The worst part of ministry is the relational pain.
Paul devoted his life, post conversion, to serving God and the church. Near the end of his life, he wrote a letter to Timothy. The letter describes a series of people who’d let him down. “You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me,” he wrote (2 Timothy 1:15). “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica” (4:10). “Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds … At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me” (4:14, 16).
Ministry is a joy and a privilege, but it involves suffering. Some of the worst suffering will involve getting hurt by people we’ve served. But it’s worth it.
Paul built a network of relationships in Rome. He poured his life into people. At the end of Romans, he listed mention 33 people by name, 24 of whom were in Rome — a staggering number considering he hadn’t visited that city. At the climax of his ministry, when he needed his friends the most, they let him down.
“The most difficult thing I have found in Christian ministry is opposition from people I thought were friends, or at least colleagues, fellow-workers,” says N.T. Wright. I don’t think there’s a pastor around who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. This is the very stuff of ministry. Kevin Miller writes, “If there were a binding contract to sign before entering ministry, the fine print would include: ‘The undersigned acknowledges that the pastoral ministry may be hazardous and subject the undersigned to expressions of animosity, including but not limited to calumny, slander, misrepresentation, and betrayal.'”
That’s the worst part of ministry. Every pastor I know has experienced some of that pain.
Paul was honest about the pain, but he wasn’t bitter. Paul clung to the gospel and his calling, “which is why I suffer as I do” (1:12). He instructed Timothy to embrace suffering as a normal part of ministry (2:3). As he sat bound in jail, he was encouraged by the spread of the word of God, which couldn’t be stopped (2:9). He was willing to “endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2:10). Even when others abandoned him, “the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (4:17).
That’s the best part of ministry. In the middle of our suffering, we get to see God at work. We get to see the power of the gospel change lives, including ours. We get to witness the faithfulness and presence of God at work in our weakness. Even better, we know how it will end. “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom” (4:18). With that confidence, we can endure anything.
Ministry is a joy and a privilege, but it involves suffering. Some of the worst suffering will involve getting hurt by people we’ve served. But it’s worth it. We get to see God at work. We get to see his word advance. He will always stay faithful to us. And he will rescue us and bring us safely home.