We all have heroes in ministry. In fact they might be a major reason we entered ministry in the first place. We may not have imagined ourselves as the next Calvin, Luther, or Spurgeon. But we wanted to be used by God to build his church as they did.
The reality of ministry proves quite different, though, than what we expected. We’re not treated like the next Calvin or Luther or Spurgeon. We’re ordinary sinners saved by grace in the middle of our own sanctification even as we trust the Spirit to work through us in leading God’s people. We sin against others, and they sin against us. We see miracles even as we endure suffering ourselves and also in those we love.
Was it actually any different for our heroes? Not at all, actually. They were opposed. They were acquainted with grief. They were sometimes jailed and even killed for their faith. Should we expect anything else ourselves? What about the example of our crucified Savior?
Zack Eswine has written about Spurgeon’s sorrows and has also contributed a chapter to TGC’s new book, 12 Faithful Men: Portraits of Courageous Endurance in Pastoral Ministry, edited by Jeff Robinson and me, and published by Baker Books. He joined me on this episode of The Gospel Coalition Podcast to discuss how Spurgeon was faithful in grief and how suffering with courage shapes a pastor for ministry.
Related:
- Anxiety and Depression, My Strange Friends (Scott Sauls)
- What Every Church Planter Needs to Know about Pain (Adam Ramsey)
- 6 Ways to Make Your Church a Safe Place for Sad People (Nancy Guthrie)
Free eBook by Rebecca McLaughlin: ‘Jesus Through the Eyes of Women’
If the women who followed Jesus could tell you what he was like, what would they say?
Jesus’s treatment of women was revolutionary. That’s why they flocked to him. Wherever he went, they sought him out. Women sat at his feet and tugged at his robes. They came to him for healing, for forgiveness, and for answers. So what did women see in this first-century Jewish rabbi and what can we learn as we look through their eyes today?
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