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Tag Archives: Ordinary Pastors

Pastoral Ministry Defined

I want to interrupt our tendency to unfavorable comparison, unattainable aspirations, and the resulting discouragement of soul. I want to ask a question: Why are we discouraged? Often we are vulnerable to discouragement because we have forgotten what pastoral ministry truly is. We measure ourselves against unattainable standards, and inevitably we do not measure up. So if you find yourself discouraged, you’re not alone. I’m familiar with this state of soul. And the most effective way I can encourage you…

Called, Gifted, and Discouraged

Some pastors are extraordinary gifts to the church—Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Lig Duncan, R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, John Piper, and Thabiti Anyabwile among them. It is a privilege to listen to and learn from these men. When I think about these men, I often think of the PGA tour motto: “These guys are good.” These guys are smart. These guys are unusually gifted. (Although that certainly isn’t how they see themselves.) Chances are, if you’re a pastor, you think of…

Ordinary Pastors

We tend to overlook the “ordinary” things in life. We don’t watch a keynote speech live online to see the unveiling of a new model of an ordinary mobile phone. We don’t buy expensive stadium tickets to watch ordinary athletes compete. And ordinary YouTube videos never “go viral.” The common, the everyday, the routine, the uneventful, the garden-variety…none of it grabs headlines or our attention. We notice the extra-ordinary, and when it comes we will watch it, buy it, and…