Pastors on The Journey: The Greatest Calling

I have been a pastor at the same church for over 20 years and, like you, understand the challenges of ministry. Pastors experience the great joy of leading people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the gut-wrenching emotion of watching a father serve as the lone pall-bearer carrying the casket holding his infant son down the aisle and setting it at the front of the church. And then we are supposed to get up and say something meaningful.

Not long ago, I stood in an Intensive Care Unit with a mom and dad whose son had been in a terrible accident. I was there when the doctors came in and told them that he had less than a 10 percent chance to live. I prayed that God would give me something to say and at the same time, every emotion in me wanted to be somewhere else. I also rejoiced with that family several weeks later when they sat in church with their son.

You know the drill. Every week we are expected to lead our staff in such a way that morale is high and the church is running like a well-oiled machine. We are to provide appropriate peer leadership for our elders and deacons. We are expected to give vision talks that propel people to action. There are weddings with rehearsals and long receptions. There is always a funeral to perform. And then every weekend we stand to deliver a well-studied well-crafted message that moves people to action.

Yes, you know the drill, but here’s what else you know: Despite all the challenges of ministry, we wouldn’t want to do anything else! On our worst day we lay our head on the pillow and say, “That was one tough day, but I wouldn’t trade what I get to do for anything in the world.” And we can say that because God has placed his sovereign call on our hearts. We know that ours is the greatest calling!

Every weekend we speak to churches full of people from every walk of life. Our churches are filled with CEOs, CFOs, and COOs. There are teachers and doctors and lawyers. In our congregations, there are factory workers and farmers and bus drivers and those who work concessions at the ball park.

We pastor people from all walks of life and numerous vocations. We love them. We need them. And we thank God that He has called them to do what they do. But we also thank God that He didn’t call us to do what they do. We thank God for putting the desire and the fire for ministry deep into our hearts, for ours is the greatest calling.

Regarding a pastor’s calling, C. H. Spurgeon said:

The first sign of a heavenly calling is an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work. “Do not enter the ministry if you can help it. . . .” If any[one] in this room could be content to be a newspaper editor, or a grocer, or a farmer, or a doctor, or a lawyer, or a senator, or a king, in the name of heaven and earth let him go his way . . . for a man so filled with God would utterly weary of any pursuit but that for which his inmost soul pants.

The desire should be one which continues with us, a passion which bears the test of trial, a longing from which it is quite impossible for us to escape, though we may have tried to do so; a desire, in fact, which grows more intense by the lapse of years, until it becomes a yearning, a pining, a famishing to proclaim the Word.

—Lectures to My Students, 25

Certainly we experience our share of tough times personally and professionally. We grow weary under the test of trials. The Apostle Paul had a few of those days, didn’t he? Paul wrote:

Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. . . . I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.
—2 Corinthians 11:24-28

“Yet,” Paul said, “I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” Men and women, be encouraged! Ours is the greatest calling!

And it gets even better. Not only is ours the greatest calling, we get to tell people about the greatest message! Pastors, we get to proclaim the timeless truths of God’s inerrant word! The prophet Jeremiah described God’s Word as a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces (Jeremiah 23:29). Jeremiah said, “[God’s] word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9).

Think of the privilege we have! Our calling is to take the living and enduring Word of God, study it, and proclaim the never-changing message to an ever-changing world. Apart from the Word of God, we have nothing to say. As Paul put it, “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as . . . servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5).

Prior to the 2008 Super Bowl, CBS News’ 60 Minutes did an exposé on the life of New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady. The story focused on Brady’s football accomplishments and his celebrity status off the field. But in response to his success, Brady asked this question:

Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, “Hey man, this is what it is.” I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Man, I think, “God, it’s got to be more than this.” I mean this isn’t . . . what it’s all cracked up to be.

When the interviewer asked, “What’s the answer?” Brady replied:

I wish I knew. I wish I knew. I love playing football and I love being the quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I’m trying to find.

That is not only the cry of Tom Brady’s heart. That’s the cry of every heart. St. Augustine said that every man suffers from an inward famine. Man is starving for God. And we have the answer! We know where the food is! We have the privilege of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ that fills the empty heart! We know that “it is not with perishable things such as silver or gold that man is redeemed from the empty way of life but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19.) There is something deep within that compels us to “Preach the word . . . in season and out of season.” (2 Timothy 4:2.)

Now we know that there are some who will stoop to teach whatever itching ears want to hear. And many of those churches will be filled to capacity to hear some smiley-face sermon with about as much substance and nutrition as cotton candy. But we have been called to preach the word when it is popular and when it is not. Alexander Whyte wrote, “Never think of giving up preaching! The angels around the throne envy you and your great work.”

Now there is one more thing. We understand our great calling. We are privileged to be preachers of the greatest message. And we also understand that our assignment is a weighty one. Addressing the responsibility of leadership and the vulnerability of leaders, one has written, “Men hang heavy weights on thin wires.” We know that to be true. So we ask the question: Will the battles be worth it? We know the sacrifices of ministry. We know the hard work of leadership. We know the temptations. And sometimes we ask, “Is it all worth it?”

Joshua, the Old Testament leader of Israel, was given a heavy assignment. Following the great leader Moses, God charged Joshua to lead Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua knew the challenges and the risks. Seven groups of people inhabited the Canaan and there would be many battles to fight. Right after crossing the Jordan when Joshua looked at the walled city of Jericho, he had to be asking: How in the world will we conquer such a fortified city? How would he lead God’s people to take the land? How many husbands, fathers, and sons will give their lives for what God has called us to do? Joshua asked the same question we do: Are the battles worth it?

You tell me. Our ministry is one of leading people—empty, hurting, broken, fallen—to inherit the eternal promises of the eternal God. Jesus has gone before, fought and won the battle. He is the One who leads us into the eternal promised land. And as those called to proclaim his message we get to follow him and simply encourage others to come along and follow us as we follow Christ.

When we are following Christ we can be sure that every battle is worth it. We are leading people to an eternal inheritance. And one day . . . if we do this thing right . . . we will look into His face and He will say, “Welcome home, good and faithful servant.” Yeah, every battle is worth it!

The great pianist Paderewski was holding a concert in a grand hall. A mother took her young son to the concert and, while she was talking to friends as the hall filled with people, he slipped down the aisle, crawled onto the stage, made his way to the piano . . . and started playing Chopsticks. The crowd, waiting for the great pianist, was aghast. From the wings, though, Paderewski saw what was taking place, slipped onstage behind the boy and whispered in his ear, “Keep playing . . . don’t stop . . . keep playing.” Paderewski accompanied the boy’s Chopsticks with a brilliant harmony that turned this simple piece into a masterpiece.

That’s what God does for us. When we are filled with fear, doubt, and discouragement, he puts his arms around us and says, “Don’t stop . . . keep playing . . . Don’t stop.” When we trust him, he strengthens our frightened hearts, bolsters our feeble efforts, and chases away the discouragement. He can turn a life of Chopsticks into a brilliant masterpiece.

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