What’s the hardest part of being a pastor?

I’m new at this whole “pastor” thing. I love it; I definitely enjoy what I do and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. But being a pastor brings a lot of challenges. You’ve got to be really good at a lot of different stuff. A “jack of all trades” if you will. But you know what they say about the “jack of all trades” don’t you? He’s the master of none!

So, I try to be good at counseling, speaking, leading, visiting and reaching people. But this is a chalenging prospect for me. I’ve spent lots of hours in school trying to learn what it means to do all these things and honestly it doesn’t seem to help. The only way to learn is to do it. Of course, I read, study, pray, plan and try to do everything to grow in every area I can, but I’ve found that the most challenging area for me is leadership.

Now the leadership issues stretch into multiple aspects of ministry. It’s leading a staff, casting vision for the congregation, establishing effective systems, administrating and strategizing. This has proven to be the toughest part of ministry to me.

How about you? What have you found to be the most challenging in your ministry?

One thought on “What’s the hardest part of being a pastor?

  1. Jim,You have a pleasant blog, by the way. For me, as both a young pastor and a firt-time pastor, it is preaching. Not merely putting it together in a nice package for my people to digest, but it is the conviction that I rightly proclaim God and His word. I can make those visits; I know what to say to the sick and hurting. I know the direction I am leading my flock (though leading them can definitely be a challenge at times), but to know that my heavenly Father has given me the honor, yet weighty task, to preach for Him and to Him can be overwhelming at times.Thanks for giving me this opportunity to share.God bless,Kevin

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