VOICES
A N N UA L NFO MEETING I
Connect: Facing discouragement /// PREVIEWED ON COVER
Todd Fisher Oklahoma Baptists’ Executive Director-Treasurer @eToddFisher
The discouragement that pastors can experience is very real. Fact is, just about every pastor in every size of church and context faces discouragement at some point. This is especially true these days as pastors are still navigating the ramifications of the impact of COVID. Many pastors wake up on Monday morning disheartened, demoralized or even ready to quit. A pastor once told me that he had lost count of the number of times his wife had talked him out of resigning on a Monday morning. He said that tongue-in-cheek, but I could clearly perceive the discouragement behind his statement. The reality of pastoring a church means that not every Sunday is going to be a pinnacle experience. Sometimes church can just feel flat. People seemed to mumble through the songs
and appear disengaged. No one came forward in the invitation. Attendance was down. The offering was down. There were no baptisms. Someone gave a sharp, ugly criticism just minutes before the start of the worship service. Social media is replete with pictures and comments of the great things happening at other churches. In addition, there are seasons of pastoring that are difficult—seasons of numerous funerals, crises in the church or with families in the church, conflict with members or between members, and times when the pastor’s vision and passion for the church seems to be falling on deaf, unresponsive ears. All of this can and does lead to discouragement. Pastor, when you are in a season of discouragement, remember that you are in this for the long game. Your preaching and leadership have cumulative effects only realized once you have experienced the varying seasons of a pastorate. There will be good days and bad days; times of harvest and times of waiting and struggle. Be patient. Look beyond one tough Sunday or several of them in a row. Trust every Sunday and every season, the good ones and the difficult ones, to the Lord and His purposes and providence.
Remember the positive impact your ministry is having on many that you do not see and do not hear about. And remember your calling—to selflessly shepherd the flock God has entrusted to you. You are not living for temporal reward or for the ones who give you praise or criticism. You are living for what is eternal and the One who will one day say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Pastor, please persevere. You are so needed! When discouraged, spend time with the Lord. Spend time with fellow pastors who know what it’s like to be in the trenches. Double down on what you have been called to do. Start studying even harder for next Sunday’s message. Go visit or call a church member. “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord” (Col. 4:17). Church member, encourage your pastor. Pastors carry the burden of things I have mentioned in this article more than you know. Pray for them. Write them a note. Say a kind, affirming word. Little things such as these can be difference makers in hard weeks and seasons. Thank you pastor for your committed and tireless service to Christ’s church and His kingdom. We need you! Press on!
Sword & trowel: Secularism in hyperdrive Brian Hobbs Editor of the Baptist Messenger @BrianGHobbs
In October of last year, there was a news report of a car that reached the fastest recorded speed for a production-car. The vehicle, the SSC Tuatara, was recorded at a stunning speed of 316.11 MPH. According to new poll results from the Pew Research Center, there is a similarly fast-paced development also recently recorded: the sharp rise in secularism in the United States. The Pew report said “nearly 30 percent of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, 10 percentage points higher than a decade ago.” The “secularizing shifts evident in American society so far in the 21st century show no signs of slowing,” Pew said in releasing the findings. “The recent declines within Christianity are concentrated among Protestants.”
Albert Mohler and other prominent Southern Baptist leaders have discussed the significance of the “rise of the ‘nones’”—people who claim no religious affiliation (whether atheist, agnostic or just “nothing in particular”). Whenever you stop to consider survey results, it’s important to remember that these are said beliefs among the respondents. This means the number of people who admit to being a “none” could be low; that those who truly are “none” could be even higher. Moreover, these survey numbers may be a lagging, not a leading, indicator. What I mean is they could suggest a trend that has already been entrenched. One Bible teacher has observed that in societies where secularism gets entrenched, such as in parts of Europe, what often follows is a movement toward hyper spirituality. Where secularism once ruled, you then start to see society get interested in the occult, astrology and ghost hunting, for example. We are seeing such development in America, too. These are indicators that, while secularization will continue upward, what follows afterward may be even more disturbing and problematic.
What are Christians to do about all this? First, let this be a wake-up call and a reminder to live faithful Christian lives and to share the Gospel. While it is bad for a person to be a “none,” it would be even worse to confess to be a Christian but act nothing like it. It would be worse to say you’re a Christian yet never pray, seldom or never attend church and never crack open a Bible, let alone serve others or share the Gospel. Even this new survey noted a decline in spiritual disciplines. “Fewer than half of U.S. adults, 45 percent, said they pray daily, compared to 58 percent who said they prayed daily in 2007,” with “nearly a third of U.S. adults, 32 percent, (saying) they seldom or never pray, up from 18 percent in 2007.” Let’s use a survey like this to live all-in for Jesus. Let’s pray for revival, and to let it begin in our own hearts and homes; for revival to happen in our churches and communities. With God’s help, we can see this secularization trend reversed, one person at a time. Whether that trend is changed slowly or quickly, let’s pray and work toward that aim, to the glory and praise of His Name and His Kingdom. Lord help…
Voices | January 27, 2022 | The Baptist Messenger | www.baptistmessenger.com
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