I’m a pastor and I’m honored by my calling. There are a lot of challenges when it comes to being a pastor. I already know about it from the start. My dad was a pastor. I understand that the enemy is always attacking God’s servants - especially the pastors.
As the spiritual leader of the church, i encourage and equip my members as we face together the battle against the enemy. Problems and trials are all around but as God’s children we commit them to the Lord in prayer and help each other be strong in the Lord. It’s just a shame when the problem is not anymore outside the church but inside. Members complain about what the pastor should preach and how he should act.
Last Sunday afternoon, a church elder came to me and said that my sermons are different. Hmmmm… I’ve been serving and preaching for this church for two years now and I never heard anyone complain about my preaching – til now. As he was talking, I was thinking back and remembered how I preach about God’s love, His salvation, His care, and how He protects His children. I even preached and challenged the church to give their time, talent, and treasure to the Lord. No complains there. But this time, for two Sundays now, I’ve been preaching a sermon series about the church.
I shared that as a church, all of us should work together for the glory of God. I shared that each of us must focus on Jesus alone and not focus on the leaders or anything else that let them lose their sight on God. It struck a nerve!
The church elder told me that some of the members were hurt and at the very least were concerned by the message. I told him that first of all, if members are “concerned” and/or affected by the message then it only means that I am doing my job.Second, why would they get hurt by the message if it’s not true on their part? I mean, if I talked about the church helping each other, why would they be hurt if they are already helping in the first place? Could it be that they were not helping at all that’s why they are hurt in the first place? Hmmmm….
This is what I’m struggling right now. I pray that the Lord will continue to sustain me through it all.
