A Tip To Encourage the Pastor’s Soul

When is discipleship over?

Answering that is much like answering the question of when is parenting over. Never, really. I suppose there are certain times and certain milestones when you can say, “we’re getting somewhere”. There is certainly a significant step that has taken place when your child gets married and starts having babies of their own. But that doesn’t mean you are no longer a parent. It just changes stuff a bit. The same thing is true of discipleship.

And this is perhaps the most difficult thing about pastoral ministry. It’s never really done. Even if I somehow am able to mark off everything on my to do list for a week, it’s still not finished. There is never really a time when you can sit back and say, “we’ve done it!” Because even if you get something accomplished the wheels can fall off any second. You aren’t really in control of the fruit you are called to bear and produce.

It’s comforting to say things like, “I judge my ministry based on faithfulness.” That is one of the things which helps me to sleep at night. I know that at the end of the day my goal is to be a faithful ambassador of the Lord Jesus. There is only one voice whose “well done” really stands. But even still, I haven’t yet heard that voice.

This side of glory part of the burden of pastoral ministry is that you’ll never actually be done.

This is why I’ve taken up woodworking.

I think you should too. It doesn’t need to be woodworking. But I have found it to be immensely helpful to put physical effort and energy into a project which can actually be done. There is something encouraging and strengthening which happens in my soul when I spend hours on a thing and then see it come to fruition. It’s not just being able to enjoy a job well done. It’s cathartic. It’s a testimony to the fact that things really can be completed.

I would encourage any pastor to find a hobby like this. Not sports. Those aren’t ever done either. You can be World Champs (like my Royals in 2015) and then fall to the bottom of the barrel in no time (like my Royals in 2018). You need to find something which you can actually put energy and effort into that is finished. Try it. And you’ll find yourself getting rejuvenated.

Woodworking isn’t the ultimate answer to our soul’s need for completion. The ultimate answer is the tetelestai shout of Christ on the Cross. We labor with all of our might because Jesus has already accomplished everything we need for life and godliness. We labor in the here and now because we know there really is a day when we can say along with Christ, “it is finished”. But taking up a hobby like this is a helpful precursor to things to come.

If you want to get started woodworking there are tons of YouTube clips to help and you can also go on Amazon and find some helpful books and tools.

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Photo source: here