From Perry Noble, Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina,
What are some signs that you are not healthy?
#1 – You cannot remember the last time you clearly heard the Word of God speak to you about an issue in your own life.
#2 – You no longer use the Bible to learn more about Jesus and hear His voice…you are simply using it to find your next sermon.
#3 – You actually begin to hate and despise the people in your church (who, by the way, are the very people you are called to love!)
#4 – You spend more time on the cell phone and computer when you are at home than you do with your own family.
#5 – You are so obsessed with pleasing people and putting out fires that listening to God and doing what He says is no longer the goal of your life and ministry.
For 6 through 10, go to his site.
I’m not a minister or the son of a minister. And I’ve never been a professional minister. But people put such high expectations on ministers (and ministers put such high expectations on ministers) that many are among the walking wounded — if not the walking dead.
The first step in the cure is, of course diagnosis. What are the signs that a minister needs to take a sabbatical, get help, seek counseling ….?
It is erroneous to assume that the preacher should carry the load for the whole church. What part of Ephesians 4:11-16 don't we understand. The church should have distributed roles and responsibilities between deacons, elders, evangelists, teachers, etc… In Ephesians 4;16 it says "each part does its work".
When we finally move away from hiring a preacher to do everything and we return to everyone feeling a part of the process, the preacher can relax more and the church will grow. After all, Jesus said, "upon this rock I will build MY church." Jesus should be the builder, not the preacher.
Sign 1 through 10: The minister feels peer-less.
For example, I am an engineer. I go to work at an office building where there are a hundred other engineers. These are my peers, and we talk about our challenges (many) and triumphs (few).
The preacher goes to work for a congregation. He is the only preacher. He has no peers with which to discuss the spiritual challenges and triumphs of being a follower of Jesus Christ. Who else out there prays, reads the Bible, studies, encourages, counsels, and so on? Oh wait, all Christians (should) do these things. Maybe the preacher could see every Christian as a peer.
Did I just say the same thing as Skip?