Preacher, You Should Have Seen This Coming

 I once was young but now I am old. Yes, that is the beginning of a Bible verse. Yes, I just took it out of context. Yet, it is true for me. I have been in the ministry for over forty years. I can't say that I have seen everything, but I have seen a lot. I think I know many of the struggles people going into the ministry have. I know the ones that surprised me most.

I have always loved my pastors. I thought they were incredible men of God who were led by the Holy Spirit to deliver messages that helped me walk with God. I loved that they were men of God's Word. I loved that they could explain it to me. I thought that everyone would love me as I did my former pastors when I became a pastor.

A great surprise for me came when they criticized me for things that didn't have anything to do with God's word. They said they didn't think I cared about them. It hurt because I thought the messages I struggled to deliver proved that I cared about them. They were talking to me about their feelings, when I was trying to talk to them about their souls.

Another surprise came when they criticized the sermons I delivered. Yes, there are times that I have said things I shouldn't have. There have been words said that were insensitive without intending to be such. These were not the criticisms I received. They criticized the times when, according to them, I went too long. They criticized when I failed to recognize someone in the congregation or even when they thought I was talking about someone in the congregation when I gave an illustration. I am not that subtle. You will absolutely know if I am talking about you. However, I have never used an illustration of someone in a current church unless it was a positive affirmation of what they did.

Yet, another surprise came when I was told that I was too rigid. If the Bible says we ought to do it, I am not too flexible. We ought to do it. When that was pointed out, the response was one of allowing people to deviate from God's word because we loved them. I don't understand what love has to do with allowing people to deviate from God's word. Love should help people follow God's word; not excuse them for not following it.

Of course, there were those who didn't think Jesus was the only way to salvation. There were those who thought that the crowd that a televangelist gathers proves he or she is doing God's will. There are those who were fans of Jesus and made all of His commands optional. There were those who acted as if they hated me. If what they were doing is love, then I misinterpreted it.

But, I should have seen it coming. All you that are going into the ministry should see it coming too. This is not intended to discourage you. It means that you are following the pattern of your Savior. Yes, you love Him with all your hearts, souls and minds. Yes, you want to follow Him with every ounce of your strength. You want to become like Him. 

And when you are opposed by some of the people you came to, you will have become like Him.

John 1:11 (ESV) ¹¹  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.