{"id":811415,"date":"2023-08-29T05:00:25","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T10:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=811415"},"modified":"2024-05-29T07:12:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T12:12:08","slug":"10-things-that-surprise-rookie-pastors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/10-things-that-surprise-rookie-pastors\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Things that Surprise Rookie Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve worked with students and graduates in their first pastorates for almost three decades. Over the years, I\u2019ve often asked them, \u201cWhat\u2019s most surprised you about the work of pastoring?\u201d In no order of priority, here are some of their responses:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. \u201cHow hard it is to prepare a sermon week after week.\u201d<\/b> What was so exciting the first time young preachers prepared a sermon can quickly become a grind when Sundays just keep coming. Pastors seldom get a preaching break unless they intentionally take it.<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. \u201cHow hard it is to maintain a consistent quiet time amid the work of pastoring.<\/b>\u201d The work is never-ending. There\u2019s always someone else to visit, some other meeting to hold, some other counseling session to lead. Finding alone time with God is not always easy.<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. \u201cHow much seemingly little things bother some people.\u201d<\/b> Sometimes church members have \u201cpet issues\u201d they fight for, argue against, or bring up with every successive pastor. Frankly, they\u2019re often insignificant issues\u2014but they\u2019re important to those members.<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. \u201cHow often pastoring requires doing things I had not expected.\u201d<\/b> Some days, pastoring might mean moving tables in preparation for a meal, helping a church member who\u2019s moving to a new home, or running the vacuum when no one else is available. Those things aren\u2019t usually on the job description.<\/span><\/li>\n
    5. \u201cHow many long-term believers have not really been discipled.\u201d<\/b> The more pastors dig into the lives of church members, the more they realize that many churches have done a poor job of making disciples. Even some leaders in the church are still babes in Christ\u2014though they probably don\u2019t recognize that fact.<\/span><\/li>\n
    6. \u201cHow much people really appreciate the clear preaching of God\u2019s Word.\u201d<\/b> There are always exceptions, but people really do want to hear a word from the Lord during the preaching event. Some, in fact, are hungry for it because they haven\u2019t received it in the past.<\/span><\/li>\n
    7. \u201cHow powerful it is when I know some members are really praying for me.\u201d<\/b> Something just happens in your heart when you know faithful, godly church members are interceding for you. Pastors can face hard times and lead through difficult situations when they know others have covered them in prayer.<\/span><\/li>\n
    8. \u201cHow little I know about the regular assignments of ministry.\u201d<\/b> Young pastors know these assignments are part of the role, but they\u2019re still learning how to do things like counseling hurting people, officiating weddings, overseeing funerals, leading meetings, and guiding staff. Most of the time, rookie pastors learn on the job.<\/span><\/li>\n
    9. \u201cHow easy it is to get so busy I give too little time to my spouse and family.\u201d<\/b> Even those young pastors who set out to avoid this problem still find themselves wrestling with it. Nobody sets out to prioritize ministry over family\u2014but still it happens.<\/span><\/li>\n
    10. \u201cHow much joy there is in pastoring.\u201d<\/b> Despite other issues on this list, most rookie pastors I\u2019ve worked with are surprised by the fun, excitement, and fulfillment pastoring brings them. My prayer is they never lose that joy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Pastors, what most surprised you in your early years of ministry?<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve worked with students and graduates in their first pastorates for almost three decades. Over the years, I\u2019ve often asked them, \u201cWhat\u2019s most surprised you about the work of pastoring?\u201d In no order of priority, here are some of their responses:\u00a0 \u201cHow hard it is to prepare a sermon week after week.\u201d What was so…","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":811417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,179,175,177,14796,194],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-811415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-answers","category-first-impressions","category-grow","category-lead","category-monday-wednesday-featured","category-preaching"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n10 Things that Surprise Rookie Pastors | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019ve worked with students and graduates in their first pastorates for almost three decades. 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