The Life of a Preacher Man

When you are the Pastor of a small town church you do not have an office full of staff ready to help you do all the things that need to be done. In most cases small town church pastors are on their own. They are more than just someone who preaches on Sunday morning. They are counselors. They perform marriages. They are the ones who are called in case the marriage is falling apart. They are the ones who get a call late at night asking for a ride home from the hospital because the person doesn't have a car. And they were the one who took that person to the hospital in the first place. They get called asking for help with gas or food.  

Just in case they are needed their cell phones are never shut off. They do not work a 9-5 job. There is no time clock. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. For example: when the Preacher was working as a Youth Minister, he worked under a Senior Pastor that insisted he be in the office by 9:00 am, take a lunch break for one hour, then back in the office until 5:00 pm. This was good because the Preacher was able to answer phone calls, prepare for Junior Church, youth outings, etc. It was a bad thing because he was not able to be out in the schools or the communities, getting to know the youth and their parents. 

There are moments when this life of ministry is great. Moments when the Preacher gets to witness someone come to know the Lord and he has the honor of baptizing them. Moments when he is the host of fundraisers and he sees money being raised to promote ministries. Moments when he counsels young couples wanting to get married and he gets to watch them grow in their love for each other. Then there are the times when he is asked to do a wedding and he discovers the wedding is taking place in the mountains and he not only witnesses their marriage but also the beauty surrounding him as he performs the ceremony. Moments when he watches a young man grow up in his youth group, goes on to college, and becomes a preacher. And then getting that call from that same young man thanking the preacher for all he did in this young man's life. 

Building relationships, leading people to Jesus, being an example, these are the reasons that the Preacher does what he does. It is not for fame, for the money, or for recognition. This is the life that my Preacher chose because he loves his Savior.

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" –Isaiah 6:8

Love from the Preacher and I