Two Preachers, Two Texts, Two Perspectives, One Suggestion
It is not unusual for me to get text messages. I’m reasonably certain that this is not unusual for most (if not) all who will read this. However, there was something unusual about two texts I received recently on the same day.
In the morning, I received a text from a friend and brother of mine who has been preaching for a number of years. Like me, he is no longer a young man. That, along with the fact that both he and his wife are dealing with some serious health issues, has made it necessary for him to make the difficult decision to no longer preach on a full-time basis. He said that he just wanted me to know, but it seemed to me that he also kind of needed somebody to communicate with in some way.
That same afternoon, I received a text from a much younger preacher I know. He is not quite two years into his work as a full-time preacher. Much like the older preacher, he was just letting me know about some difficult decisions he had made, but I also got the same feeling that I had when I read the earlier text. It seemed that he also just kind of needed somebody to communicate with in some way.
While these two men have very little in common in terms of age or time spent preaching, they have a great deal in common in a lot of ways. Not the least of those ways are the facts that both of them love the Lord, His people, and those who need to be His people. Along with that they love God’s message and love trying to help people to understand and respond to that message.
While these two men may have different degrees of talent in differing areas, both of them have considerable talents that would be beneficial for any “career” they chose. I am reasonably certain that they could have chosen a “career path” that would have had a lot of material and social advantages that preaching the gospel does not have, but each of them made the choice to use the abilities that God has given them in His service.
It seems to me that it would be accurate to say that these two men have at least one other thing in common. Things at this point in their lives are not the way either of these men would desire for them to be. The older brother would still love to do what he has done for so many years and the younger brother seems to feel that his work is not having the impact he would desire for it to have.
I well remember what it was like to be much younger than I am now and to be enthusiastic and optimistic about how the gospel can change the lives of people. Looking back on those days, I now think that I was naïve enough to think that all I needed to do was to find the right approach to presenting the gospel. I thought that, if I could do that, the Lord’s church would experience very significant growth. I remember doubting my ability to do that.
I also remember preaching for a church in what I guess could be called the midpoint of my preaching “career.” I remember one of the elders there describing that congregation as “a sleeping giant.” What he meant by that was that the kind of inertia where “a body at rest tends to stay at rest” seemed to describe that congregation. I still remember that elder and me questioning whether or not our efforts were having any impact at all.
Now that I am no longer “behind the pulpit” very much at all, I can look back on those almost four decades when I had that privilege. When I do that, it doesn’t take long at all to think of many things that I now realize that I should have done, should not have done, and/or done differently.
I’ve done a lot of thinking about those two texts and about the two men who sent them. I’ve also thought about the perspectives that I have had as a younger preacher, a middle-aged preacher, and as an older man looking back on his life as a preacher.
As I thought, my mind quickly began to get filled up with suggestions for those of us who, like me, no longer preach on a full-time basis as well as for those who will never preach. I then tried to figure out a way to simplify all that was going through my mind.
What follows is the result of my attempt at editing and simplifying my thoughts. The title of this post suggests that I have one suggestion. In reality, the one suggestion is kind of an overarching umbrella that is meant to cover a lot of things.
Simply put, my suggestion for how to relate to preachers and their families is this:
Be that person.
Preachers and their families have the same struggles, joys, challenges, need for acceptance, and so many other things that all people experience. Unlike so many other people though, preachers often have to deal with these things while feeling like their entire existence is similar to living in a fishbowl.
Be that person who recognizes that preachers and their families are people, too. Be that person with whom preachers and their families can spend time, share their struggles, rejoice in their successes, and open their hearts. Be that person who regularly, consistently, sincerely prays for preachers.
After all, don’t most people expect preachers to do that for them?
So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them,
for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 7:12, ESV)
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn