(No idea why this failed to post 7/19 so I rescheduled it for today.) I ran across a blog called Failing Pastor that I’m sharing today. I don’t know who is behind it, or even whether he is Lutheran or not, but my heart really goes out to him and, frankly, to all who have borne heavy burdens in the Office of the Holy Ministry.
So today can we say an extra prayer for our pastors and for all pastors, and, yep, even those who were pastors?
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Mary, what a great blog! I loved its absolute warts and all honesty. All church members ought to read it as it gives so many valuable insights into how satan is alive and well in the church and how he successfully manipulates, undermines and destroys God’s saving work through His faithful pastors. You get your dodgy pastors but if the members knew their scriptures, even these pastors could perhaps be lovingly and prayerfully steered back to true teaching. I think it was CS Lewis who said, ‘Nowhere does satan tempt more than on the steps of the altar’.
I think this pastor is anything but a failure. He’s a resounding success in exposing satan’s strategies in the church. But I am sad it was at such a great cost to his well-being. Still, things are learnt best in adversity.
All through the blog I also noticed that scriptural ignorance in the members is a massive problem (always has been) reducing the church to just another secular human club – ‘My people die for lack of knowledge’. Everyone has a personal responsibility for his own faith. Christians also seem adverse to and even embarrassed to talk freely and easily about God to their fellow believers, let alone strangers! Shame, ignorance and/or irrelevancy? I would suggest all three.
The pastor isn’t God. He’s a fellow human being and a fellow servant of God who deserves and needs the encouragement and support of his members. After all, anyone can criticize and bring down another human being but it takes prayer, grace, love, forgiveness and discernment to build someone up. And God expects nothing less than this.