Nick Poole

Today I’m beginning a series of articles about ‘The Pain of Ministry.’ Not an exciting thing to talk about, but the truth of ministry. It’s not always roses and things don’t always go the way you thought, but how you respond in those moments directly impacts the difference you’re able to make. So if your a pastor or pastor-to-be, let’s dive into the pain and how we can respond to it in the healthiest possible way.

Now, no one gets into ministry to be disappointed. People pursue a life filled with service, care and developing others for a variety of reasons, none of which would even come close to touching disappointment.

And yet, that’s what most people experience in the first 6 months of ministry. That’s not to be negative, but the reality is we pursue this calling because God spoke to us but also because we want to see God’s will accomplished. We want to see good things happen. We want to bring something to a church or to the world that lasts beyond us. But then things get bumpy. Things don’t go exactly the way we thought they would. And while we recognize this is part of life…nothing ever goes like you thought it would…in this situation, we often have the thought, ministry will be different.

But then it happens. Something we were responsible for. Something we put our blood, sweat and tears into, flops. No one shows up. People don’t follow through like they said they would. The weather shifts and ruins the event. Something happens in the church that no one could have anticipated that totally ruins everything you had put in place. Chaos ensues…frustration rises…disappointment has arrived at your doorstep and it’s not just knocking, it’s walked right in.

In these moments, it’s so easy to become disillusioned about ministry, our responsibilities and especially the sacrifices we’re making to do ministry. You probably already know this, but ministry almost never happens without sacrifice. And when we are giving something up, we have this human tendency to expect some kind of return on that investment. Not necessarily a financial or even numeric return, but that our sacrifice is worth it. That what we have done made a difference. But what happens when it appears that what we’ve done or sacrificed for did not make a difference? Or at least make an impact in the hear and now?

Those are times that a lot of people will ask the valid question: Is it worth it? Should I keep doing this?

But here’s the thing about those questions…they don’t resolve themselves quickly, and they shouldn’t. The danger isn’t in asking them. The danger is in answering them too fast, in the middle of the pain, before you’ve had a chance to let the dust settle.

And while those are important, valid questions to ask and process, we have to acknowledge that we will never be able to fully answer the question of worth. Not because ministry has no worth or those in ministry have no worth, but because we can’t always see the spiritual impact our efforts have on others. But yet, it’s still an honest and important thing to verbalize and process with wise counsel.

So what happens when we find ourselves in this place? We should ask the questions, but eventually bring ourselves back to the calling we are pursuing. Ministry isn’t a career, it’s not simply a profession, it’s first and foremost a calling.

If you don’t know why you’re in ministry, you’ll never sustain yourself through the pain. The calling is sometimes the only thing that will keep you going. And while disappointment is going to happen at some point, the counter to this initial experience of pain isn’t throwing in the towel. It’s always to revisit your why.

This is because your why isn’t just some slogan or witty statement that keeps you going or encourages you, it is the God-given mission that keeps you pressing forward, even when the circumstances might be saying otherwise.

So if you’ve found yourself experiencing disappointment in ministry. If you’ve had the thought of giving up this incredible calling you’ve been given. Maybe it’s not time to rethink what you’re doing, but maybe it’s time to rethink why you’re doing it?

Revisiting your why might look like pulling out the journal you kept when you first felt called. It might mean sitting with a mentor who knew you before ministry got hard. It might be as simple as getting alone with God and asking Him to remind you of what He said. However you do it, the act of returning to that place, even briefly, has a way of reorienting everything.

This is because your calling wasn’t given to you for the easy seasons. It was given to you for exactly this one. So before you make any decisions in the middle of the disappointment, go back to the beginning. Read what God spoke over you. Remember the moment it all started. Let that be louder than the circumstances.

And in the weeks ahead we’ll get more practical about navigating specific kinds of pain in ministry. But it all starts here, with the foundation of why you said yes in the first place. Because if that foundation is solid, everything else becomes something you can work through.