My heart is for the pastor. Maybe it stems from the fact that I spent more years as a layperson … a deacon and Sunday school teacher … and now, as a pastor. I realize now how much I didn’t understand about the position.
The role has a lot more expectations and pressures than I previously imagined. I always loved and supported the pastor, but looking back, I wish I had been an even better pastor’s friend.
One of the other realities, and it’s rather sobering to me, is how isolated many pastors feel from people in their congregation.
Isolation almost always seems to lead to a misunderstanding of reality. In essence, and here’s the problem and purpose of this post, if we aren’t careful, we can begin to believe lies about ourselves or our ministries. (That even seems to have Biblical precedence … believing lies got us into trouble from the beginning.)
Here are seven lies we often believe as pastors:
1. I’ve got this.
The enemy loves it when we begin to think we have completely figured out life or ministry. He loves for us to place total confidence in ourselves.
Self-confidence, if unchecked, can lead to arrogance, a sense of superiority and a lack of dependence on God.
2. That didn’t hurt.
Sometimes we pretend that what the person said or did to us doesn’t hurt. We can even spiritualize it because we wear the “armor of God.”
In reality, most pastors I know (this one included) have tender feelings at times … some days more than others. We are human. Maturity helps us process things faster, but we never outgrow a certain vulnerability when working with people.
3. I’m above that.
If a pastor ever thinks, “That’s too small for me to be concerned about,” watch for the fireworks to begin. The devil will see some points he can put on the board.
Equally dangerous, when we as pastors believe we are above temptation of any kind, we have the devil’s full attention.
