A Final Challenge to Churches and to Pastors

By Danny Sweatt | October 16, 2018

We’ve been working on a series about pastors and depression. We’ve discussed how the people of the church can come to the aid of their pastors. In this post, we offer a few conclusions.

Christ, the head of the church, rules His church through the written Word and through spirit-called and spirit-led men. That’s a hard thing for some to hear. Many have had bad experiences with pastors. Many have been disappointed. Some may have been, or at least felt abused by pastors. However, unless this pastor has abused you, misled you, and failed you, then you must hold yourself accountable as a member of this church to follow the pastor’s leadership. Every pastor deserves respect as a man of God, called to do the work of God.

Sometimes pastors fail. Should pastors fail? No, they should not. Should men turn aside? No, they should not, but some do. Some God-called men do. Some men who have labored faithfully do. When that happens, we grieve with them. We grieve with their families. We suffer with them. We let God sort that out. We recognize the fact that the man of God, the pastor, the man who does the preaching and the man who bears the load others do not bear and cannot bear, must do everything he can to do things in the way that God intends him to do. For a preacher to remain in the ministry long-term, he must remain surrendered to the will of God, determined to finish the race as he started it, and never turn aside because of discouragements, failures, or struggles.

The preacher must guard his personal time with God. This means sins confessed and absolute surrender to the voice of God. The pressures, stresses, and distractions of ministry can quickly divert our attention from God’s purpose and more importantly from God’s person to our own infirmities, fears, and inadequacies. Time spent alone with God refocuses our priorities and redefines our purpose. The strength of God’s presence is immeasurable. In order not to fulfill the lusts of our flesh, the preacher must learn to walk in the Spirit.

The preacher should cultivate a satisfying home life. One of the great temptations of the ministry is to focus all of our attention on the congregation to the neglect of the family. Yet a man’s family can be a great source of enjoyment and even solace. Success in discipling ones wife and children, reveling in their love and enjoying their companionship can do much to break the necessary solitude of the pastoral ministry. The Christian home can be that little garden of our lives to which we retreat to clear our minds and to refocus our thoughts.

Finishing the race, accomplishing God’s purpose, never dipping the flag or surrendering to the temptation to turn aside, should be the established goal of every preacher. In order for us to make it faithfully to the end, we must echo in our own hearts the words of the great apostle found in Acts 20:24, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”

Danny Sweatt is Pastor Emeritus of Berean Baptist Church in Lilburn, GA. He writes from over forty years of ministry experience in Florida, Illinois and Georgia as well as itinerant ministry around the country.

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