Quotes about presence1/12/2023 ![]() The Archbishop insists that the natural resemblance between Christ and his priests must not stop merely with the fact that they share a common masculinity. This is, indeed, an insightful observation. We have lost our commitment to the highest levels of excellence because we have lost our awe. Mediocrity is not a time, personnel, resource, or location problem. The glories of being right, successful, in control, esteemed, and secure often become more influential in the way that ministry is done than the awesome realities of the presence, sovereignty, power, and love of God. Many pastors see more stimulated by the next ministry, vision of the next step in strategic planning than by the stunning glory of the grand intervention of grace into sin broken hearts. Many pastors are better at arguing fine points of doctrine than stimulating divine wonder. Many pastors preach a boring, uninspiring gospel that makes you wonder why people aren't sleeping their way through it. Many pastors are just cranking out because they don't know what else to do. Many pastors look at glory and don't seek glory anymore. ![]() The fact of the matter is that many pastors become awe numb or awe confused, or they get awe kidnapped. In ways of which you are not always aware, your ministry is always shaped by what is in functional control of your heart. These things are already yours in Christ. You begin to look to ministry for identity, security, hope, well-being, meeting, and purpose. When you forget the Gospel, you begin to seek from the situations, locations and relationships of ministry what you already have been given in Christ. Yet it is a war that we often naïvely ignore or quickly forget in the busyness of local church ministry. This war is the greatest threat to every pastor. ![]() It's about the subtle desires and foundational dreams. It is a war values, allegiances, and motivations. It is far on the ground of the pastor’s heart. No, the war of the pastor is a deeply personal war. And is not the constant struggle of resources and personnel to accomplish the mission. It is not the fight for the success of ministries of the church. It is not the struggle with resistant people who don't seem to esteem the Gospel. The fundamental battle of pastoral ministry is not with the shifting values of the surrounding culture. We have forgotten that pastoral ministry is war and that you will never live successfully in the pastorate if you live with the peacetime mentality. What is caused to ministry become hard and burdensome is disappointment and anger at God. No, the real struggle they are having, one that is very hard for a pastor to admit, is with God. I have talked with many pastors whose real struggle isn’t first with the hardship of ministry, the lack of appreciation and involvement of people, or difficulties with fellow leaders. She just sits simply through the nights of pain and darkness, being practical, human, simple, and direct. She lets the sufferer define the meaning of what is going on. The sensitive person grants the sufferer the dignity of her own process. They don't bustle about trying to solve something that cannot be solved. ![]() They do what wise souls do in the presence of tragedy and trauma. They don't say that the pain is all for the best. They don't attempt to reassure with false, saccharine sentiments. ![]() Finally, they don't try to minimize what is going on. Next, they do the practical things-making lunch, dusting the room, washing the towels. The sensitive person understands that each person's ordeal is unique and should not be compared to anyone else's. Many of us don't know how to react in such situations, but others do. We are called at certain moments to comfort people who are enduring some trauma. ![]()
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