ministry

8 Reasons I Still Love Ministry

Chuck Lawless | August 01, 2024
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Today, here are some the reasons I still love ministry, even when it’s tough.

  1. For whatever reason, God has called us to this task. Why He chooses to use any of us—particularly me—is beyond my comprehension. It’s humbling, overwhelming, and gratifying at the same time.
  2. What we do has eternal significance. Every day, I know that what God allows me to do matters. Even the hard conversations and actions that ministry sometimes requires are about helping others walk with an eternal God.
  3. The love of God’s people is special. I have Christian friends I’ve shepherded and who’ve shepherded me who are as close to me as any blood relative. God has a cool way of making us brothers and sisters.
  4. We have the incredible responsibility—and privilege—to help others know, understand, and follow God’s Word. If we genuinely believe the Bible is God’s Word, we ought to be amazed by our opportunity to teach it. Even having God’s entire Word in our hands ought to humble us.
  5. Few people get the honor of sharing life with others like pastors do. Who else gets to share life from birth to death, often being invited to be a part of every major celebration and heartache in between? There’s a sweetness to that access that’s quite a blessing.
  6. We get an up-close look at the transforming power of the gospel. We can tell stories of lives dramatically changed through an encounter with Jesus – and we get to watch newborn believers grow into maturity.
  7. We’re privileged to raise up the next generation of gospel leaders and send them out. We don’t always do that task well, but we nevertheless get to pave the way for others to do greater things than we’ve done.
  8. We’re never alone in this work. The Spirit of God lives in us. He places us in His body with other believers who journey with us. Even in our toughest days, God reminds us of His presence.

I’m sure I can add other reasons, but I’d love to hear from others. What do you love about ministry?

Editor’s note: This post was originally published at chucklawless.com

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Chuck Lawless

Director of the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership

Dr. Lawless currently serves as Senior Professor of Evangelism and Missions, Dean of Doctoral Studies, and Vice-President for Spiritual Formation at Southeastern Seminary, where he holds the Richard & Gina Headrick Chair of World Missions. In addition, he serves as Team Leader for Theological Education Strategists for the International Mission Board. Dr. Lawless served as pastor of two Ohio churches prior to joining the faculty of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, in 1996. He received a B.S. degree from Cumberland College (now the University of the Cumberlands) and M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from Southern Seminary. He is the author or editor of twelve works, and he has contributed several chapters to other resources. He and his wife, Pam, have been married for more than 30 years, and they reside in Wake Forest with their Aussie Shepherd, Max.

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