4. Paul the Pastor

The greatest problem facing the parish minister today is that of burn-out. Beneath every minister’s name-tag should read the words: ‘Caution: Ministry is a health hazard!’

Most ministers committed to God and to the care of the churches pay a high personal price: the cost of caring.

Jesus cared for people. He was the good shepherd, a pastor who cared for them. He laid down his life for his sheep because he loved them. He called Peter three times, ‘Do you love me? – Feed my sheep…Feed my flock…Tend my lambs.’

Ever since, men and women who have heard the call of Christ have undertaken to be shepherds to the flock of God. They care for his sheep. They are his pastors. The apostle Paul said that in order to help the church, God gave to the church the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These pastor/teachers are the people we see day-by-day caring for the church. 1

But there is a cost in caring for the church and many faithful ministers burn out in paying that price. In any battle, you can expect heavy casualties among the front line troops. And pastors are in the front line of spiritual battle.

Ever since the beginning faithful men of God have become overwhelmed and despaired. Elijah, after one of the most successful ministries ever in the name of the Lord, was exhausted and, at the height of his popularity and success, ‘walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished he would die. “It’s too much, Lord,” he prayed. “Take away my life; I might as well as dead!”’ 2 Jeremiah and Peter had similar experiences. In recent times a number of studies have been made covering hundreds of pastors who have burnt out and left the ministry.

It has been discovered there are a number of similarities among the burn-out casualties. Those leaving the ministry or collapsing within it are usually men in the mid-life age span, who do not have personal care shown to them by the leaders of their denomination at the denominational headquarters; mostly pasturing small congregations; mostly moving frequently from church to church; and mostly with a theology that is at odds with what they were taught in theological college.

It is interesting to note that the apostle Paul had all of those same similarities in his life and ministry.

The causes are also identifiable in the examination of contemporary burn-out victims: some pastors cannot provide the rugged individualism that is required by the ministry with its variety of demands; some find their beautiful idealism shattered by congregations that lapse into old ways and who resist change; some find the financial pressures of a ministry too great and have to take other work to supplement their income; and some lack the support of a spouse who provides constant support in what is a very lonely job.

Again it is interesting to note that the apostle Paul could be identified with each of those causes. Consequently it is interesting to compare the first and the twentieth centuries and to see what it was that enabled Paul to cope with the cost of caring.

Paul and the pressures of pastoring

Recently I took a scoresheet that had been produced to help ministers discover areas of stress in their lives today and then, using that scoresheet, I carefully studied more than half of the New Testament examining both the epistles of Paul and the accounts in Acts about him, paying special attention to his speeches and personal comments in his writing.

I identified a number of pressure points and a similar number of enabling factors.

The pressure points faced by the apostle from his own words and writing are very similar to the causes of burn-out among contemporary ministers.

1. The physical dangers of his work

Paul was both a preacher and a travelling missionary and as a result he was open to all kinds of physical hardship, threat and hurt.

I identified more than thirty occasions in his life, in descriptions of events or in references through his writings, when he was under extreme physical danger. While it is not possible to list them all in detail, the following phrases give a very good picture of the physical danger involved in his work:

The Jews met together and made plans to kill Saul, but he was told of their plan. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him. 3

He …disputed with the Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to kill him. 4

Paul was well aware of the dangers he ran and he made frequent reference to those dangers.

He referred to these in his epistles, particularly when writing to the church at Corinth where he had faced a number of difficult situations. Following an attack upon his life, he reflected upon the dangers that he constantly faced in these words:

‘My brothers, I face death every day!’ 5

Paul summed it up in one of the most famous paragraphs of any of his letters:

I have worked much harder, I have been in prison more times, I have been whipped much more, and I have been near death more often. Five times I was given the thirty-nine lashes by the Jews; three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been in three shipwrecks, and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water. In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from fellow Jews and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends. There has been work and toil; often I have gone without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty; I have often been without enough food, shelter, or clothing. And not to mention other things, every day I am under the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 6

2. The daily burden of the churches

As a pioneer cross-cultural missionary Paul found even the physical strain of establishing new congregations a great burden. New communities, new languages, new customs, a new tent-making workshop, all must have been a tremendous mental strain. But if you add to this the problems of being rejected, of being physically assaulted and attacked, as well as the burden of the young Christians who in their eagerness and sometimes willfulness perverted their new faith, it is easy to appreciate that daily burden of ‘the care of all the churches.’

Anybody who had travelled through central Turkey over some of the most rugged mountainous terrain possible would be amazed at the physical stamina that Paul and his companions showed. Yet that was just a small portion of years of constant travelling in some of the most inhospitable countries of the Mediterranean:

Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga, a city in Pamphylia…they went on from Perga and arrived in Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath they went into the synagogue. 7

Sometimes the joy over a congregation such as at Philippi 8 must have balanced up other congregations where there was constant strain and worry. Constantly the inability of ordinary Christians to maintain a consistent quality of Christian life ate into the very heart of Paul. That daily worry would be enough to turn any man from his calling. Sexual immorality, a spirit of pride and boastfulness, an inability to relate to other people, and the temptation to always turn from the true path of the faith to accommodate the pressures of the world were always the problems the young churches faced and were at the centre of Paul’s consistent care. In writing to the Galatians, for example, Paul says: ‘I am worried about you! Can it be that all my work for you had been for nothing?... My dear children! Once again, just like a mother in childbirth, I feel the same kind of pain for you until Christ’s nature is formed in you. How I wish that I were with you now, so that I could take a different attitude toward you. I am so worried about you!’ 9

3. The pressures of managing the church

Although Paul didn’t have a formal religious function, he did have a spiritual oversight over a vast area and a large number of churches, ministers and lay ministers. This involved people of different cultural and language backgrounds, from the strictest of Jewish conservatism through to those who had little or no religious belief prior to his contact with them.

The only reason the missionary journeys were undertaken was because Paul intended to undertake a routine visit of churches previously established. 10

The pastoral epistles came down to us because Paul wanted to immediately handle problems faced by the local congregations, to give them guidance in their personal actions and to explain some of his teachings. In one sense all of the epistles are ‘pastoral’ in that they are informing the church on matters pertaining to the pastoral life of the people. Even the letter to the Romans has behind it a very practical purpose: to introduce his plans to visit them and then to go on, with their help, to evangelise Spain:

I have been wanting for so many years to come to see you… I would like to see you on my way to Spain, and be helped by you to go there, after I have enjoyed visiting you for a while. 11

4. Theological conflict

Paul’s frequent theological conflicts and resultant pressures must have made it difficult for him to continue at the pace he had established in his ministry.

The conflicts will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 7 when we consider Paul as a philosopher. The first conflict we have already noted was with the apostle Peter and other leaders of the church concerning the reception of Gentiles into the church. Paul’s viewpoint held sway and changed the history of the church. A further area concerned continual debates with people who belonged to other religions. He debated with the devotees of various Greek and Roman gods, with animists, with magicians and the believers of local superstitions. A further group were his own Jewish compatriots, particularly the ultra-conservative Pharisees, who believe that every change was a change for the worse. A final group consisted of some of the Jewish Christians who wanted to emphasise the keeping of both the old covenant with its food laws, cultural traditions, circumcision and Sabbath keeping, along with the new covenant.

There is an emotional, intellectual and physical price that comes upon a person who is constantly engaged in having to defend the faith he believes. Paul knew the burden of theological conflict.

5. Cultural conflict

The following passage indicates the way the Greeks did not like the way Paul spoke or presented himself in public: ‘Paul’s letters are severe and strong, but when he is with us in person, he is weak, and his words are nothing!’ 12

These terms of abuse used of Paul were also used in the ancient world of other speakers and it is quite clear that they referred to a cultural attitude the Greeks had toward people who did not speak with a correct form. One of the fundamental principles upon which the Greek status system rested, as Professor Edwin A. Judge had pointed out, ‘is the belief that fine form is congruent with truth. Cultivation in the literary and artistic sense was thus a means of legitimizing the status of those who could afford it and precisely because it made a conspicuous difference to a person’s public appearance, it became the means by which the social inferiority of the uncultivated was imposed on them as a felt distinction.’ 13 Paul quite consciously refused to accept this cultural distinction of the Greeks and identified with Jesus Christ in his weakness and rejection. Nothing that Paul did was designed to win approval of the Greek culture. Instead he stressed the foolishness of preaching.

Paul also ran into conflict because he was too independent. The Greeks objected to Paul because he would not accept their financial support and insisted instead upon working with his hands as a tentmaker to keep himself. Paul was unashamed of labour and believed that everyone should earn his own keep. This cut across the cultural traditions of the Greeks who believed that only the peasants or slaves should work and that social power was exercised not by taking profit from one’s slaves, but by passing money down to them to keep up one’s own dignity and position was to become an enemy as it meant that you refused to accept his superior status.

6. Distress at failing members

Any leader is distraught when key supporters fail him and let down the standards. Paul gives evidence constantly of the emotional hurt he suffered because of the failure of people whom he trusted or young leaders in whose training he had invested himself. An example of this was when Paul was planning to revisit towns where they had preached the gospel and Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them. ‘Paul did not think it right to… take him, because he had not stayed with them to the end of their mission, but had turned back and left them in Pamphylia. There was a sharp argument, and they separated: Barnabas took Mark and sailed off for Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the care of the Lord’s grace.’ 14

But it was the Christians in the local church, particularly in the churches Paul had established, such as at Corinth and in Galatia, that were to disappointed him constantly. The church at Corinth had a record for bad behaviour. Immorality was rife, and idolatry, drunkenness and stealing were known among the members. Some Christians were caught up in court cases against each other while others were involved in sexual immorality with prostitutes; other members in the same church got drunk at the Lord’s Table and some undercut Paul’s teaching and called him inferior and an amateur. How Paul’s heart must have ached to see people who had come to know the Lord and had grown in their faith, decline in their personal standards.

7. Pressures from a materialistic society

Paul lived in an immoral society and the church, while it was expected to influence the world, found the world influencing it. As we have seen, the church at Corinth had deep personal, sexual and social problems within it: it sounds as if every contemporary social problem was alive within that church. The pressures of a materialistic culture made it very difficult for Christians to be disciplined and pure in word and deed.

Many of the early churches found it difficult to refrain from idolatry. It was pervasive in the ancient world, as it shown in Paul’s experience in Athens. 15 If a person went to the butchers to buy meat, the meat had already been offered to idols. If a person wanted to join a trade union, to offer a sacrifice to the idol was expected. If a person wanted to be part of an educational institution, or to celebrate an anniversary or even to prove his loyalty to the government, sacrifices to the idols or to Caesar were a standard practice. For many people this was purely a ritual without any significant religious connotation, but the early church refused to say that anything or anyone was Lord. Many Christians died rather that worship the idols, but there were many others, attested to by the writing of Pliny and others, who were willing to bow before an idol. Consequently the daily pressure, and the weakness of some Christians in bowing to it, was a constant drain upon Paul’s emotions.

Those cultural conflicts were part of the pressure Paul felt in his leadership of the young church.

8. The pressures from the demands of disturbed and difficult people

As Peter and John found when they went to worship at the Temple, the lame were always at the gates. 16 Always the churches seem to attract people who are mentally, emotionally and psychologically lame as well as those who have deep physical and spiritual needs.

The demands of disturbed and difficult people cause many ministers not to cope with constant intellectual and emotional pressures. Paul faced such people frequently. In Lystra he found a man who was lame from birth and who desired healing. That act of compassion in healing the lame man led Barnabas and Paul into great difficulties from the people that crowded round them marveling at their healing power. Having simply helped the lame man walk earned them eventually a riot and stoning! 17

Even friends sometimes became a burden. Epaphroditus was sent by the church at Philippi to aid Paul during his imprisonment. But unfortunately Epaphroditus caught the fever that was common in prisons and almost died. The one who was sent to help Paul ended up having to be nursed by Paul. Paul’s evident relief is shown when he says: ‘But God had pity on him, and not only him but on me too, and spared me an even greater sorrow.’ 18 He goes no to build up Epaphroditus’ image in the eyes of the congregation, speaking proudly of the work that he has done and how, in fact, his presence was fulfilling what they themselves ought to have done in helping him.

So Paul lived constantly facing disturbed and difficult people and this itself was stress-inducing.

9. The pain of constant rejection

Many people can minister valiantly under incredibly difficult circumstances if they know that somewhere their work is appreciated and that others are praying and supporting them. But Paul constantly ran into rejection even from people who should have been his keenest supporters

We have already seen the damage that the dispute with the disciples caused when he went to Jerusalem and tried to join them. But they would not believe he was a disciple, and they were all afraid of him. 19 Later he had clashed with them over the role of the Gentiles in the church and with the leaders at Jerusalem.

There were also constantly the conflicts with Jews who totally opposed his theological understanding of the admission of Gentiles into the family of God. Those antagonistic Jews followed him everywhere, causing riots and physical attacks upon the apostles. Throughout all of his travels those Jews rejected him as a pharisee and as a teacher of their law. Paul outlines his reaction to rejection: ‘When people criticise me, this is how I defend myself’, and he gives a long list of right and duties of an apostle, even pointing out the comparison between himself and others: ‘Don’t I have the right to follow the example of the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Peter, by taking a Christian wife with me on my trips? Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to work for our living?’ 20

Constant rejection by friend and foe alike take a heavy toll on the mental health and emotional stability of any leader, yet throughout all of his life Paul, faced with this constant rejection, showed all the signs of coping well. There is probably no greater evidence for the soundness of his body and mind, his emotions and spirit, than the fact that he was under such pressure constantly and yet was able to carry the burden with the most positive outlook, with an optimistic spirit and able consistently to sing the goodness of God towards him.

What enabled Paul to cope under such pressure?

A careful study once more of the written record indicates not only the pressures under which Paul operated but the resources which he used to enable him to cope with those pressures.

1. He accepted God’s call for him

Paul was in ministry because he couldn’t possibly be anywhere else. God had called him to that work and the assurance of his call held him fast. Inevitably people who burn out under pressure are those who lack assurance of their own calling. But Paul had no hesitation: the God who called him into his work could strengthen him and enable him to fulfill the task before him.

There were others who questioned that calling but Paul repeatedly reiterated it in his addresses, his disputes and debates, and in the letters he sent. ‘I am speaking now to you Gentiles: as long as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I will take pride in my work.’ 21 The high sense of calling constantly strengthened him giving hem patience and endurance under the attacks of opponents and small-minded people.

2. He believed in the significance of his work

Inevitably ministers and workers for God who suffer from emotional and spiritual fatigue question the worthwhileness of their effort.

But there was no questioning with Paul. He had a strong conviction of the significance of what he was doing: ‘I reckon my own life to be worth nothing to me; I only want to complete my mission and finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do, which is to declare the Good News about the grace of God.’ 22 The overwhelming conviction that what he was doing was of eternal significance held him fast.

Paul was proud of his call to be a minster in the service of Christ and that gave him confidence not only to look his enemies in the eye, but to walk boldly through places of danger. ‘I have been bold because of the privilege God had given me of being a servant of Christ Jesus to work for the Gentiles. I serve like a priest in preaching the Good News from God, in order that the Gentiles may be an offering acceptable to God, dedicated to him by the Holy Spirit. In union with Christ Jesus, then, I can be proud of my service for God.’ 23

Consequently his belief in the significance of his work enabled him to accept suffering and hardship as the price for the privilege of preaching the gospel. ‘I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me. I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’ 24

Nothing could stop him. And even that one last great fear that holds many men back, death itself, was nothing but a doorway up to which Paul would march boldly still preaching. He was prepared to ‘pour out my life’s blood like an offering on the sacrifice that your faith offers to God. If that is so, I am glad and I share my joy with you all.’ 25

Nothing can stop a person who believes in the eternal significance of his work.

3. He committed his life to the work of the gospel

Commitment for Paul was a lifetime commitment and not an emotional response. It was an act of will which carried him through the most difficult of hardships.

When a person commits his life in marriage, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, the commitment is designed to show loyalty and fidelity regardless of the circumstances. It was that same kind of commitment that Paul made to the gospel. ‘We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; and there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed… for this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day by day.’ 26

One aspect of helping people under pressure to cope today is to encourage them to renew their vows of commitment when as an act of will they determine to continue their calling.

4. He disciplined his desires

One reason many people do not last in any kind of demanding work is that there is a conflict between the work they are doing and other areas of their life. Like all people who work with their eyes fixed upon a goal, Paul did not allow himself to be diverted into any area of ill-discipline of thought, emotion or relationship.

He wrote to the Thessalonians: ‘We worked day and night so that we would not be any trouble to you as we preached to you the Good News from God…we were not lazy when we were with you. We did not accept anyone’s support without paying for it.’ 27

What becomes obvious when his writings are looked at with fresh eyes is that he had a good balance between his sense of the significance of his calling and his modesty as to his own personal attainments. He was able to boast but he boasted within limits. This aspect of discipline gives us an indication of the true meaning of humility; a humble man knows his own significance and worth yet does not boast of his own attainments.

Note how Paul expressed this:

When I came to you, my brothers, to preach God’s secret truth, I did not use big words, and great learning. For while I was with you, I made up my mind to forget everything except Jesus Christ and especially his death on the cross. So when I came to you, I was weak and trembled all over with fear, and my teaching and message were not delivered with skilful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God’s Spirit. Your faith, then, does not rest on human wisdom but upon God’s power. 28

As for us, our boasting will not go beyond certain limits; it will stay within the limits of the work which God has set for us, and this includes our work among you… we hope that your faith may grow and that we many be able to do a much greater work among you, always within the limits God has set. 29

In guiding new Christians Paul sometimes referred to his own sense of personal discipline as a means of encouraging others to become more efficient in their Christian life and more committed in their service.

I am like a boxer who does not waste his punches. I harden my body with blows and bring it under complete control to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest. 30

Paul was able to cope with heavy burdens of responsibility because of the way he disciplined himself, his appetites and his desires.

5. He witnessed enthusiastically

Paul had enormous enthusiasm for talking to other people about Jesus Christ.

From the day when they met on the Damascus road, Paul was obsessed with the desire to tell other people about Jesus who had turned his life right round. He witnessed to friends and acquaintances, to enemies and aggressors, to soldiers and sailors, to guards on duty, and to kings sitting in judgment; in the early hours of the morning and at midnight, in the midst of an earthquake and a storm at sea: there was no time or place or person where it was not appropriate for him to witness to Jesus Christ.

6. He fashioned a bond of caring with his people

One of the incredible resources a person engaged in God’s work has that enables him to cope with all kinds of pressures is the strength that comes from what we call Christian fellowship. Paul built a relationship between himself and those who became believers that became richer over the years. As ministers and pastors testify, those that build a bond of caring with their people find that, far from becoming a burden, that bond of caring is a support and encouragement to them in all that they do.

Paul’s longest ministry covered the three years he spent at Ephesus. He really loved those people and when he was passing near Ephesus before returning to Jerusalem where eh would be arrested and eventually taken to Rome for trial, Paul sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. At the meeting they reflected upon the times they had shared together and when Paul finished, he knelt down with them and prayed. 31

The bond of caring for people was demonstrated in many ways such as his emphasis on the strong needing to help the weak in the faith, and in his determination that the widows and orphans be cared for. Those who feel burnt out because of the pressures of their work would do well to remember all of those for whom they care and those who reciprocate that care. The bonds of fellowship in a Christian church are very strong and provide a marvellous resource for those people who feel alone and threatened.

7. He gained strength from the support of his friends

Like many people throughout history who have been known for their strong stands and very definite views, Paul not only raised enemies, but he created friends who were willing to stick beside him through the most difficult of circumstances. Those friends greatly helped and encouraged him throughout his ministry. Many in the church today do not recognize either the number or the names of those people whom Paul acknowledges were special friends. The names of Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Tychicus, Trophimus, are nowhere as well kown as Timothy, Silas, Barnabas and John Mark. But each of these spent time serving Paul. In Romans chapter 16, Paul send personal greeting to some twenty-one people in a city he had not personally visited. Yet he knew those people and many of them he refers to as his fellow workers or fellow prisoners. When he wrote his letter to the church at Colossae, he commended a number of people in the church for what they had done to support him and described them as fellow workers and fellow servants. These people included Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, Joshua, Epaphras, Luke and Demas among others. Whether they were with him in prison or there in the churches praying for him, Paul gained strength from the support of his friends.

It is hard for people to be overwhelmed by the pressures of work when they are surrounded by supportive friends.

8. He held fast to the scriptures

This is one of the great secrets found over the years by those who have withstood the greatest of pressure. Those who have to live and work under immense emotional, psychological and spiritual pressure find the refreshment that comes constantly through the scriptures. It was the constant study of the scriptures that held Martin Luther fast and enabled him to stand. On every mission field in the world, faithful men and women under attack and acute pressure have found that their surest resource in time of stress has been the spiritual nourishment that comes from the scriptures.

Paul was a keen student of the scriptures and he meditated on the words and teachings of Jesus. A list of all the quotations found in the epistles and in the speeches of Paul is indeed a very long and intricate one, showing his knowledge of the law, the psalms, and the prophets in particular. I have counted thirty-five major quotations from the Old Testament in his speeches and letters.

It was the scriptures that gave him insight into every aspect of the life, teachings and personal significance of Jesus. By keeping close to the scriptures Paul found a resource that enabled him to cope with the pressures of ministry.

9. He lived boldly

There was nothing half-hearted about Paul’s approach to his work. He was fully committed, proud of his calling and willing to go ahead with great boldness. That boldness generated within him strength and enthusiasm that enabled him to cope with the constant problems that beset him. ‘So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord’s home… we are full of courage and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and be at home with the Lord.’ 32

Paul was prepared to be bold before kings and governors, before crowds and individuals. When he was defending himself before the Sanhedrin the high priest, Ananias, ordered someone to strike Paul on the mouth because of the boldness with which he was speaking. But Paul quickly put the high priest in his place. Nothing could silence him because he was confident that God would help him in every time of trouble.

Paul testified constantly that God always helps us in our trials and that we need to boldly witness to our faith knowing that God will never allow us to be left utterly alone. ‘He will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.’ 33

From the presence of God Paul gained strength, confidence and boldness to live in spite of difficulty. It was that divine assurance that enabled him to cope.

10. He did not carry false guilt

One reason that many people collapse under the strain is that they frequently have feelings of guilt, of personal failure and a consciousness of moral wrong. Paul had the overwhelming conviction that Christ had died for his sins and had forgiven him everything. Consequently he never carried a burden of guilt about either what he had done in the past or during the time when he persecuted the church of God.

Paul was quite willing to share the gospel with people but he didn’t feel a false guilt if they rejected what he had to say. He knew he had fulfiled his part and therefore there was no reason that he should feel the burden of unfulfilled hopes. On one occasion, Paul protested at the people’s opposition ‘by shaking the dust from his clothes and saying to them: “If you are lost, you yourselves must take the blame for it! I am not responsible.”’ 34

It takes very emotionally secure and spiritually mature people to be able to free themselves from the burden of such false guilt and also have such a compassion for people and commitment to the task of witnessing.

Being free from any feeling of false guilt enabled Paul to carry even heavier burdens. The totally free person, who is confident of his own personal forgiveness by the Lord, can be of tremendous use in witnessing of the faith to others.

As a pastor Paul knew the cost of caring. In our day and age many are burning out because of the pressures of pastoring. But Paul’s personal example indicates that the minister of God can cope with enormous pressures without collapsing under them if he also matches to those pressures the resources that God provides.

Endnotes:

1. Ephesians 4:11
2. 1 Kings 19:4
3. Acts 9:23-24
4. Acts 9:29
5. 1 Corinthians 15:32
6. 2 Corinthians 11:23-28
7. Acts 13:13-14
8. Philippians 1:3-7
9. Galatians 4:11,19
10. Acts 14:21
11. Romans 15:19-24
12. 2 Corinthians 10:10
13. E.A Judge, Cultural Conformity and Innovation in Paul: some clues from contemporary documents, The Tyndale Bulletin 35, 1984
14. Acts 15:36-40
15. Acts 17:16
16. Acts 3:1-26
17. Acts 14:8-11,19
18. Philippians 2:27
19. Acts 9:26
20. 1 Corinthians 9:5-6
21. Romans 11:13
22. Acts 20:24
23. Romans 15:15-17
24. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
25. Philippians 2:17
26. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9,16
27. 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-8
28. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
29. 2 Corinthians 10:13-15
30. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
31. Acts 20:36-38
32. 2 Corinthians 5:6,8
33. 1 Corinthians 10:13
34. Acts 18:5-6

For personal reading

Theme: The pastoral ministry

Monday : In humility, give God the glory (1 Corinthians 3:3-9 and Romans 12:3-4)
Tuesday : Confidence in God’s faithfulness (1 Corinthians 10:6-13)
Wednesday : The need for discipline (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and Philippians 3:12-16)
Thursday : Sorrowing for sinners (Galatians 4:11-20)
Friday : Be worthy of the gospel (1 Thessalonians 5:12-25)
Saturday : Dangers in the ministry (2 Corinthians 11:21-33)
Sunday : Grateful for co-workers (Philippians 1:1-11)

For group study

Topic: The cost of caring

1. In what ways can we help faithful men of God overcome ‘burn-out’ and vocational despair?

2. Identify pressures that ministers of the church face today. Do you know any of God’s servants today who are being pressured?

3. Paul identified with the personal struggles of his flock. Can we care for someone without being involved?

4. What do you do with people who are quarrelsome and disruptive in behaviour? Can you face rejection and ridicule?

5. What can we learn from Paul’s sense of calling and commitment to be the pastor of a flock?

6. What character traits would be necessary to be an effective carer of people?

Friday, 10th July, 2009, 2:21 pm | Bible Studies