Needs of Ministers/pastors

Recently I received an email from someone who had read my blogger page, www.jackdrennan.blogspot.com where I have sermon notes and some thoughts. Hw wanted to ask the question, "what encourages the minister?" in his/her ministry. That is a good question given that we rarely hear about the good things and the encouraging things in moinistry. Everyone needs those people who ghet alongside to encourage- people like Barnabas who was such a supporter of St Paul. Here are some things which I find encouraging: * those who show themselves to be dependable and faithful * those who demonstrate loyalty * those who can see the big picture and not just their own little corner * those who can add to your work and are not always out to kill and destroy anything which has not originated with themselves * those who share your vision * those who are teachable * those who show that they care about you as a person and they care also for your family and make it quite clear that they do. I think the sumation of all this is that working as a team with a team can only be helpful and encouraging.

Fear of loosing

Do you think it’s true to say that everyone is afraid of something? Is there anything you have realised that you are afraid of? When I was much younger I used to fear my parents would have a fatal accident or I would die of some awful disease. Fear is a God-given part of our make-up which protects us from danger, so we learn not to touch the fire or the electric ring of the cooker. But taken to extremes it makes us paranoid and is only destructive. It can paralyse us into inactivity and make us ultra conservative and cautious. Master Yoda, in the latest Star Wars film, says to Anakin Skywalker, “The fear of losing leads to the dark side”. At the heart of the story Anakin feared loosing his wife in childbirth just as he lost his own mother. He became consumed with protecting her and in his paranoia he became susceptible to the manipulation of the evil chancellor who wanted him to cross the line from light into darkness to further his plan to take over the Republic and become the Emperor. In the end he became the very thing he had dedicated his life to resisting and lost the very person he wanted to save by crossing the line from light to darkness. Fear is a very potent emotion which leads people to do and to act in ways which they would not normally. Fear can lead them to take violent action to defend their community or their home or to exhibit other negative qualities which later they regret. In the heat of emotion they think they are acting for those they love only to find that they too have crossed that line in the sand which makes them part of the problem rather than the solution. The New Testament makes it clear that the way to be free from fear is to trust in Christ. The Apostle Paul says that “nothing separated us from the love of God” and asks: “If God for us, who can be against us?” Who indeed?

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