We asked pastors to share with us their experiences with discouragement and to tell us where they find encouragement in their calling.
The sources of discouragement were familiar: the sheer burden of the time required to do the job, the demands on the pastor’s family, the pastor assuming the burdens of church members as his own, criticism, apathy, betrayal.
However, the encouragement pastors received from a number of sources often — although not always — trumped the debilitating effects of discouragement. Pastors reported finding encouragement mostly through other people: deacons, church leaders, fellow pastors, directors of missions, family members and in the camaraderie of other men. Some also said they found all the encouragement they needed in the Bible, itself.
Here are some of the responses we received.
My calling itself is encouragement
I find encouragement in my calling. I consider the 40-or-so people whom I am privileged to pastor as my charge and calling (Acts 20:28). It doesn’t matter if I have 40 or 4,000 — I’m responsible to the Lord for equipping and teaching each and every one of them. Charles Haddon Spurgeon is reported to have once said that God only gave him large churches because he didn’t have the talent to pastor a small one. Of course, I have moments of discouragement, especially when someone who has been sitting in my congregation for decades sounds like he or she doesn’t have a clue what the gospel is or what the Scripture says, but such occurrences are very infrequent.
— Jack Williamson
First Baptist Church of Ridgeway
Deacons: Great prayer warriors
Like most pastors, I received the speech from professors and other pastors not to give deacons or other church members details of my struggles or personal life because they might hold it against me or because it might weaken my ministry. I lived in a constant state of guardedness.
I am a bivocational pastor, and my full-time job is in law enforcement. Constant internalization of my experiences as a law officer was reaping a heavy emotional toll. One night in my prayer time, I believe the Holy Spirit revealed to me that I had promised God I would fight and die with these men (deacons) in Christ’s name, but somehow I could not trust them with my problems. Later, at a deacon’s meeting, I decided to enlist them as prayer warriors in a difficult personal situation. As I shared my situation, I looked around the room to see those men I love crying with me. We had one of the most powerful times of prayer I have ever experienced, and I believe that it has drawn us closer together as leaders and servants of God. I believe it started a bond that will grow stronger as we serve the Lord together.
My encouragement now comes from deacons and some trusted people in the church who know the real me — and they still love me, pray for me, and go out of the way to make sure that my family and I know we are loved and prayed for. This experience was a turning point in my ministry and our church. Scripture reminds us: “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.” Are pastors not also part of the body of Christ? We, too, must seek the love and encouragement of the church!
— Todd Johnson
The Master’s Baptist Church, Whitmire
Church members encourage a healthier lifestyle
I am thankful to serve a church where the members love me and my family as we love them. We don’t always get it right, but we are in it together. Our deacons, staff, church leaders and church members encourage me and follow me as I strive to follow Christ.
Three years ago, some serious health conditions were revealed to me through a health checkup at the Southern Baptist Convention. I was told point-blank that if I continued with my current health practices, I would not be present here on earth with my family and available to serve in ministry much longer. I came home and shared that information with my family and our church leadership. Everyone supported me beyond what I could have expected as I transitioned to healthier lifestyle choices (diet and exercise) daily. We now have as much fruit and raw vegetables at church socials as we have fried chicken and macaroni pie.
I also find encouragement from the pastors of Lakelands Baptist Association. Our director of missions, David Little, has been a friend who sticks closer than a brother. My wife and our two children encourage me beyond measure as they fill my life with joy and sacrificially share me with our congregation and community without grumbling.
In recent years the Lord has rekindled my love for my personal devotion time and has refreshed my weary soul time and time again. One book that I find myself reading over and over is “The Pastor’s Primer” by O.S. Hawkins. This book has been a source of comfort as well as a kick in the pants to keep me fighting the good fight of faith.
— Chuck Sprouse
First Baptist Church of Ninety Six
Encouragement in short supply
In today’s world, it is hard for a pastor to find encouragement. I retired early — not because I wanted to, but I had to.
I pastored a growing church at one time that fell into decline. Of course, I was to blame, to hear some talk. But most did nothing to help grow the church or encourage those who were falling by the wayside. I had it all to do, and it became overwhelming. Finally, after almost 16 years, I was forced out by a few who felt I could no longer keep up.
I wasn’t ready to retire, but I had no choice. There was little encouragement, only a couple of pastor friends. To be honest, that didn’t help me or my wife feel better. We felt betrayed by people who called themselves Christians, people who are supposed to love one another, not hurt one another. It’s been three years now, and it still hurts.
— Name withheld
Feet of clay allowed
The devil uses a variety of methods to discourage. But to focus on the positive, God has given me a true band of brothers at my church — not fellow ministers, but men who are close to my age, facing some of the same life issues I face, who walk with me as if I am just another guy. They allow me to have feet of clay, and in turn I try to be the best influence as a pastor and friend that I can possibly be. I thank God for the men He has chosen to put in my life.
— David Wike
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Florence
Apathy and biblical illiteracy discouraging trends
Two things that discourage me most are apathy and biblical illiteracy.
People just don’t seem to care anymore. They sit and listen to sermon after sermon, and nothing seems to move them — almost as if it doesn’t apply to them. It’s like they’re thinking, “I hope so-and-so is hearing what the preacher is saying.”
Also, I am astonished how much Christians do not know about the Word of God. Things that used to be taken for granted (and should be) no longer can be. The influence of our culture, combined with the fact that Christians by and large do not read the Bible, have caused many believers to be deceived. Since they do not know the Word, they fall prey to anything that sounds plausible.
What encourages me are, first, the Word of God, which helps me understand that God has called me to His ministry and I am to leave the results up to Him, and a couple of close friends in the ministry whom I trust to share my heart with.
— Larry Goad
First Baptist Church of Jedburg