Ministry Reflection One
This spring will be the tenth anniversary of my ordination. Over the next couple of months, I am going to share ten reflections from my ministry experience.
The first thing I want to share is the sadness I feel when I meet people burned in ministry. I must be honest, I have had a good time in churches and have been blessed with some awesome congregations. I have been at my current two churches for seven and a half years and in many ways, I feel like I am still in the honeymoon stage. My previous two churches, while moments of frustration, were great churches that I still enjoy visiting. Because of all this, I am often surprised when I meet ex-ministers that had horrible experiences, left the ministry and are still bitter about ministry. I am sad for numerous reasons. I am sad that some congregations treat their pastors badly. I am sad that some pastors are a bad fit for some churches. I am sad that pastors let a bad experience cause them to leave ministry in general. I am in no place to judge. My prayer is that churches would treat their pastors well and that pastors would have a clear vision of their call that will not be derailed by a bad experience.
