Image via WikipediaPastors are human like everyone else. They, like all church members, battle the world, flesh, and the Devil. If you are a pastor, then examine these topics and realize your are not alone. If you are a Christian, not holding an office, then grasp this list of issues and help your pastor work through them as they come to the surface!
Listed below are 10 serious issues that can destroy a pastor’s spirit. See if your issue is mentioned!
#1 – Lack Of Integrity
(Proverbs 11:3) “The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.” (KJV)
If a pastor lacks integrity, then he is well nigh gone! If he cannot be trusted, then he is useless in the hands of His Maker. He is like the castaways which lay behind the potter’s house that are worthless. It is best to guard against the slightest hint of dishonesty and any appearance of that which would rob your best ally: YOUR INTEGRITY!
#2 – Family Problems
(Joshua 24:15) “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (KJV)
Before God gave a man a ministry, He gave him family. Even if the pastor is unmarried, he has a mother and father, etc. The family should be a haven, better still, a Garden of Eden, where solace and recuperation can be had for the hard working pastor. Problems in the home will affect the ministry if not dealt with. A bitter or hurt wife/child will distract the man of God and retract from his effectiveness. Satan knows where to focus his attention!
#3 – Nobody Saved Recently
(Psalms 126:5-6) “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (KJV)
Just as natural as it is for a young couple to have children, so it is with a child of God to see others birthed into God’s family. This certainly is applicable to the pastor. There is probably no other person in the church who desires, or should desire to see someone saved more than God’s man. With this stated, it can kill a man when there is nobody “gettin’ in”!
#4 – Little Or No, Visible Growth In The Church
(1 Corinthians 3:5-8) “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” (KJV)
One thing is for certain, God is always at work; even when we do not see it visibly. God gives the increase! Our biggest problem is that we are result oriented. God drives the “combine“, not us. When we focus our attention on His responsibility, then we are taking our eyes off of ours. Let God bring about the results. Just be a funnel through which God can channel his blessings to others. Fruit will soon blossom and remain!
#5 – Waning Compassion
(Jude 1:22) “And of some have compassion, making a difference:” (KJV)
(Matthew 9:36) “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” (KJV)
Compassion is like the fragrance of a rose. It makes a rose a rose! Compassion adds that fragrance to the influence and testimony of God’s people. Pastors who begin to lose their tenderness for people, will soon be destroyed. The battles of life’s experiences will tend to sap one’s compassion. If Jesus can ask His Father to forgive them, then pastors can follow His lead.
#6 – No Love
(John 13:35) “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (KJV)
The one thing Jesus said would be a defining characteristic of discipleship was that of their love for one another. As followers of Jesus Christ, all should show love, and pastor’s have to guard against losing this. It is so easy, especially in the midst of church-wide inner conflict.
#7 – No Vision/Goals For Future
(Proverbs 29:18) “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (KJV)
A big issue facing pastors, even seasoned men, is that of projecting a vision to the congregation. Moving from point A to point B is crucial. When things are going well it is rather simple to motivate people to do this or that, but not when things are up in the air! A preacher can really get discouraged when people aren’t motivated for the future!
#8 – Dwindling Offerings/Tithers
(Malachi 3:8) “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” (KJV)
Pastors have to address the subject of money more times than they wish. You can tell a lot about an individual as to how they respond to this subject when preached upon. Some people get mad at the pastor for one reason or another and hold back their tithes. It is not so much that the money may not be found in the offering plate, but that people are hurting themselves. This can affect a pastor’s spirit very easily!
#9 – Few Helpers In Ministry
(1 Corinthians 3:9) “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” (KJV)
Trying to serve God alone can be done, but not very easily. D. L. Moody used to say that it was better to set ten men at work than to do yourself the work of ten men. Much wisdom there, but many times the pastor, whether true or untrue, feels like he is doing things by himself. This can weather a man over time!
#10 – Destroyed Reputation By Gossipers
(1 Chronicles 16:22) “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” (KJV)
Yes, God protects a person’s reputation, but people will do their dead level best to destroy a pastor’s name in the community. It never fails but that someone will get cross-ways at a pastor, and, in anger, seek to dismantle his character piece by piece. Sometimes, pastor’s get unnerved and quit for fear of the outcome and damage to his family.
Conclusion
Pastor, you may have an entirely different list, but the issues mentioned above are all too often the source or beginning of sorrows for many men of God. If not properly dealt with, shipwreck is eminent! Maybe you are not a pastor, but just a church member. If so, then be sure to digest what you have read . It can mean the extension of your pastor’s ministry!
List An Issue That Has Burdened You Lately Below In The Comment Section!
