“We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.” Colossians 1:10-12 (MSG)
I am a Pastor. And sometimes, that’s weird!
- One of those particular groups of people who is never supposed to burn out, but I did.
- One of those people who are supposed to be resilient to weakness, but I wasn’t.
- One of those professions that isn’t a profession, but it is.
- One of those jobs that will never be 9 to 5, but honest pastors will say we sometimes wish it was.
The reality of this “calling”, “profession”, “job”, “ministry”, is that it sometimes drains one of life instead of giving it. When I began to be honest about that and deal with it accordingly through my burnout recovery, that’s when I began to find life in it. It was only then that I began to rediscover that Pastoring is what God made me to do, and I want to do it my whole life.
Pastor for Life = people who God has called to this thing that want to find life in it, rather than death.
Pastor for Life = people who long to do this successfully (we’ll talk ALOT about what that even means) for the rest of their lives.
This blog is for Pastors and/or former Pastors who have been down the roads of burnout, depression, failure and everything in between. It is also for Pastors and/or former Pastors who have NOT been down those roads and do NOT want to go down them. I will tell my story in the hopes it will help some, and that others might help me.