Earlier this morning, while walking peacefully in the near-dawn with my wife, I concluded, with more hope than certainty, that today would be my last chiropractor visit. My neck was pivoting painlessly, effortlessly-right, left, right, left. This after recurrent, stress-related neck and shoulder problems.
Frankly, before I became a pastor, if someone had said, “Pastoring gives me a pain in the neck!” I would have assumed he had missed his calling. But no more.
As a pastor, I’ve consistently struggled with the Lord’s words “Why take ye thought . . .” I find myself taking considerable thought about the difficulties of ministry. And my neck pays the price.
As the street lights flicked off with the brightening sky, my thoughts turned to a family that, a few months ago, had been enthusiastic about our church. When I met with the husband and wife to discuss youth ministry, they were brimming with motivation. They led the “bus ministry” for a month (our children’s church meets in the parking lot in an old renovated bus). The last time I saw the husband, he was smiling and remarking how great he felt about ministering to kids. The wife was testifying that she had been healed of a food allergy and arthritis in our services. But suddenly, they stopped attending. Though we have talked on the phones they have inexplicably lost all interest in our church.
My neck tightened just a bit.
Our church rents a store front from the local cable-TV company. The manager, our landlord, dropped by last week. It seems he is expanding his operation. “Can you be out by the first of the year?” he asked.
“Mmm,” I muttered, “That gives us four months.”
As my wife and I finished our quiet morning walk, I was glad I still had the chiropractic appointment.
According to some, living pain-free shouldn’t be that hard. Recently I heard a speaker, on a three-tape series called “Breaking the 200 Barrier,” say that he never stays at the church past 5:00 P.M. “No, I take that back,” he said. “I was there until 5:07 one day last week because I had misplaced my jogging shoes.” Somehow he has mastered the aerobic art of leaving his problems at the office.
I haven’t been able to do that. Not long ago I sat with two parents in the newborn intensive-care unit as their infant died in mama’s arms. Two months later, I helped a man with AIDS reveal his illness to our church family, some of whom had serious phobias about the disease.
Later, through a long, long night, I stood with a family whose loved one was buried alive in a construction accident. Near midnight we hugged, prayed, cried, and bravely sang hymns in the rain as his body was pulled from the wet clay.
Now, our church must relocate. All the places investigated so far will triple or quadruple our rent, which for our budget is humanly impossible.
Alas, I haven’t yet learned how to leave these thoughts at the office.
After my chiropractic tune up, I returned to our store front to pray and seek relief in God’s Word. Once again I read, “Take no thought . . . but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” I wondered, Does this stuff work for ministers? After all, the only reason I’m taking thought is that I am seeking first his kingdom.
Later, reading 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him: for he careth for you,” I was impressed that this passage begins, “To the elders . . .”
I also recalled that Jesus personally wept at the grave of Lazarus. And just before enduring the violence of the passion, he even sweat blood.
When Paul catalogued his ministerial sufferings-beatings, shipwreck, perils, pain-he included in that list “the care of all the churches.”
My conclusion: the very virtue that sensitizes me to care for the church also bares the skin of my soul to its hurts. This business of taking thought comes with the territory.
So until I care less about people, my ministry may very well include hot packs, a vibrating traction-couch, and the snap-crackle-pop of the chiropractor.
-Louis D. Templeman
Living Hope Chapel (Foursquare)
Charlottesville, Virginia
Copyright © 1991 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
