Two Articles:
- “What to Remember When It’s Going Well” by Ray Otlund (original source – https://www.9marks.org/article/what-to-remember-when-its-going-well/)
“Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).
Pastoral ministry is seasonal. We pastors inevitably experience both winter-like blasts of ice-cold resistance and spring-like bursts of fresh life and responsiveness. And these changes aren’t always explainable in terms of our ministerial performance. Maybe the greatest pastor of all time, the apostle Paul himself, knew the full round of pastoral seasons.
However your ministry is going right now, you know to do this: “Be ready.” That attitude of urgency and alertness and eagerness is always right. But a guarded self-interest or a cowardly passivity or a defeated resignation is always wrong. As Jim Elliot put it, “Wherever you are, be all there!” Or to quote Richard Baxter, “Whatever you do, let the people see that you are in good earnest.”
When the ministry is going well and people are flocking in and being converted and set free, you will be helped by remembering these three things.
When the ministry is going well and people are flocking in and being converted and set free, you will be helped by remembering these three things.
1. Remember how you got here.
Not by good luck, nor by good works. The blessing of God is the blessing of God—by his grace, for his glory. Remember how Paul put it? “I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance” (Phil. 1:19). The apostle knew how the blessing of God comes down. It’s by bold prayer and the direct help of the Holy Spirit.
I remember a time, during the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s, as we were being carried along by an out-gushing of divine blessing we’d never experienced before, a friend said to me, “Ray, you know why this is happening, don’t you? It’s because for years there were little old ladies in our churches praying for revival.” Those hidden heroes never saw the answer to their prayers. But we did. When my friend pointed it out, a sense of gratitude and wonder filled my heart. I wanted to steward the blessing humbly. I didn’t get myself there, and it didn’t belong to me.
When the risen Christ is pleased to pour out newness of life on your church at levels you never dreamed could be real in this life, remember how it came down. You didn’t cause it by your cleverness or even by your faithfulness. You entered into an inheritance Someone Else paid for, an inheritance other people prayed for, a season of blessing the Holy Spirit himself activated—and all that, in spite of what you deserve.
Remember to stay humble.
2. Remember to savor this moment.
When God takes up the work in his own hands and accomplishes in two weeks what would take us twenty years, and we find our churches caught up in his felt presence as never before, it would be wrong to stay grumpy and demanding. Whenever God blesses us in this life, his blessing is both real and imperfect—real because he is involved, and imperfect because we are involved. And the very flaws embedded in the blessing should move us to more wonder and more joy and more gratitude, not less. Francis Schaeffer taught us that if the only outcomes we’re willing to accept are perfection or nothing, in this life we will get nothing every time. And we will deserve it.
Theologically serious men like us can fall into our own version of perfectionism. But of all men, we who believe strong doctrines of the fall of man and the grace of God should be the happiest, even when our churches stay messy. What stands out in our eyes is not the human mess but the divine grace in the midst of it all. Indeed, if God super-blesses our churches, the mess will pop up to the surface more obviously than ever. Good! It’s because God is dealing with us. And that is when, by his same grace, we can apply gentle pastoral remedies to people’s real problems more helpfully than ever before. What a privilege!
Ezra and Nehemiah wisely urged the people when they were experiencing eye-opening clarity about themselves: “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep” (Neh. 8:9). In a season set apart as unusually holy by the heart-revealing power of the gospel—remember to counsel your people not to spiral down into miserable shame but to rise up in joyous praise to God! We are so evil, we can corrupt even a holy day by an unbelieving self-focus, terribly dishonoring to the finished work of Christ on the cross!
Don’t allow yourself to think on a Sunday afternoon, “Yes, today’s service was like another Pentecost. But you never know. It’ll probably come crashing down to nothing this week.” What defeatism! When the book of Acts says “there was much joy in that city” (Acts 8:8), it isn’t saying, “And wasn’t that stupid?” It is calling us to respond to Christ with our own “much joy.” If you and I accept the authority of the book of Acts, then let’s act like it.
Remember to stay thankful.
3. Remember what’s up ahead.
Hardship is coming. How could it be otherwise? “Man is born for trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). But we’re fine with that. Suffering is our super-power.
What did our risen Lord say to us? “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). In other words, the most perfect way his power is experienced and displayed is when we can offer him nothing but our need. Our “best case scenario” is not our dream ministry career but “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10).
When the ministry is going well, remember that tomorrow’s setbacks and reversals will be bent around in God’s mighty hands into yet more blessing. You will not see it all in this life. But if you will put your trust in the Lord for your ministry, he will ensure that your impact resonates on and on into future generations.
Remember to stay expendable.
*****
Article 2: “What to Remember When It’s Going Poorly” by Ray Otlund (original source – https://www.9marks.org/article/what-to-remember-when-its-going-poorly/)
“Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).
Pastoral ministry is seasonal. I made this simple observation in my last article, “What to Remember When Pastoring Is Going Well.” Briefly, we thought through together the seasons of ministerial abundance. But what about the hard times? What should we remember when tragedy overwhelms us, or when we lose our way in confusion, or when we seem unable to please anyone and the congregation is stiff and cold—or even walking out?
1. Remember to accept hardship as ultimately from the Lord himself.
If the people aren’t responding well, maybe you’re the reason. Maybe, without realizing it, you’re doing something to put them off, sabotaging your ministry. It might not be you at all. But maybe?
“Who can discern his errors?” (Ps. 19:12), David asked. In verse 13 he speaks of “presumptuous sins”—proudly obstinate sins. But the “errors” in verse 12 are a matter of our obliviousness. We can offend our Lord and step on people with the best of intentions! So our loving Lord allows the negative impact of our errors to land on us. It hurts. But that shock and embarrassment—it is of the Lord. He is opening our eyes, so that next time we’ll be more careful, more sensitive, more respectful. Let us therefore deeply accept our Lord’s discipline and let our defenses down and have a good laugh at ourselves—and do some healthy changing.
We ministers, in accepting the Lord’s call to gospel work, have planted our flag for his kingdom with profound sincerity of heart. But sincerity is not enough. Indeed, our earnest sincerity can, by its very nature, make us feel more virtuous than we really are. We need others to help us discern our irritating mannerisms and discourteous words and unconvincing emphases. It’s like a guy with bad breath. Who will love him enough to tell him?
I believe that every man should be in regular conversation with other godly men, with this humble appeal as the agenda: “Brothers, help me see myself.” Who wouldn’t benefit from that? Who can be above it? Your dear wife will help you, of course. But she might be too biased in your favor. Let other men, whom you trust, help you too. The Lord himself will be in it all, honoring your humble openness. Brother, your ministry can become “acceptable to the saints” (Rom. 15:31).
Remember to stay teachable.
2. Remember that you are fully equipped in every essential.
I love 1 Corinthians 2:1–5 where Paul rejoices in his ministry. He knows what he has going for him, even with his modest persona and rattled nerves. Moving through the sophisticated cultures of our world, as Paul did then, facing both passive indifference and bold rejection, what can you and I count on everywhere we go? Nothing less than “the testimony of God, . . . Jesus Christ and him crucified, . . . the demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” What in all this world can compete with that?
Your church might be small in numbers, but you are mighty with divine power. You might be lowly in prestige, but you are exalted with Triune glories. You might be limited in programs, but you are immeasurable in eternal significance. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Stop resenting that big church across the street. Your small church is fully equipped in every essential with the truth of the gospel and the power of the Spirit. Your small church might well become Ground Zero for the next worldwide awakening.
How wonderful to remember that, with God, you just never know what he might do next! Stay close to him. Keep “swinging for the fence.” And the Lord will surprise you with encouragements and breakthroughs, as you give your all to him.
Remember to stay confident.
3. Remember that your rugged, cheerful endurance will prevail.
The power of faithfulness is so great, our Lord Himself claims it as one of his own glories: “the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love” (Deut. 7:9). If our Lord doesn’t resort to a quick-fix but works faithfully over the long-haul, can we resent walking that same path?
We don’t like patient waiting. Amazon Prime is counting on us being impatient! But it is those who “wait on the Lord” who renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31). The medieval rabbi, David Kimchi, explained that that Hebrew word “wait” suggests stretching, lengthening, extending. So “waiting on the Lord” is not like resting in a hammock with a glass of iced tea; it’s like holding a plank position until our coach tells us we’re done. But that place of unresolved tension is spiritually creative and surprisingly refreshing. Our strength is renewed. So we fight on, and we will prevail, because the Lord will come through for us.
“We wait with patience” (Rom. 8:25). The early church understood that. Yes, they saw miracles. But look at Romans 16 and how Paul greets his friends: “They risked their necks, . . . he worked hard, . . . my fellow prisoners,” and so forth. They were powerless. But they prevailed. How? They waited with patience and refused to quit. They believed God is in no hurry, so they were in no hurry. They believed God is in control, so they felt no need to be in control. They believed God is powerful, so they didn’t get pushy. Bishop Cyprian wrote to his suffering people, “As servants and worshipers of God, let us show the patience that we learn from the heavenly teachings. For that virtue we have in common with God.”
One final thought. The world is racing toward final judgment. But God is with us. All his promises are true, all his purposes successful. And now it’s our turn, in our generation, to bear witness to his glory. How? Keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going. And when we’ve done that, keep going! And that is how we prevail.
Remember to stay faithful.
