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https://churchanswers.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Ministry-Sign-With-Wooden-Cubes.png1200628I pastored a church for 14 years before I became a seminary professor more than 29 years ago. I loved pastoring, and I miss some part of it every day. I miss preaching to the same people each week, baptizing new converts, serving the Lord’s Supper, officiating weddings, overseeing child dedications, and honoring believers and their Lord at funerals. I miss celebrating victories and sharing heartaches with other believers. On the other hand, my role as a church consultant has also reminded me that pastoral ministry is tough. Our congregations are likely not as messy as the church at Corinth, but they’re still messy. People still sin. Undiscipled people—including some who’ve never become believers in the first place—are still in our congregations. At the same time, our enemy aims his arrows at churches in hopes of turning believers against each other. So, what do we do when ministry’s a mess? I make no claim that I’ve always been successful in working through the mess, but here’s a response that has helped me recurrently for several decades: return to your call.