Monday, June 15, 2009

"Pooped Pastors"

"I’m no longer a pastor but I haven’t been away from it for so long that I’ve forgotten ...

The discouragement

The battles that I sometimes won and sometimes lost

The hypocrisy I often felt in thinking that my being a pastor was insane

The times when I didn’t know what I was doing and pretended that I did

The criticism that often came from those who I thought were friends

The 24/7 schedule with work that was never done

The people who left my church because they “weren’t being fed”

The blank page late Saturday night and my reminding God about the sermon

The incredible guilt over my family and my ministry

The loneliness

The fear of discovery

The neurotics who hated me

The congregational meetings when I was sure it was coming apart

The hard road of authenticity when everything I did worked against it

The efforts at humility when people thought more of me than was justified

The questions about whether I and what I did even mattered"
- Brown -

Designed to be a "safe place" for pastors to truly be themselves, PoopedPastors.com is a comprehensive, interactive site packed with a vast library of resources. Video workshops. Confidential forums. Insightful perspectives from a wide variety of ministry leaders that speak to what's really true about you.

Pastors - do check out this site ... and rejoice! You're not alone in the battle for souls we delicately call "the ministry."

Church members - if you care about your pastor, please do forward this post on to him with words of affirmation, encouragement, and blessing. Your thoughtfulness will be appreciated. Probably more than you'll ever know.

Walking alongside those who minister to our souls ~
Linda

2 comments:

  1. wow. The words above hit home. Every line. Sometimes it's encouraging to just be reminded that what we experience as pastors is common and we are not alone in these struggles. Thanks for this post. I'll check out the website. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love when a reader digs something of value out of the archives! Angie, I am so delighted that this post ministered to you. Please know that you are welcome here ...

      Delete

Welcome to the table, friend!

This is where we gather and hang out. I'd love for you to pull up a chair and jump right into the conversation. Or simply say 'hello.'

l'll be dropping in to visit you sometime soon ...

Linda

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