When you read the word “ordinary,” what do you think of? Common synonyms include unimpressive, typical, normal, and common. As soon as you attach these synonyms to a noun, you will draw conclusions: My day was typical. The movie was unimpressive. The concert was average. When we think about a pastoral ministry we are tempted to do the same thing: My pastor is unimpressive; rather average and nothing special. He does not speak at conferences and has not written any books. He is just ordinary.
Here is the reality: an ordinary pastor is not likely to be esteemed in a society that gauges success in terms of church size, book sales, and social media influence. However, the biblical perception of success is bound up in the pastor’s faithfulness. In other words, a faithful pastor is never less than an ordinary pastor.
About 95% of solid Christian pastors labor almost in an unnoticed way: visiting the sick, weeping in prayer at night, preparing sermons (with which they are never happy), struggling with illness and personal shortcomings, preaching to people on Sunday, baptizing, leading wedding services, and crying at a gravesite with other Christians. Here is a week in the life of an ordinary pastor:
Monday
On his regular day off from church duties, the pastor volunteers to take the twenty senior citizens of his church on a day trip to an outlet shopping mall two hours away. Once there, one of the elders of the church confides this to the pastor, “Don’t tell anyone, but I went to the doctor last Friday. She says I have pancreatic cancer, and have less than six months to live.” A hour later, one of females present pulls the pastor aside and says, “The sermon you preached Sunday was such a blessing. It convinced me to read my Bible daily.”
Tuesday
On Tuesday afternoon, the pastor is
pulling into the church parking lot after a long lunch meeting with a member
when his phone rings. “Hello pastor. As you know, my wife is still recovering
from surgery. It’s been a really hard couple of weeks, and I just wanted you to
know that nobody has cared for us. Well, a little, but not like we expected. I
appreciate you coming to the hospital to pray with us, but we won’t be coming
back to your church.” The pastor offers an apology and hangs up the
phone—discouraged.
An hour later, he makes a call to
check on a sick member. “Pastor, thank you so much for making the call. We’ve
been so overwhelmed and blessed by the way the church has loved and cared for
us during this crisis. Thank you for everything.” After praying with them, he
hangs up the phone—grateful.
As he prepares to leave the office
for the day, a deacon drops by unannounced. “Hey pastor, do you have a minute?
Listen, some folks are really struggling with what happened in that last
business meeting. They don’t feel they had much of a voice in the decision, and
they’re pretty upset. I just thought you should know.” The pastor leans back in
his chair—fearful.
That evening, at a local restaurant,
another deacon stops by his table on the way out. “Good to see you, pastor.
Listen, I want you to know that we are thankful for your leadership. We support
you and the other leaders. Let me know if there’s anything I can help with.” He
finishes his meal—encouraged.
Wednesday
The next morning, he takes a break
from preparing for Wednesday Bible study and checks his email. “Good morning,
pastor. I was hoping to meet up, but everyone’s busy. Anyway, I wanted to let
you know that we’re going to start visiting other churches. Just looking for
something different.” He hangs his head and lets out a deep sigh.
Later in the day, he opens a card
that came in the mail. “Pastor, thank you for preaching the Word each week. My
family has grown so much in the Lord, and we appreciate your hard work to
carefully teach us the Bible.” He tucks the card in his Bible so that he can
read it often.
That evening, his phone rings at
10:20 p.m., which is unusual. “Hey pastor, Mom isn’t doing well. The hospice
nurse says it won’t be too much longer.”
“Okay, I’ll be right over.” He gets
out of bed and gets dressed.
Thursday
After returning home in the middle
of the night, a notification on his phone wakes him at 8:45 a.m. It was a long
night, but he grabs his phone and plays the voicemail. “Pastor, I came by to
see you at the office . . . again. Where are you? I need to talk to someone and
nobody is ever around. Call me.” He hangs up the phone—exhausted.
Friday
This was supposed to be the pastor’s
regular day to clean the church. While at home in the morning and before his ten
year-old daughter got on the school bus, she tripped and broke her left arm.
Pastor and his wife spent the majority of their day in the emergency room (ER).
The magazines in the waiting room were outdated, the vending machine food was
stale, and he was struggling in trusting God for the safety of his only child.
Saturday
Early Saturday morning he sits at
his kitchen table, working on the sermon he tried all week to finish by
Thursday. He types out the next sentence feeling disappointed in himself—yet
another Saturday where he still has sermon work to do.
Saturday evening, around 10:30 p.m.,
after a full and fun day with his family, he kisses his wife goodnight and
makes his way back to the kitchen table to finish up his sermon. Finally done
hours later, he quietly crawls into bed and falls asleep praying.
Sunday
The alarm goes off early on Sunday
morning. The pastor prepares for the day. He gathers with the saints to worship
Jesus, enjoy the fellowship of believers, and preach about the grace and
comfort of Christ.
He walks among the flock, shaking
hands, listening to prayer requests, and welcoming new faces. After lunch, he
grabs a quick nap in his recliner before it’s time to head back for evening
activities. His heart is thankful for the call to be a shepherd to Christ’s
flock.
“If your Christianity depends
upon a pastor's preaching, then you're a long way from being where you should
be.” (Aiden
Wilson Tozer)
[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“A Week in the
Life of an Ordinary Pastor” by Chris Griggs
“A Week in the
Life of an Ordinary Pastor” by Chris Griggs
·
“The Life of an Ordinary Pastor” bReformed Reader
“The Ordinary Christian Pastor” by Erik Raymond
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment