You Have Been Called To Minister . . .
But sometimes you wonder if you really have
what it takes to deal with all the demands,
expectations and pressures.
Feeling Overwhelmed?
Do you feel overworked, mired in problems and stressed-out? Are you inadequately trained to cope with the demands of the ministry? Is your marriage strained and cracking under the pressure? You are not alone. Many pastors feel unqualified and discouraged. Some even struggle with depression. They are doing the best they can to juggle all their responsibilities, but are still slipping further and further behind. And if that’s not enough, it seems they are constantly dealing with conflict and problem people. Does ministry really need to be this difficult? Even a superhuman would have a hard time satisfying all the expectations placed on many pastors.
Wearing Many Different “Hats”
Whether you are a single pastor with a church under 100, or the Senior Minister in a megachurch with dozens on staff, you know how wide and varied are the demands on you. First, you are expected to think like a scholar, diligently studying the Bible and researching theological literature. That is in preparation for your role as a public speaker, competing for the attention of an audience that compares you with the very best preachers in the world, who can be heard on any television or radio. Then, you put on your counselor’s hat, and deal with every type of human crisis and problem, hoping to provide comfort to the afflicted and answers for those caught in the bondage of their sins. You are expected to be personable, friendly, and accessible, regardless of what other demands life or work have placed upon you. Sometimes you have to function as a businessman: administrator, financial manager, and entrepreneur. Turn around and you are a public relations leader, representing your church in the community. Right alongside these are the normal requirements of personal life, such as being a husband and father. Finally, as leader of your church, you are ultimately responsible for everything that happens, down to the worship service, music, landscaping, plumbing, and weekly bulletin. Fulfilling any of these roles requires focused concentration, with the understanding that you are subject to emotional whiplash at any moment as you are summoned without warning to change hats and hit the ground running. What a job! All in one: scholar, public speaker, teacher, counselor, friend, public relations representative, businessman, and administrator.
Insights for Ministers
For over fifty years Dr. Henry Brandt had the opportunity to travel around the world, ministering to, and consulting with pastors, ministry leaders, and missionaries. He developed a deep love for ministers and a great respect for what they do. He believed ministers should be able to hold their heads high and stand straight and tall in the knowledge that they are doing one of the most significant jobs on earth. But the role of a minister is also one of the most challenging jobs on earth! Dr. Brandt has helped countless pastors and parachurch leaders become more effective in ministry. Now his practical, biblical insights are available to you.
Doubting Your Call?
Even after hearing a clear and unmistakable call to serve God, many pastors may eventually find themselves depressed, discouraged, and burned out by the demands of the job. How can that happen? God has promised to provide fully for every situation and need a pastor will face. His help is always at hand. Dr. Henry Blackaby and Dr. Henry Brandt offer practical and uplifting guidelines that lead pastors and church members to a fresh awareness of God’s wisdom regarding:
- Sustaining a vision for ministry.
- Standards for being a servant of Christ.
- Suggestions and encouragement for discouraged or burned out teachers and leaders.
- Developing new ways to address ingrained problems.
- Click here to gain invaluable insights about THE POWER OF THE CALL.
Need Counseling Wisdom?
Most ministers spend a significant amount of time every week counseling parishioners. Meeting after meeting. Week after week. Time and energy are invested, but unfortunately, often the progress seems to little and too late. Dr. Brandt has taught many pastors how to use the permanent truths of scripture to bring long-term healing to the people they counsel. Worldly solutions offer people only temporary relief from their problems. Biblical counseling offers a trustworthy and lasting cure. Do you want o be more effective in helping angry, broken, confused people look at their lives from a Biblical perspective? And then move beyond the situation of the moment to the real underlying cause of pain and disappointment? It’s a fact that a person’s happiness or misery is not based on circumstances, but on what is in his or her heart. As long as someone’s heart is filled with sin, the situation that prompted them to seek counseling will never be resolved. First, they must seek God’s forgiveness and turn from their sinful ways. Then their pathway to dealing with external situations and relationships will be clear. Are you interested in learning more about the qualifications, attitude, methods, and standards of professionalism for Biblical counselors?
Click here for practical guidelines for biblical counseling from THE WORD FOR THE WISE.
Looking for Practical Management Tips?
Whether you lead a large paid staff or are a single pastor working entirely with lay volunteers, the principles are the same . . . they are right there in Ephesians 4:11-16. We have been given different gifts by the Holy Spirit so we can be more effective as we serve Christ together. The work of the ministry is too important to be done inefficiently. God never intended that the pastor should do all of the work of ministry himself. According to the Bible, his job is to exercise leadership regarding where the church is to go, speak the truth of God’s Word in love, and stimulate all the members of Christ’s body to do their part. That is the highest and best use of his time and energy. It is often the ministry’s success that becomes the minister’s downfall. He begins with a fledgling ministry that has a hundred needs. Working diligently, willingly wearing the dozen different hats that are required, he does the work of ministry: preaching, teaching, leading, inspiring. He is visible at every church activity. He can be seen visiting all those in the hospital, calling on church visitors and prospects, and counseling all those who are encountering personal troubles. If need be, you can find him folding bulletins, duplicating tapes, tinkering with finicky sound equipment, or unclogging drains. Because God is adding to the church daily, the church becomes busier. But the more people who come, the more human needs surface. The counseling demands alone crowd out time for personal study or recreation. The minister becomes like the point of an inverted pyramid. The larger the organization grows, the more pressure is applied to that single point. Exhaustion, discouragement, and burn-out are just around the corner. Working harder and longer is not the answer. The answer is learning that every part of the body does its work. That seems obvious, does it not? If the leader cannot do it all, he must begin getting the work of ministry accomplished through others, and that requires management. So why don’t they? Often, it is because they simply do not know how. That can be remedied.
Click here for insights about ministry leadership and management from GETTING IT DONE RIGHT.
Henry Brandt Web Library
Explore this extensive online collection of Biblical counseling resources for you and your ministry. Dr. Brandt’s life changing insights are readily available to you in various formats:
- Biblical answers to 70 key life questions
- Dozens of dynamic audio messages and Downloadable MP3s
- Audio transcripts and printer-friendly versions
- Topical lists of Bible passages for your needs
- Many case histories of people and their struggles
- Plus books and other resources
. . . all to help you help others discover God’s life-healing plan. So, come in and look around. And come back often as new resources will be added as more funding becomes available.
Click here to explore the BIBLICAL COUNSELING INSIGHTS of Dr. Henry Brandt.
Click here to let us know how this website has helped you.