The different challenges of pastoral ministry

THE DIFFERENT CHALLENGES OF PASTORAL MINISTRY

Introduction:

According to Gregory of Nazianzus, ministry is a storm of the spirit. Chrysostom adds: "A bishop is more agitated by cares and storms than the sea by winds and storms". On a simple reading of these two thoughts, their points of view seem to be just words among many, yet they know something about ministry that many, even those who exercise it, do not. In other words, it's hard to fathom the assertion of these two men who have practiced and tasted the harsh contours of ministry in the church. Studying and analyzing the convictions of their words will lead us to a depth that is both surprising and disquieting for adventurers on the road to ministry. However, those committed to true service before God will emerge nourished and equipped to better face certain axes of ministry from now on. Strangely enough, however, given the struggles of positioning in ministry, the rivalries, quarrels, jurisdictional wars and other numerous factors, it's honestly easy to wonder what many people mean by serving God. We will analyze fifteen ideas that we have drawn and developed from the study on The Theology of Pastoral Ministry. We recommend that readers, and above all Servants of God, pay particular attention to the following lines. A real cure for the soul, a reappraisal, a call to retreat, a wake-up call for those just starting out in ministry, and a call to return to the old paths for those who have already done a bit with the Lord, finally an encouragement to those who have been able to remain faithful along the way.

THE DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES IN QUESTION

1. Difficulty of governing by purely moral means a multitude of very diverse souls and spirits.

In the multitude of people that make up a local church, there are many composite elements that do not agree with each other. It's a question of governing this state, and obtaining obedience not only outwardly, but inwardly from those we lead in the Lord. Several methods are proposed, either by experience, or by study, or by other men, whether of God or not. Wasn't Jethro's advice salutary for Moses' ministry? Sometimes, to achieve the desired goals, it is necessary to tame not only actions, but also thoughts, and reduce them to unity.all of this by persuasion, at the cost of prayer, fasting, tears, cries and suffering in the face of the heavy burden of the soul that we bear for the flock whose guidance we are entrusted to lead to the gentle pasture prescribed by the Word of God. Indeed, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. (2Corinthians 10.4)

The Gospel is human, of true humanity, for its author, though divine, allowed all the aspects and contours of the spirituality of the Word to be manifested in his entire life, so that it is right to say: "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we beheld his glory, a glory like that of the only Son from the Father" (John 1.14). Undoubtedly, this Gospel of his spiritual power corresponds to the deteriorated inner man, to the conscience withered by iniquity, which must be reached through the superficial man disguised as a man. through the superficial man in disguise who intercepts the light he so desperately needs to recognize and discover himself, so that he can finally assert himself as he was meant to be. In fact, the inner man reaches out to the Gospel in his darkness. to awaken and manifest its virtues, which have been put to sleep by the harmful effects of sin. But how many obstacles have to be overcome and overcome to reach this stage! How difficult it is to make ends meet after a long life of disorder!

St. Gregory, in his development of the idea of the diversity of feelings and characters among men, remarks that truth is one, but that it's not the only one.rity is one, but that it is sometimes conceived in one way or another, according to individuality: and yet, to arrive at a common point of view, it is necessary, through the Gospel or the Word of God, to give each person the nourishment that suits him or her, and at the right time. And this proper time is so often lost to us because of our own feelings and emotions under various pressures, whether personal, social or ministerial! Some truths, in fact, repel some while attracting others, stifling some and saving others: the same truth must therefore be given in different forms to different individuals at different times, circumstances and places. It often seems very easy to say this, but very difficult to apply it. Pastoral government is indeed the government of individuals in the complexity of all their components; civil law, however, is not bothered by differences in character, because it holds each person accountable for his or her actions. But can we do the same for spiritual responsibility, whose meandering process of deliverance from captivity will lead us from the grip of sin through inner healing to total liberation?we must also take into account restitution, true forgiveness through the effects of vertical and horizontal reconciliation

This brings us to the point where we have to accept that, in this way, the first character of excellence in ministry is also its first difficulty, which can be its downfall on a path of no return. Before continuing our study, let's think frankly about this, and not confine ourselves solely to the ceremonial, festive or honorary aspects of the prestigious pastoral ministry, but let's reflect on the divine reasons for its existence, according to the celestial criteria of excellence for its functioning and the objectives of its raison d'être. These criteria of excellence will manifest themselves in our work for God.

2. Considerable work in the dimension of pastoral ministry

Missions, the poor, the sick, schools, good offices of charity, peaceful interventions, administrative correspondence, sermons, Bible studies, visits, prayers, etc., such is the task of God's Minister. Although the dimension of this responsibility is broad, there is no excuse for giving, doing or perfecting badly. However, the sermon (preaching) offers the only possibility of reaching all the members or faithful present in the local church. However, the sermon cannot solve all the problems of the group or the local church as if by a wave of a magic wand. It is both important and necessary to broaden the action, because even where it is not fully realized, the ministry of God's servant must gain in depth what it has less in breadth. But does this notion of depth have any real meaning in the daily life of today's minister of the Gospel? A reading here, a tape there, a message from someone else, and there we have our preaching for the Sunday, the week or a particular meeting. So where do we go from here? Are we trying to arouse people's emotions so as to affirm that today's preaching was very good, or are we trying to touch the inner man so that the Rhema of today can be heard?do we want to touch their inner man, so that the Rhema of God's Word reveals their hidden face, so that, aware of their nakedness, they each seek the covering provided by the fine linen of God's Word? My mentor said to me three years ago: "My son André, don't look for quantity, but for quality, which can only be found in depth". Yes, we have to walk forty days and forty nights like Elijah the Prophet to get out of depression through the encounter, the rest in the presence of God and the revelation of the real nature of this true God. But how impatient we are to get there! This impatience that so quickly introduces us to the shortcuts, improvisations, inventions and very sustained creations of the theories, doctrines and dogmas that are so important to us.doctrines and dogmas that have no divine foundation, but which we, like the Pharisees, impose on men on pain of excommunication, censure and curse, as if it were for these things, i.e. punishment, that the Gospel had come. Let's stop for a moment, each of us for his own part, and let's regain our awareness so that we can continue.

All this means that, in order to achieve the good end or standard that God expects of us, we must look for opportunities further away, when they would be lacking closer to home. For those consumed by zeal for God's house, an idea of the scope of pastoral work would, in any other profession, demand the most exalted enthusiasm from the man who practises it.in fact, this would only reflect the exact measure of his commitment, and God's encouragement in the work done with a pure heart and honest conscience. Satisfaction can only come or be felt or even manifested when we can rejoice in a church where spiritual unity is characterized outwardly by the uniformity acquired by the pastor's hard work.

3. Uniform work to bring all to unity in Christ

The Pastor's job is to bring together disparate matter (life traits, behaviors, attitudes, feelings, etc.) to establish uniformity in the thoughts, consciences and actions of church members. The negative effects of uniformity are most noticeable, visible and manifest in delicate matters such as positions, points of view and feelings. Yet they are far less serious in other professions where there is less to lose because the opinions and viewpoints of the subjects are not important. All that is required is the execution of given tasks, following which one may be approved or disapproved. The spiritual dimension is quite different, for the Servant of God must lead the sheep to conviction, to persuasion, so that the latter engages his responsibility in such a way as to be able to give an unambiguous account before God. This is not the least of his tasks, however, for it is very difficult to bring everyone around to the same point of view. Getting everyone to walk at the same pace and at the same time is very difficult, if not impossible. A pastor once said that it's easier for shopkeepers to get along than for men and women of God to have the same point of view. Shopkeepers, he said, aim for the same thing, which is gain, whereas pastors will say that they each have the Holy Spirit and don't necessarily need submission.

Not the least of the great dangers encountered in pastoral work is that of resting thoughts, deeds and actions on sentiment, and this ends up becoming unbearable in God's eyes unless the Spirit of God incessantly revives it. It sometimes happens that a slightly tainted conscience dulls the depth of perception of facts, rendering the exact apprehension of things superficial. Judgment will then prove false, and emotions will display unexpected negativity, producing nauseating or vile effects. From this step, we can easily deduce that if uniformity is formidable, it is certainly in the exercise of ministry. How can we not be frightened when such a solemn, sublime function is presented to us, and inside we feel a certain complex; or when around us, everything seems as big as we imagined and in your soul we see ourselves as very small? Faced with a scene of death, an accident, fierce attacks from the world of darkness, habit and our attitude can leave your heart cold, our spirit despondent or our soul discouraged, all carried away by a spirit of fear. In circumstances like these, there are strong tendencies of an immense danger; that of giving up everything; and if there were no remedy, one would consider giving up the ministry. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, and divine grace is present to renew us whenever danger surfaces. On the other hand, a coerced assent to doctrine, or an unconvinced compliance with outward manifestations, would be hypocritical and of no benefit. We readily agree that human attempts to produce absolute unity of spirit among Christians would be futile. Christian brotherhood must not be called into question by fighting words, but must be expressed by concrete acts of mutual love, the starting point for uniformity according to God.

In this delicate work of bringing uniformity to the whole life of believers, there are no prospects or opportunities for other professions. Does this mean that secular methods and principles must be brought into the sacred realm of pastoral ministry? Far from it. Besides, no one can rise in the spiritual hierarchy as one does in other social professions, even if they excel in the eyes of all. Only God's choice and sovereign decision can intervene in such cases. In this work of uniformity, we tend to say to ourselves: I'll do the same thing all my life without ever getting out of it, without my worldly horizon expanding? Then, from heaven, God in absolute calm and silence will say nothing, and all we need is the faith to carry on. The danger of unappreciated work quickly surfaces.

4. misunderstood and unappreciated work
   

Only those who have received a vocation can truly understand the work of the ministry. For the layman, there is no other profession that gives honors, prestige, advantages or even a position of authority that should suffer no challenge like that of God's Minister. But is this the daily life of the Servant of God? Far from it. On the other hand, this work is poorly appreciated by most people, at least in terms of its intensity and weight. People who live in rural areas, in particular, regard anyone who does not work with his hands as an idler, a sluggard, a beggar; they don't realize to what extent the work of the spirit is as hard and fraught with danger as any other job. I'm often told, you stay all day in front of your computer or your books and Bibles, so it's less tiring. What a poor assessment of other people's work! The work of the intellect finds some appreciators; but the work of the heart, prayer, spiritual concern for one's flock, who will see that as work? We must submit to being little understood. Is it easy to find farmers who would bring a few fruits from their fields to encourage their shepherd? And how easy is it for a sheep to go to its shepherd and thank him sincerely, to show him how much it appreciates the constant care his shepherd gives it?

The perception of this aspect is as confused as God seems to have kept to Himself the exact appreciation of the dimension and scope of His Minister's work. Thus, Paul exclaims: "For God, it seems to me, has made us apostles the last of men, condemned to death as it were, since we have made a spectacle of ourselves to the world, to angels and to men" (1Co 4:9 ). How was Christ treated? Was He understood? Not for us either.

5. many sad and painful functions
   

In my book to the correction entitled ''The School of God'' I wrote the following lines:

''Paul having reached the last class of God's school could say:

" For me, Christ is my life and death is my gain " (Phil 1.21). " For me, I am already serving as a libation, and the time of my departure is drawing near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2 Tim 4.4-8).

Indeed, all those who have reached this last class no longer fear either life or death, for they have offered everything to God. Most of them, like their Master, have laid the foundation of our faith with their blood:

- Isaiah was sawn into a log, - Jeremiah was put to death, - John the Baptist was beheaded, - Jesus the head of the church was crucified - James, brother of John, was beheaded - Stephen was stoned to death, - Matthew was put to death in Ethiopia, - Mark was dragged through the streets to his death, - Luke was hanged

- Peter was crucified upside down, - Simon the Canaanite was crucified, - Andrew was tied to an X-shaped cross until he died, - James was thrown down from the temple and beaten to death, - Philip was crucified and stoned to death, - Bartholomew (Nathanael) was flayed alive, - Thomas was speared - Paul was beheaded

From these lines, we can see that the main opportunity for the Christian walk in ministry is suffering: what sad discoveries in this labyrinth of human misery that is the journey of every life! The Gospel is a moral pharmacopoeia. There is a Gospel because there are ills to heal. The minister goes to the spiritually ill, but also to the physically ill and those suffering from some other sadness, sometimes due to shock, abuse, disappointment and trauma in the past. Often faced with the magnitude of suffering, sometimes after uncertain relief, illness or bereavement seem to be the only doorkeepers that can usher us into a rest home. What a gloomy entry into a disquieting conception! At this point, it becomes impossible for God's minister to assume his responsibilities, to come to the aid of the afflicted and lavish appropriate care on them, because sooner than that, he has taken his share of the body's miseries.of the body; as a physician recruited by God, he offered himself not from the portion that belongs to every agent of the celestial office, but from the miseries of the soul. In any case, the sight of moral evil withers and corrupts, especially its analysis, if one has received the dreaded gift of knowing man without knowing God. The true minister, no doubt, knows God; but the fiery goads of the evil one sometimes find the defect in the latter's armour. The result can be a misanthrope (a person with an aversion to mankind), and the fire of charity extinguished.

Finally, there are heartaches for the Minister, as little understood by most people as the Pastor's work is little appreciated. If, on the other hand, the Minister has found a hard and hypocritical heart, has used all the attempts and attitudes of his charity, and no soulsif, on the other hand, the Minister has found a hard, hypocritical heart, has used all his charity's attempts and attitudes, and no souls have been saved because of circumstances he should perhaps not have foreseen, no one will understand that he suffers cruelly. And yet, the greatest compensation for our sorrows is to be understood. It is for this cause that the minister of the Gospel must sometimes sacrifice everything, even to extremes.

6. sacrifice of many tastes, even the most innocent
   

The local church is made up of people of varying degrees of maturity. Some are weak and some are strong, yet all of us must consent not to live for ourselves. Anyone who has surrendered his or her life to Christ can no longer claim to be selfish, for this is contrary to the principles of community life in Christ. We no longer need to seek or want to please ourselves, but to please God. This is where fellowship makes sense, making Christ all in all. Admittedly, Christians differ in strength, ability and practice in the smallest things, yet they all belong to the Lord; they look to and serve Christ, and each wants to be approved by the Lord. From this we easily understand that Jesus is Lord of those who live, over whom he must rule; and of those who have died, to revive and raise them up by the power of his resurrection. Each believer must then search his own heart and life; he who is strict must judge and humble himself, and so will not feel able to judge and despise his brother. So to preserve the fellowship whose character is holy in God's sight, we must be careful not to say or do things that may be opportunities for others to stumble or fall. Whether with a greater or lesser degree of offence, it can be an occasion of grief or guilt for our brother.

No believer, however spiritually elevated, has the authority to use his freedom to despise his weaker brother and call him ignorant and superstitious. We usurp the place of God, when we take it upon ourselves to so judge the thoughts and intentions of others, who do not see as we do. Let us be careful of any action that would oppose the doubt of conscience. We are quick to make our own views the standard of truth, and to judge as certain things which appear doubtful to others. So often brothers in Christ scorn or condemn others on dubious matters that are not current. A grateful glance at God, the Author and Giver of all our mercies, sanctifies and softens them.

To maintain the unity of the Spirit, we must constantly renounce all things which are innocent in themselves, but which would scandalize the weak. The extent of this prohibition varies, but it does exist, and its concept must be sufficiently taken into account so that he for whom Christ died suffers no complex, for it is written:

"See to it that no one deprives himself of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness, sprouting shoots, produces trouble, and that manylet there be no fornicator or profane person like Esau, who sold his birthright for a meal.you know that later, when he sought the blessing, he was rejected, even though he asked for it with tears; for his repentance could have no effect"(Hebrews 12.15-17).

7. Revaluing gifts, lost talent, rusting in obscurity, God's sovereignty

It's becoming commonplace for pastors to ascribe their supposed superiority to themselves, based on their ability to produce miracles, to teach, and many will claim, a special anointing rests on their lives. Now, everything is due to God's grace, and so boasting is out of place. We have no reason to claim to be superior to others; everything we have, everything we are, everything we do, everything that is good, we owe to God's free and rich grace. It would be truly absurd and inappropriate for a sinner raised from destruction by divine sovereign grace alone to boast of God's free gifts.

The fact that many eyes are fixed on believers and not on God always creates negative effects; when they live painfully with difficulties or temptations, some are held back in their ethey are discouraged, lacking constancy and patience, as if God were no longer God to control all situations and silence the storm when the boat seemed forever swept away by the furious waves.

"We are weak, but you are strong", says the Apostle. Not all believers are equally exposed to the same difficulties. Some suffer greater trials than others. The Apostle Paul opens up the details of their sufferings. We discover how glorious is the love and devotion that carried them through all these trials! They suffered in their persons and characters like the worst and vilest of men; like the filth of the world, they were swept away: like the refuse of all things, the dross of all things. And everyone who wants to be faithful in Christ Jesus must be prepared for insufficiency and contempt. Whatever Christ's followers suffer at the hands of men, they must follow the example and fulfill the will and precepts of their Lord. They must be content, with him and for him, to be despised and abused. It is far better to be rejected, despised and misused, as was the case with Paul, than to have the good opinion and favor of the world. Though rejected by the world as a vile character, we can nevertheless be precious to God, picked up by his own hand, and placed on his throne.

Not every talented man can be placed in a place where he will be appreciated. It is not a matter of self-indulgence, but of activity. It's a sacrifice, but one that must be made. Sacrifice being the highest degree of love, it goes without saying that, in the end, it will penetrate the depths of God's mind to awaken, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the sleeping talents buried in the darkness of many people's ignorance. We are not responsible for what God has done, and we must accept it without a murmur. This sometimes explains our solitude, which far from being a rejection is an isolation from the crowd for specific training, as was the case with Elijah or John the Baptist.

8. Painful isolation for those who have experienced the charms of social life

As the minister strives for perfection in his service, he will be led to experience things that are not the lot of the multitude. This situation, which sometimes leads him into uncomfortable situations, sometimes wrongly convinces some that he is rejected by God, and yet, for a time, he is removed from the gaze of men so that God's powerful hand can shape him. For a mission well accomplished, the Prophet Elijah had to separate himself from the crowd, on divine recommendation, to go to the banks of a torrent, where he was exceptionally fed by ravens (birds which were impure in Israel). When the torrent dried up, he was again led elsewhere until the time indicated by God. Didn't Paul retire to Arabia after his conversion? Wasn't John the Baptist in the desert until the time when he would publicly exercise his ministry?

God's holy counsel allows us to be isolated from others for a purpose at any time. In an article in Promises, the author said that we must stop before we are stopped. Moments of isolation are sometimes imposed on us by illness, unfortunate events, periods of misunderstanding, discipline and so on. But how often do we understand God's voice during these times? Let's give God the sovereignty to lead us into the isolation of Patmos to reveal great things for his kingdom without having to be inspired by fear. Let's defy the obstacles and go with God to new horizons of the new dimension of his power that must be manifested in us.

9. The Pastor inspires a kind of defiance and fear
   

In Africa, we often hear people say: "He's as poor as a church mouse", or "That one has a catechist's salary".by this we understand that the church worker, in this case the pastor, is a man of office stricken with the curse of poverty. We should therefore expect nothing better from him in the financial sphere. Perhaps it's laxity and misinterpretation of the Scriptures that are to blame? In my former church, it was preached to us in the early hours of my service to God that spiritual work is useful for everything and more than enough, because God's grace is sufficient for us. So we had to pray, read the Bible and fast as if this would provide food for the family. This situation led our children not to pursue their studies further. Because of this incredible situation, many have been inspired with fear about the pastoral function. For many people, he represents the sad side of human existence, because their lives are not fulfilled. Because the shepherd must withdraw from worldliness to please his Lord, the shepherd is characterized as everything negative and gloomy, and so on. The minister seems to mourn life for several reasons: those who think that trusting in God is utopian, because they have to fend for themselves, see in the Pastor an instrument of destruction, even perditionon the other hand, because he doesn't necessarily share everyone's point of view, because he has to bring every thought back to Christ, he becomes a fearsome man who inspires distrust. Many of the ministry's challenges push the pastor to bring his life situations before God and not before the sheep, as much as the ministry's situation and the social sphere. This silence, out of respect for deontology or pastoral ethics, places God's Minister in the ranks of the suspicious. Men go through situations, but his is a serious one, and seriousness always borders on sadness. This relegates him to a kind of solitude, which further increases the solitude he must impose on himself by the etiquette of his state. Therein lies the double danger of pleasing or displeasing.

10. The double danger of pleasing and displeasing the world.
    

The Encarta Dictionary 2009 defines worldliness as: "a taste for the practice of habits and distractions peculiar to people of wealth and prominence". The world here is neither the planet we live on, nor the creation that surrounds us. Rather, it is the whole system erected by man in order to be happy without Christ. It can include the world of culture, opera, art, education - in a word, any realm from which the love of the Lord Jesus is excluded. It has been defined as: "Human society organized on false principles, and characterized by vile desires, false values and selfishness. "Worldliness, then, consists in loving things that pass away.

The further we advance in pastoral ministry, the greater the temptation becomes. Usually, the beginning of pastoral service is a time of great humility, fear of God, desire to do better, search for God's perfect will and ardent passion for a life of sanctification, but the more you advance, the more simplicity gains ground. As the church grows, the temptation to assert oneself, to be appreciated, to be accepted as the best becomes real and inescapable. It takes deep humility, a self-effacing life and God's grace not to fall into the trap of pride. It's certainly true, the things of the world can be desired and possessed for the jobs and purposes God has intended, but, they must be used by His grace, and to His glory alone. The frequent danger is that believers should not seek them out or value them in a way that gives sin a foothold. The world puts an obstacle between the heart and God; and the more the love of the world predominates, the more love towards God will weaken.

The things of the world are classified according to the following three sovereign inclinations of a depraved nature:

1. The desire of the flesh, of the body: the evil desires of the heart, the appetite to seek all things that excite and inflame sensual pleasures.

2. The desire of the eyes: the eyes take pleasure in riches and rich possessions; this is the desire of greed.

3. The pride of life: a vain man longs for the grandeur and pomp of a life whose glory is vain; this includes the thirst for honors and applause.

These vanities are so attractive to corruption in our hearts, that without constant prayer we cannot escape the world, or gain victory over its god, prince, system and hold.

If, on the other hand, we please the world, we become attached to that success, and want to secure it for the future.and since it's hard to see oneself deserted after being feted, a subtle invention will be orchestrated each time to keep the bar apparently always high. A worldly strategy strongly inspired by Satan will then be used to favor the emotional effervescence of the Christians in the community to the detriment of the action of the Holy Spirit. We must never forget that, all self-love aside, it is painful to renounce the benevolence of our fellow human beings, and not to have peace with all men. If you displease someone, you become saddened or irritated, and you do everything to displease them even more. The thought that the truth offends can be abused; one can want to add to the unpopularity of the truth before having subdued hearts. The minister must conciliate the affection of the members of his flock; and if he is unpopular, he must examine his conduct, to see if this unpopularity does not come from him. Be that as it may, both dangers exist, both abysses are being crossed, and the danger of self-love remains present at every step, surreptitiously stretching out its tentacles to embrace this unawakened Shepherd.

11. Self-love is very much at stake in a profession that is exposed to the public eye, that is intellectual, and that deals with art and literature

Self-love is a person's sense of dignity and worth. Anyone elevated to a position of dignity or authority is bound to feel drawn to self-esteem. The various pressures of ministry often push the Pastor to defend his self-esteem from time to time, sometimes threatened by denigration, slander, incompetence and other hurtful factors. When he is overwhelmed, the flesh becomes the preferred place to spout out out-of-context words aimed just at defending his love, which is threatened with ruin.

In the face of such self-love, Paul can honestly declare that he strives in all things to please everyone, seeking not his own advantage, but that of the many. Few men have lived such a life of self-denial in the service of others as the apostle. Love does nothing dishonestly. If a person acts out of love, he or she is bound to be courteous and considerate. Love is not selfishly interested in its own interests, but rather in what benefits others. Love doesn't get irritated; it bears affronts and insults patiently. Love does not suspect evil, i.e. it does not attribute evil intentions to others. It does not suspect their actions. Love is a tangible proof of regeneration, and it is a touchstone of our faith that is professed in Christ. Charity is a total enemy to selfishness; it neither desires nor seeks its own praise, or honor, profit, or pleasure. It is not that charity destroys all esteem for ourselves, or that the charitable man must neglect himself and all his interests. But charity never seeks its satisfaction by hurting others, or neglecting them. It always prefers the well-being of others to its own private advantage. How accommodating and amiable is Christian charity! How excellent Christianity would appear to the world if those who profess it lived more under this divine principle, and regarded with due esteem the commandment on which its blessed Author has laid chief stress! Let us ask ourselves whether this divine love remains in our hearts. Has this principle guided us in our behavior towards all men? Are we willing to set aside selfish objects and goals? There's a call here for vigilance, diligence and prayer.

The minister may gather the multitude to speak to them of what he will. It would not be surprising to find that many would have embraced this profession in this hope. The flock becomes a public, the audience a tribunal. The minister's position and ministry in principle become distorted de facto; the shepherd's generous independence and authority are compromised; he has imposed a yoke on himself. He no longer preaches God, he preaches himself, and by a sacrilege whose extent is difficult to measure, the pulpit becomes a theater, podiums for his vanity in his judgments, condemnation and sentence sometimes going as far as capital punishment. It's a harsh word, but if you look inside yourself, you'll see that it's often all too true. In the wake of oratorical triumphs, the Pastor may gather praise: with each praise a reproach will resound in his heart. Ah! Let him prefer to praise the silent respect of a faithful soul who has listened to him in meditation and whose heart he has touched, a far greater victory than to have aroused sterile admiration. Self-love is our most terrible enemy, because it is the closest to us. Everyone is greedy for praise; only there is a robust and unrestrained kind of self-love (vanity), just as there is a sickly and self-moderating kind. The latter is called modesty. It's not a virtue, it's a human quality, a simple mark of common sense: there's a long way to go from modesty to humility; true humility is a miracle, requiring supernatural grace to give it to the minister. Only love can dethrone self-love in the heart. Love is an ardent, passionate preoccupation that distracts from everything that is not itself, from blame as well as praise. It is in love that conversion is organized. You have to love your flock to preach it well.

''There is a form of self-love that manifests itself in the ministry more than in any other profession: it is the love of command. The pastor is the only one of his kind in his parish; he is called to command. In public, at least, you can't argue with him; he has a monopoly on speech. Often he has to deal with the poor, who show him great respect because they are more or less dependent on him. This habit of command, so easy to contract, makes one narrow, distorts one's view, and drives away those who cannot sacrifice their tastes to that of the Shepherd". Chrysostom has developed with admirable force the dangers of self-love in the ministry.

The danger of self-love is greater in the Protestant than in the Catholic, who speaks much less. It's hard for the Protestant minister not to give in a little to the idea of being a good speaker. At the end of the day, a good preacher is a good speaker. And in seeking perfection for its own sake, it's hard not to seek it in order to please, if only oneself. This leads us to see the ideas of preaching as nothing more than a neutral substratum that is only as valuable as the form it takes. And when popularity is firmly established and makes a good impression among the flock that has taken a liking to it, change is subject to a great inner struggle between the faith of victory and the doubt of the brethren of the emotional chill of church members.

12. Inner battles between faith and doubt
    

The duties of a Pastor and his flock are such that the flock must reveal the problems of the pastoral function, with respect and obedience. The Shepherd, in turn, must care for the flock and cherish it with expressions of satisfaction, joy and tenderness. He must also teach and care for his flock, ensuring that they are loved by him, and that they in turn are grateful to him. Titus' attitude during his stay in Corinth is a good illustration: he had come to love the Corinthians even more, but inside he felt a kind of fear and trembling. This attitude ofsolicitous anxiety was explained by the apprehension that love might not succeed in doing all that was necessary (explains C. Hodge in The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 1959). In fact, Titus was clearly unaware of the reception he would receive when he landed on the southern coast of Greece. Perhaps he expected the worst. But when he arrived, not only did the Corinthians receive him with open arms, but they immediately endeared themselves to him by readily submitting to the instructions he gave them on Paul's behalf (2 Cor. 7:12-16).

Perhaps these struggles are more frequent and deeper in the Shepherd than in the simple faithful, and in the midst of which the work of the ministry must be pursued. Doubt, as a psychological fact, has been little studied; there is a philosophical doubt and a doubt of ignorance: we'll leave them aside. But are these the only ones? Is there not a state where the best evidence leaves you in doubt? The intellectual proofs are there, and the soul is uncertain. Christian certainty is something other than intellectual certainty. Doubt is a state of nothingness, a state of temptation where all have passed. When life falters, faith falters. Faith creates life, but life sustains faith. Faith is a view; when it is not, it descends to the rank of belief. Faith is one, but it has its degrees. And if, in the midst of such a situation, we could withdraw, collect ourselves, interrupt the work that all presupposes faith, we wouldn't be so unhappy; but we can't: we still have to preach. Everyone can find themselves in the state Richard Baxter fell into, suddenly feeling in an absolute void, where everything escapes, even fundamental beliefs. This state is dreadful. We must emerge from it, and strive to restore all the forces of the spirit in fervent prayer.

In the course of the ministry, there were always battles, opposition or continuous struggles between truth and the spirit of evil. The Pastor, though trusting in God within, doesn't always know what might happen from one moment to the next. So there's always fear and trepidation for those who have embraced the Christian faith. The journey of faith always marks surprises, as the Holy Spirit does not constantly warn us of everything that is plotting against us or that is to come. Didn't the famous Prophet Elijah say, to our astonishment: "This woman was suffering in her heart, but the Lord hid it from me"?

In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul had left Ephesus for Troas in search of Titus. But when he didn't find him there, he went on to Macedonia. His arrival in this province had not brought him the rest he was looking for. Worry still gnawed at him, and he was afflicted in every way. Outside, the enemy continued to harass him mercilessly, inside he was beset by fear and anguish, no doubt linked to the fact that he had not yet seen Titus again. Indeed, in Troas, where he had been waiting for Titus to return and report on the situation in Corinth, he had crossed the Aegean to Macedonia to meet Titus. There, the anxious Paul had to face new setbacks of which Acts 20:1-3 says nothing, and which, it seems, had nothing to do with Corinth. The expression "struggles without, fears within" (2 Cor. 7.5) is indeed a reality in the daily life of the Pastor, for he is exposed at every moment to the gap between the man he is and the demands imposed by his status, his nature, his disposition as Pastor or Preacher of the Good News.

Referring to 2 Corinthians 6.3-8, how can we ensure that we give no cause for scandal in any way, so that the ministry is not an object of blame, by making ourselves in all respects commendable, as servants of the Lord?how can we make ourselves commendable in all respects, as God's servants before many patient tribulations, calamities, distresses, beatings, prisons, troubles, labors, vigils and fasts? How, in these horrible times, do we manifest purity, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by a holy spirit, by sincere charity, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the offensive and defensive weapons of justice? How, finally, are we to live these things in the midst of glory and ignominy, in the midst of bad and good reputations; being regarded as impostors, though truthful? An easy answer is not possible. We can only look to God's grace for our change, sometimes passing through the fire of the breaking test so that we meet the criteria he had pre-established. But how hostile we are to change! May God help us to be vessels that the Lord holds in his hands, able to break it and knead it again to finally give it the shape of his choice!

13. Inner humiliation of feeling so distant from the preacher he's supposed to be
    

A Servant of God once declared out loud that it's easier for a Pastor's family to determine more than anyone else whether he was a good servant of God or not. Do those who live with the Pastor's daily life always have a good testimony of what was expected from his preaching? He may expose sins from time to time, but despite his profession of faith and vain pretensions, is he the model God expected? We must not delude ourselves into thinking that believing, being humble and glorifying God with gratitude is the root and fullness of authentic faith. But pride, boasting and vainglory in God, manifested by the outward confession of His name, are in fact only the proof, the root and the fullness of all hypocrisy. Spiritual pride is the most dangerous of all kinds of pride. One of the great evils of the sins of Professors of Theology and Pastors is the dishonor they do to God and the Christian faith is not to live up to what they profess. Many despise their more ignorant neighbors who remain in a dead form of piety; and yet they themselves trust in a form of knowledge, equally empty of life and power, while taking some glory in the gospel, and their profane life dishonors God whose name is thus blasphemed outside.

Who is the most faithful man who has not wavered? We are rebuked by these words: "You list my statutes, and have my covenant in your mouth, you who hate advice, and cast my words behind you" (Psalms 50.16-17). This word of God embarrasses any true Shepherd whose actions can easily produce life and death.

14. It's an agonizing thought to know that you're carrying in your hands the destinies of many souls, and that you're exercising a ministry that, if it doesn't make you live, kills you
    

For those who are saved, Christians are a fragrance of life, giving life, but for those who perish, they are a fragrance of death, giving death. An event in A.T. illustrates this double aspect admirably. When the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines, it caused death and destruction for as long as it remained among them (1Sam 5). But when it was brought into the house of Obed-Edom, it brought blessing and prosperity for him and all his household (2Sam 6.11). Phillips puts it this way: we are "the sweet perfume of life itself", bringing life to those who believe, but "a deadly smell of cursing" to those who refuse to believe. Measuring the crushing responsibility of conveying a message with such far-reaching repercussions, he cries out: And who is sufficient for these things?

The Pastor can kill, by aggravating the condemnation of his church members, as well as those who, being able to benefit from it, do not. So much for faithful ministry. As for that which is exercised without fidelity, and in which the life does not answer the words, it kills in another way.and this thought, that the scandals we give are the greatest of all, and that the least of our infidelities has serious consequences, is very apt to frighten us, and to make us say: Lord! Send someone else!

''The Gospel of most of the world's people is the lives of the priests they witness, and it always will be, even within Protestantism.they look upon public ministry as a stage for spouting grand maxims that are no longer within the grasp of human weakness, but they look upon our lives as the reality and the real discount to which we must hold ourselves.and further: "We are the columns of the sanctuary, but which, overturned and scattered in the public squares, become stumbling blocks to passers-by" (Massillon). When this scandalous life of the Minister of the Gospel becomes recurrent, the habit of which it is characterized becomes a factor of destruction of all that may have been sown during the good season of the Ministry, the only thing left to exclaim is: What a disaster!

15. The habit that can produce destiny

About ten years ago, the Lord persuaded me to go and ask forgiveness of a girl with whom I'd had a guilty relationship before my conversion. In fact, she so urged me to marry her despite my firm words: "I'll never be a polygamist, because my mother suffered to the point of death".each time, she used Delilah's strategy with Samson, and one day, to get rid of her even though my name remained firm inside me, I told her verbally, but with a lie: "Yes, I understand, we'll get married". A few months later, I met Christ, but she kept the promise in her heart like a treasure. An incident nevertheless led her to marry. When I was convinced that I was bound by my word, I went to her house to ask forgiveness, and was struck by the fact that she brought me a picture hanging by her bedside on which was written: " By dint of living what you don't like, you end up accepting what you do live".she wanted to say that she didn't like her home, but habit led her to live with it, even though her heart felt something else. The wounds of my lie had caused a great wound in her heart.

For the Pastor, on the other hand, the most deplorable experience is when these wounds, which God's consolations alone should close, come to be closed by habit and bad resignation; which, unfortunately, is all too often the case. We must never forget that repeated repentance wears the soul down and actually puts it in bad moods against itself.

Conclusion:

All these pains are very sensitive, but among them, we must admit that it is more disastrous to avoid than painful to undergo. In fact, they all need to be foreseen, and savored in advance, so that no one is ever unprepared to catch a crisis from the unpredictable events that pastors, whoever they may be, must face one day or another. To this perhaps incomplete enumeration, and of which perhaps no feature is emphasized strongly enough, we can no doubt oppose, as compensation, the following advantages: Faith in Christ, which is the most excellent thing and the whole of man, is, for the minister, the office and duty of every day, of every hour, of every circumstance. Indeed, ministry, it must be admitted unequivocally, is part and parcel of the Shepherd's life, by virtue of his vocation and the fact that he mingles with the lives of the other men he leads and, it must be admitted, must in one way or another make up his own.

He lives in the midst of the highest, the lowest, the most profound and the most vast ideas, and occupations of the most absolute utility.

He is called upon to do only good; nothing compels or tempts him to do evil that was no longer supposed to inhabit him. He occupies no rank in the social hierarchy, belongs to no class, but serves as a link between them all; representing in himself, better than anyone else, the ideal unity of society.

The Shepherd's life, when dealing with small, adverse circumstances, is clearly the one best suited to realizing the ideal of a happy life. There is a great regularity, a kind of uniform calm, which is perhaps the true latitude of earthly happiness. The predilection of poets and novelists for the character of the country shepherd is not without foundation. All this is true only if the Shepherd is faithful and full of the Spirit of God to become aware of his condition.and when he is, everything is counterbalanced, corrected, transformed, and all he needs to do, without meticulously weighing up the disadvantages and advantages, is to reflect: Jesus Christ assigns his ministers painful internal and external trials, so that they can sympathize with their flock, and know, through their own hearts, the true meaning of the Gospel.the seduction of sin, the infirmities of the flesh, and the way in which the Lord sustains and supports all those who trust in him.so that in some degree we can transport to the minister what was said of Jesus Christ:" We have no high priest who cannot sympathize with our infirmities, since he was tempted as we are in all things" (Hebrews 4.15).

Finally, the Word of God, in a direct or indirect way, particularly blesses the work and state of the Shepherd. It declares that "those who have been intelligent will shine like the splendor of the expanse ; and those who have brought many to righteousness will shine like stars forever and ever" (Daniel 12.3)

By promising the immediate ministers of Jesus Christ that, in the renewal of all things, they will be seated on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel, she foretells proportionate glory and rewards for their successors (Matthew 19.28)It so honors and blesses the ministry, that the very help lent to it is the object of special promises:whoever receives a Prophet as a Prophet, will receive a Prophet's reward (Matthew 10.41).The greatest ignominy we could endure on earth for Christ's sake will seem like a futility when He calls us to present ourselves before the heavenly multitudes. Even the excruciating torments of the martyrs will seem to them like pinpricks the moment the Savior places the crown of life on their heads. Elsewhere, our present sufferings are like light and fleeting afflictions, while they produce for us an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17). The Pastor, God's Minister on earth, must regard the various tribulations of which he is frequently the victim as insignificant in the face of the glory that will be his!

Today's Pastors have little idea of the sufferings of the ancient saints, who were considered outcasts, despised, persecuted and killed (Rom 8.36; 2Cor 11.23-28), so the Minister of the Gospel needs patience, our path is rough and long, but the One who is to come will come, even if He seems late. Above all, we must never forget as we traverse the winding, barren slopes of the dark periods of our ministry that it is said:

"And my righteous man will live by faith; but if he withdraws, my soul has no pleasure in him" (Hebrews 10.38).

Dr André CHOUBEU

Tel: +237 77 75 71 60 / 99 58 65 05