{"id":731633,"date":"2021-01-18T19:17:28","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T01:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=731633"},"modified":"2021-01-18T19:17:28","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T01:17:28","slug":"a-challenging-word-of-encouragement-for-hurting-pastors-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/a-challenging-word-of-encouragement-for-hurting-pastors-today\/","title":{"rendered":"A Challenging Word of Encouragement for Hurting Pastors Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

You might feel you\u2019re pastoring the church at Corinth today, and your heart\u2019s hurting. A quick look at that church shows they were about as messy as a church can get. They were, among other things: arguing and divided, living carnally, tolerating sin, suing each other, abusing their spiritual liberty, observing the Lord\u2019s Supper wrongly, battling over spiritual gifts, and denying the resurrection. Surely this was a church any sane pastor would want to avoid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, I\u2019m struck by the way Paul began and ended the letter of 1 Corinthians. Before the apostle ever hammered away at their vices\u2014and that he did\u2014he began by letting them know he always thanked God for them. He saw them as a uniquely gifted congregation, called into fellowship with the Son who would complete His work in them (1 Cor 1:4-9). If we stopped with these verses, in fact, we would see the Corinthian church as a glowing one.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, Paul ended this letter with one of the most intimate closures of any of his New Testament letters: \u201cMy love be with all of you in Christ Jesus\u201d (1 Cor 16:24). He truly loved these people, and he wanted them to know that fact so well that he closed this letter with these words. So, Paul thanked God for them in chapter 1 and expressed his love for them in chapter 16\u2014and in between, he essentially said, \u201cYou\u2019re an absolute mess!\u201d Somehow, Paul was able to see God\u2019s hand in His church despite all the apparent victories of the enemy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my point. None of the churches we pastor is perfect. The folks we lead are sinners. They still fight. They don\u2019t always exhibit the strongest theology. The enemy still wins in their lives far too often.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, our churches are also still made up of God\u2019s people. Still, He has gifted each of them in some capacity. Still, God will complete His work in them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And, still, we must thank God for our congregations and love them\u2014even when they drive us crazy. In fact, we earn the credibility to speak into their messes when our gratitude and love for them are genuine and obvious.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a hurting pastor, I encourage you to pray these prayers today:<\/span><\/p>\n