The Pastoral Grind.... "Sounds like being a pastor is hard and dreadful work." "But you're not a pastor, you're a seminary student." After choosing this name for my blog, these were two of the comments I received from colleagues so let me try to un-muddy the waters.
First, while I am not (yet) an ordained pastor in any denomination, I am working my way through seminary and am currently interning with a congregation in which i have pastoral duties. I don't preach every week or make all of the care visits, but I am called upon to observe and at times take on these duties as well as others. While I cannot attribute a title to my name, I believe that God has called me to be a pastor and that I have begun to faithfully serve him in this capacity.
Second, my use of the word "grind" is not meant to make ministry sound disheartening, but rather is intended to imply that ministry is a labor. Ministry is a labor which is gritty, personal, and goes through the joys and sorrows of everyday life; it is so much more than words spoken from a pulpit on any given Sunday.
Put together and there you have it, The Pastoral Grind. My goal is to write about the highs and lows of life as seen through the eyes of one person who God has called into the ministry of his church. I want to show that the sermon on Sunday has meaning for Monday-Saturday, at work, at home, and at play. I hope to speak in a way that can be taken seriously by the more intellectual audience but casually enough that anyone can enjoy and reflect on what is said. Here we go!
First, while I am not (yet) an ordained pastor in any denomination, I am working my way through seminary and am currently interning with a congregation in which i have pastoral duties. I don't preach every week or make all of the care visits, but I am called upon to observe and at times take on these duties as well as others. While I cannot attribute a title to my name, I believe that God has called me to be a pastor and that I have begun to faithfully serve him in this capacity.
Second, my use of the word "grind" is not meant to make ministry sound disheartening, but rather is intended to imply that ministry is a labor. Ministry is a labor which is gritty, personal, and goes through the joys and sorrows of everyday life; it is so much more than words spoken from a pulpit on any given Sunday.
Put together and there you have it, The Pastoral Grind. My goal is to write about the highs and lows of life as seen through the eyes of one person who God has called into the ministry of his church. I want to show that the sermon on Sunday has meaning for Monday-Saturday, at work, at home, and at play. I hope to speak in a way that can be taken seriously by the more intellectual audience but casually enough that anyone can enjoy and reflect on what is said. Here we go!
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