We Are All the Same

We Are All The Same

It has been a joy for us to spend time with more than 250 preachers in Latin America during the past few days. They have blessed our lives tremendously. It has been so encouraging to see their passion for preaching, their love for the Lord, their commitment to Kingdom work, and their desire to be pleasing to God.

In each seminar we had a time for the preachers to ask questions about the material we presented as well as any questions about preaching and ministry. In the seminar Sunday night, we answered questions for two hours. If there had been enough time we could have continued for at least two more hours answering the questions they submitted.

The questions they have about preaching and ministry are genuine, thought-provoking, and insightful. It was clear that many of these men of God have the same concerns, challenges, and issues that preachers have in the States.

Their questions were about leadership, about family, about studying the text, about building relationships, and about the stresses of ministry. If there was a topic that we spent more time discussing than other topics it was about how to deal with discouragement, how to handle it when people are critical of our work, and about how to keep going when we feel that ministry has zapped our strength.

That last thought is the one that seems to be a prevailing concern in the life of a majority of preachers we know. How do you keep going and how do you keep from quitting when you feel discouraged?

This article is not penned because we have all the answers. We believe that there are some answers and we might reserve the discussion of them for another time. They include the usual suspects; spend more time in prayer, study more, surround yourself with people who encourage, focus more on the joys of ministry, etc. Each of these reasons, and more, deserve much more discussion.

The purpose of this article is to remind us that we are not alone, we are not weird, and we are not necessarily weak, when we deal with these concerns. Our prayer is that it will help us to remember that we are very much alike. The fact is these feelings are pervasive around the world. Let’s keep turning to Jesus, let’s keep praying, and let’s keep encouraging one another. We love and appreciate each one of you. We pray that you have a wonderful week in God’s service.