Our Dear Friend Shona Neff, a faithful supporter of FGGAM, sent this article to me. I understand the realities……I love being a Pastor, God has called me to be a Pastor. I was asked asked on Friday if Sharon ever wants me to do something else, I said no, it is a calling from God, we both understand this. We love serving God, its our life. We love serving people. I repeat, it has to be a calling from God. Pastors fail when they ‘feel called’ but in reality, God has not called them.
My friend Tom made the comment about, does Sharon ever want you to do something else, after learning I was going to be doing a funeral for a young woman whose life was violently taken. I was blessed by God to minister to this family during this horrific time in their lives. I was able to share the love of Jesus with all of them. This is why God called me to be a Pastor. Being a Pastor is not being in the Public eye, in the shining lights of society, the star of ther show, its doing the work assigned you by our Lord. Being a Pastor sometimes gets messy, but the Lord shows you how to work with it, as He did yesterday at the funeral. God blessed the service in such an awesome way! I am blessed to be used by God.
Being a Pastor means being with people in the happiest and the worst times of their life. It also means being on call 24/7. It also means making house calls, Hospital calls, and nursing home calls. My day of rest is Mondays.
I do not have a job! I have a life Preaching for my Lord Jesus Christ. Lord Willing, I will Preach until the Lord calls me home. Retirement is not in the Bible. We are so very blessed to Preach the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. A Pastor does not create a kingdom for himself, he is to serve the Kingdom of God.
The most asked question I get is, “Where is your Church Pastor Dewey?” I say I am a Circuit Preacher, I Preach all over…….I Preach Jesus wherever I go….. we have a website FGGAM.ORG that reaches the universe for our Lord Jesus Christ……We use radio to reach people for Jesus, we use podcasts, we use newspaper….we are just a little ministry with many volunteers trying to make a difference for your Lord Jesus Christ.
The world does not need anymore churches! We just end up having people shop churches, we are not gaining, we must go out and carry out the Great Commission. That was drilled into me by Pastor Jim Montoya who helped me become a Pastor ten years ago.
Are we singing to the choir or are we carrying out the Great Commission? Are we reaching the lost? Are we baptizing people? Are we raising up Christians? Or do we just keep busy with more Church programs and meetings?
The Great Commission Matthew 28
The Great Commission
…18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”…
Churches get into trouble when they go forth without God in the selection of a Pastor. They do not vet the Pastor and they do not pray and fast.
Here is my life verse:
“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” -Acts 20:24
Here is the article that Shona sent me……
The blessings of ministry far outweigh the realities below; however, ministry is definitely not easy. Don’t waste your time and money going to seminary or college for pastoral training if you are not prepared for the negative aspects of ministry mentioned below.
Furthermore, always remember that God has called you to love His church—not merely His mature church, but His immature church, as well. Moreover, a call to ministry is a call to bleed.
