What They Don’t Teach You in Seminary

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I haven’t been a very consistent blogger this week.  I apologize.  It’s been a crazy week of ministry thus far.  On weeks like this, you realize all the things they don’t train you for in seminary.

Here’s some of the things I have dealt with this week:

  • My clothes smelling smoky because spending time with family whose home burned down.
  • Talking with a young man about giving his life to Christ.  Home is in terrible situation.
  • Young man dealing with possible jail time.
  • Individual praying for God to heal their broken spirit and fight through depression.
  • Discipling a bunch of new college students hungry for the Word.
  • Discipling guys in my community group (and they are discipling me as well).
  • Leading worship in our church and revival services for another.
  • Preparing to preach 6 different messages this weekend.
  • Helping my pastor prepare for a critical mission trip to Africa.
  • Walking with church members through the loss of loved ones.
  • Providing accountability to those who are trying to keep their marriage together.
  • Being a good husband and father with a wife whose pregnancy has been quite queasy.
  • Trying to finish up some material for future ministry resource.
  • Preparing some couples for their upcoming marriages.
  • Talking with someone who doesn’t like the 15 minutes of music from Sunday’s worship.

As you can tell, one of those things aren’t like the others.  Like I have said before, we are the church for 10,080 minutes a week.  15 minutes of the musical genre is such a small thing when lives are hanging in the balance.  In ministry, you are going so fast and dealing with so much, that you get overwhelmed.  You wonder if there is enough of you to go around.  You wonder how you can truly take care of all the needs you hear about.  And in the midst, you get frustrated with petty things, but you can’t let it slow you down.  Lives are on the line.

I’m tired today.  I’m heavy with all the needs.  But I’ve never been more hopeful.  God is moving.  Lives are being transformed.  And if I have a small part of that, I am way humbled and grateful.  I may not have learned all of this in seminary, but God is still in the process of teaching me (Phil 1:6).