When I was a young pastor, I knew how to study the Bible. I knew how to prepare a sermon. I knew the doctrines I had been taught, and I wanted to faithfully preach the Word of God.
What I was not prepared for was everything else.
My first church met in a cemetery chapel. Eventually I worked hard and found us a storefront in a small shopping area. We had room to meet, a place for a sign, and I even had an office. I thought we were making progress.
Then one morning I walked into the worship area and discovered that the wife of one of the church founders had placed a large picture of Jesus behind the pulpit. She had done it with good intentions, but now I had a problem. I believed it needed to be removed, yet I also had to deal with a woman who cared about the church and did not want to embarrass or offend her.
Nobody had taught me how to handle that.
At another church, one of the elders came to me privately and confessed that many years earlier he had committed adultery against his wife. Suddenly I was no longer dealing with a classroom question about qualifications for church leadership. I was sitting across from a real man, with a real marriage, a real past, and a position of responsibility in the church.
Nobody had prepared me for that either.
That is what pastoral ministry is often like.
A young man may enter ministry thinking most of his time will be spent studying Scripture and preaching sermons. Those things are certainly important, but sooner or later someone will walk through the door with a problem that was never covered in class.
A marriage may be falling apart. Someone may arrive drunk or under the influence of drugs. A church member may confess serious sin. Someone may threaten suicide. A woman may begin showing inappropriate interest in the pastor. Two families may refuse to speak to each other. A person may claim to be experiencing demonic activity. A church leader may become angry when corrected. Someone may accuse the pastor unfairly. A spouse may be living with abuse.
And sometimes the pastor will simply sit there thinking, Nobody ever told me what to do with this.
That is why this section exists.
You Do Not Have to Know Everything
One of the first things a young pastor needs to learn is that he does not have to have an immediate answer to every problem.
There is nothing wrong with saying, “Let me pray about that and search the Scriptures before I answer you.”
In fact, that may be one of the wisest things a pastor can say.
Proverbs 18:13 says:
“He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him.”
Listen before you speak. Learn what is actually happening. Pray. Search Scripture. Ask questions. If the matter is beyond your training, do not pretend otherwise.
Some problems require medical care. Some require professional counseling. Some may require law enforcement or other authorities. Referring someone for appropriate help is not a failure of pastoral ministry.
A pastor is a shepherd, but he is not a physician, attorney, police officer, psychiatrist, and emergency responder all rolled into one.
People Are Not Sermon Illustrations
Ministry becomes dangerous when a pastor begins treating people like problems to solve instead of people to love.
The person sitting across from you may be frightened, ashamed, angry, confused, or deeply wounded. He may not need a lecture first. He may need someone to listen.
James 1:19 tells us to be “quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.”
That is good pastoral advice.
Listening does not mean approving of sin. Compassion does not mean ignoring truth. But truth can be spoken without cruelty, and correction can be given without humiliation.
A pastor should never enjoy putting someone in his place.
Galatians 6:1 says that if someone is caught in a trespass, those who are spiritual should restore that person “in a spirit of gentleness.”
Gentleness is not weakness.
It is strength under control.
Your First Responsibility Is to Be Faithful
Young pastors can easily begin comparing themselves with other pastors.
One church is growing faster. Another pastor is a better speaker. Someone else has a larger building, more people, more money, more invitations, or more attention.
That road leads nowhere good.
God did not call you to be another pastor.
He called you to be faithful with what He gave you.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:2:
“In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.”
Your responsibility is faithfulness.
Use the gifts God has given you. Study His Word. Love the people He has placed around you. Preach what Scripture says. Admit when you do not know something. Learn from mistakes. Guard your marriage. Guard your own heart. Pray for wisdom.
Then leave the results with God.
You cannot make people repent.
You cannot make a church grow.
You cannot make people appreciate you.
You cannot control who listens to your sermons, who leaves the church, who criticizes you, or who ignores your advice.
You can be faithful.
That is enough.
Let the Word of God Be Your Anchor
Pastoral ministry will put you into situations where emotions are strong and everyone seems to have an opinion.
That is when you need an anchor.
The anchor is not what another preacher does. It is not what a popular book recommends. It is not church tradition. It is not whatever solution will make everyone happy.
The anchor is the Word of God.
Second Timothy 3:16–17 says:
“All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.”
That does not mean every difficult pastoral situation has a verse giving step-by-step instructions.
It means Scripture gives us the truth and principles by which we judge what we should do.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to teach you. Study the passage carefully. Compare Scripture with Scripture. Do not look for a sermon to copy. Do not begin with what somebody else says and then search for verses to support it.
Begin with God’s Word.
You Will Make Mistakes
Every young pastor needs to know this before he makes his first one.
You are going to make mistakes.
You may say something poorly. You may trust someone you should not have trusted. You may handle a situation too quickly. You may wait too long. You may discover later that you misunderstood what was happening.
When that happens, admit it.
Do not protect your pride by pretending you were right.
A pastor who can say, “I was wrong, and I am sorry,” will often earn more respect than a pastor who believes he must always appear to have everything figured out.
Humility is not a weakness in ministry.
It is a necessity.
Nobody Prepared Me for This
There were many moments in ministry when I could have said, “Nobody ever told me what to do with this.”
That is the reason for the articles that will follow.
We will talk about conflict, criticism, marriage problems, abuse, addiction, inappropriate relationships, church politics, spiritual warfare, difficult people, discouragement, family pressure, and many other things a young pastor may someday face.
I will not pretend to have every answer.
But we can do what every pastor should learn to do.
We can open the Bible.
We can pray for wisdom.
We can learn from experience.
We can treat people with truth and compassion.
And we can be faithful with whatever God places in front of us.
Young preacher, you do not have to build the biggest church.
You do not have to impress everyone.
You do not have to know everything.
Be faithful with what God gives you. Use the gifts He has given you, do the work He puts in front of you, and leave the results to Him.