It was Sunday afternoon and the football game was on television. I tried to dismiss the pain in my chest but it kept getting worse. I called the nurse whose mission was to care for her pastor’s health, and she told me to get to the ER immediately. I was ushered right in and given a nitro pill. It is a day that my wife never wants to re-live.
Gone are the days when we would get an anonymous note under the door of our office. If people want to complain about us now, they go straight to social media. We have all felt the sting of untruth and half-truth along with accusation and unfounded rebuke. We know what it is like to end the day feeling like we have been thrown under the bus. What do we do when we have been run over and how do we respond?
What happens when a white pastor, the Black Panther and the 50th anniversary of the murder of Martin Luther King intersect with the Holy Spirit? In my case, a great deal.
We live in a day where pastoral comparisons are rampant. It used to be that you were only compared to the pastors in your town. Now you are compared to everyone on the continent. It is a reality that can quickly lead to discouragement. What can pastors do to stay encouraged when the comparisons inevitably arrive?
I was driving to the office flipping through the radio channels and heard “You Make Lovin’ Fun” by Fleetwood Mac. A smile appeared on my face as I thought of my wife, Miriam. It got me wondering, “What makes loving her so much fun?”
