as our different prayers are lifted up. There is a joy to being surrounded by the heartfelt prayers of righteous brothers in Christ.

We differ in our training, our styles, our backgrounds. We differ on baptism, eschatology, and other theological points. But we are united by the one Lord Jesus Christ, and our one faith in him. We are all sinners saved by grace. We are not in competition to be better than the church across the road. The only battles we fight are the ones we fight against the powers of darkness and the enemies of the church. And our mutual prayers arm us for that fight.