I received a message from a friend this evening who has been reading through the archives of my blog and they commented to me about a particular post written by a friend of mine. It made me go back and read it for myself. In the three years since this was first posted, "Roughrider" has decided to reveal his identity to everyone, so I want to give him credit here too as the author of this piece. His name is Jim Martin, pastor of Praise Fellowship Church of God in Savannah, Missouri.
Thanks again Jim!
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Why Pastor's Cry
A fellow pastor who is a friend of mine made a post on a discussion board which we both post on a couple of weeks ago that I felt was too good to let disappear into cyber never land. He goes by the pen name of Roughridercog, and I will use that name here also to protect his identity on that board.
There had been a discussion on the board about a pastor who forgot to turn his wireless microphone off after service and when he went into his office broke down crying and everyone in the church heard his sobbing.
Roughrider wrote the following after reading this information.
Why Pastor's Cry
Pastors cry. There's no doubt about it. There are numerous reasons why:
Pastor's cry when they feel as if a church is rejecting their ministry and they still feel a burden for the church.
Nothing hurts like being rejected.
Pastor's cry when the church feels their time there is over and they still feel like there is much to do.
They pack their belongings mixed with tears.
Pastor's cry when they know their time at a church is over and they have deep roots there. When they embrace the congregation at their last service, there are tearstains present on the shoulders of those they embrace.
Pastor's cry when God has given them a message, instructed him to declare it, and yet the church will not hear it.
Those Jeremiah tears are very painful.
Pastor's cry when it seems as if things are falling apart around him and there is seemingly nothing he can do about it. No matter what he says or does, the church still seems fragmented. These tears are like the tears of a parent whose adult children hate each other.
Pastor's cry. No doubt about it. There are numerous reasons for the tears. What can you do about it? You can weep with him. You might not agree with him or particularly enjoy his ministry. But recognize the fact that his heart is torn.
He might love pastoring, but not be particularly good at it. Cry with the man who perhaps has misinterpreted his call. He might have used manipulation to get the church only to find out that it's not what he thought it would be.
Cry with a disillusioned man who perhaps has missed God and needs to receive direction from God. He might have blundered and said wrong things.
Cry with him as the Holy Spirit does an operation on his personality. He might not have any idea where he is going. His wife and children are mad at him and the church for having to move again. Cry with a man as he agonizes over his family.
Pastor's cry. No doubt about it. Cry with him.
Thanks for the great words RR!
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