I recently saw on my Facebook Newsfeed, a link to a blog post entitled ‘7 ways to hurt your pastor’ .  I clicked on the link and I arrived at a blogpage (http://thomrainer.com/2014/06/16/seven-ways-hurt-pastor/) that listed ways by which pastors get hurt (intentionally or unintentionally) by their members.  I was definitely moved by the article.  I actually posted a comment on the site.

I think I said that I was a pastor’s kid and from my experience, a pastor has to develop a thick hide and thick knees — the thick hide is to protect himself from hurtful comments and undeserved criticisms; the thick knees is the result of praying a lot for people who are often unaware that their words are stinging barbs.

I think I also said that one should not contemplate going into the pastorate if one were not ready for nasty comments and criticism — the pastorate is a position of leadership, naturally, you will have naysayers and detractors.  This is par for the course and a pastor has to learn how to roll with the punches.

I think that the most important comment I made on that site was that Jesus Christ preached the word and healed the sick and yet, in gratitude, people crucified him — do we expect better treatment? No man is greater than his Master.  And in fact, Jesus Christ predicted that this would happen to his most faithful followers (he only had 120 all in all).  For this reason, Jesus told them that they are blessed when men revile them, and persecute them and say all manner of falsehood against them for His sake.

I think I even quoted 1 Thessalonians 3:3 ” …no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereto.”  I didn’t have time or space to include Philippians 1:29 “it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.”  It is a privilege to suffer for His sake.  It is a mark of servanthood to suffer for Christ. My father, a pastor for the last 50 years often says that if as a pastor, you are not criticized, it’s probably because you’re not doing anything!

I think that most people who go into the ministry think that they are doing a good thing (and they are).  What is disappointing to them is to realize that very few people think that they are doing a good thing — serving the true and the living God is not high on the world’s list of most promising careers or lucrative professions.  People actually think that being a pastor means they only need to get up every Sunday behind a pulpit and tell everybody else what to do and how to run their lives (not true).

Most people go into the pastorate because they think they are a ‘people person’ and that they have a heart to serve (they probably are, and they probably do). However, ministering to people’s needs is a very tricky thing — what you think people need is often, different from what people think they need.  The Bible says that a pastor’s duty is three-fold: exhort, rebuke and reprove.  This is because man’s greatest need is to repent of their sin and get right with God. Now, what congregation of modern individuals are ready to admit that they are ‘sinners’ in need of a Savior?  What self-absorbed people want to be told that they are unacceptable to God because of sin which is why God sent his Son Jesus Christ as a propitiation for their sin?

What kind of people accept that in order to enjoy their salvation and to enjoy fellowship with a holy God, they need to keep themselves clean by daily reading the Word, daily examining themselves and daily submitting themselves to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. Do you hear pastors preach this way these days?  When was the last time you heard a pastor speak on sin and how it offends our thrice holy God? When have you lately seen the Holy Spirit move so profoundly that everyone in the congregation is convicted of his or her sin? Sadly, pastors don’t do this anymore.  They think that their job is to get people organized for activities.

Most pastors want to be loved and cherished by their congregations (I’m not saying that’s a bad thing). However, that is a fringe benefit — it is not the compensation or reward for the job.  You are a happy pastor indeed if your members love you.  My Dad used to say to the first year students at the Bible Seminary — if you want to be cared for and loved, you are in the wrong place.  Being a servant of the Lord is a call to arms against sin, the world and the flesh.  Apostle Paul told Timothy — endure hardness like a good soldier because this is what ministry is — it is a battle.

In my experience, pastors who are crying and broken because of disappointment and discouragement brought about by criticism are preoccupied with the ‘self’ instead of being preoccupied with Jesus Christ. They are working in the power of the self and of the flesh which is why they get hurt a lot.  Apostle Paul said, ‘none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself’.  The reason why so many pastors are walking around wounded and are moved to leave the ministry is because they still count their lives dear unto themselves. They still worry about their reputation — they still worry about what the board thinks. They should be worried about what God thinks.  They are after all, accountable to Him first and foremost.

I’m not a pastor (I’m female, so I will never be a pastor) but I am a pastor’s kid (until now!). When I hear words that sting, I bracket my anger and hold my tongue.  I go to God and tell him that I’m hurt.  And then, I submit myself to the Lord.  I say, Lord, only you can tell me whether those words hurt because they were true, or because they were so untrue. Please show me if I have sinned and hurt this person (which is why the person is dripping with malice) or if this person is going through something that I don’t know anything about.  Change my mind and my heart about this person and his words.  This prayer is always answered.  God always changes my mind and shows me ‘a more excellent way’.  It takes hours, sometimes, weeks or months, at some times, but God will always provide comfort and boldness in good measure.

I am reminded of a story I read somewhere (I can’t remember exactly where) — there was this missionary and his wife who were coming home to retire in the US after years of backbreaking labor in some remote area.  They didn’t know that on the ship they were travelling in as third class passengers, the American President Theodore Roosevelt was also traveling in first class.  When they arrived at the port, there was a marching band and confetti — the enthusiastic crowd greeted Theodore Roosevelt who had come home brandishing an animal he had hunted.  The missionary and his wife got off the ship and there was no one to greet them.  Years of toil were over and only uncertainty about the future was in sight for them.  For days, the missionary was sad about this — he had lost his youth, his health and his strength working in the mission field and he comes home and there is no one to welcome him home.  He locked himself in his room to cry so his wife won’t see him.  He prayed and read his Bible.  And then, after a few days of brooding, he came out to greet his wife with a smile on his face — no wonder, he said, that were wasn’t anyone to welcome us home — this is not our home.  This world is not out home, we are just passing through.  Our reward and recognition will come later, when we reach our eternal home.

By implication, if you receive your recognition and your reward from your loving and adoring congregation — well, ‘thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things’.  What have you to look forward to in heaven when you have already received your reward from men?

These thoughts become more relevant because tomorrow I start teaching a new batch of students in Church History.  That is what the subject is called, but truly, I teach Baptist History — Baptist History is written in blood.  It began with John the Baptizer, the forerunner or advance party for Jesus Christ — he was beheaded.  Jesus Christ — the Author and Finisher of our faith — well, he was crucified.  All the other apostles were brutally killed as well, except for John the Beloved who lived through exile and imprisonment in a hostile island called Patmos.  Most believers (whole families, whole churches, whole communities of believers) in the first century suffered for the testimony of the Gospel.  They are the ‘cloud of witnesses’ who surround us as we run the race with patience, looking unto Jesus.

My father used to tell young people at our church — if you want to surrender your life to the Lord and study at the seminary because it will be glamorous — go home. The ministry is not for people who want to be comfortable.  It is not for people who want to be at ease — the ministry is for those who follow Christ, taking up their cross daily.

Generations of believers suffered for Christ — what makes you an exception?  If by now you still have not changed your view and you still want to avoid suffering altogether — then I doubt if you understand the Gospel at all.  Jesus Christ endured the cross, he despised the shame and for this reason, He is now ‘set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’  If you do not suffer with Christ — you cannot reign with him. So, really, your suffering (nasty rumors, nasty comments, insensitive gossip, etc. ), if you offer it up to God as an identification with the suffering of Christ — the suffering will be something that draws you nearer to Christ.  It will transform you — it will make you more like Christ.

So, please, quit your bellyachin’ — be proud to suffer in behalf of Christ. In this regard, many may have been called, but only a select few have been chosen — you were chosen and you chose to follow Christ — take up your cross and follow him.