At the starting line of an Olympic race, nothing looks particularly dramatic. The athletes stand still. The crowd waits. The runners’ muscles are motionless. The track lies open. Then the signal sounds, and in a matter of seconds the race is over. To the spectator, it may seem almost natural: a brief flash of speed followed by applause. But those few seconds are never merely a few seconds. They’re the visible tip of years hidden from public view.
Behind that moment lie thousands of hours of training. Victory isn’t won merely by speed on race day; it’s won through long obedience before the race ever begins. If you’re a believer, you’re in a daunting spiritual race with eternal consequences.
How much truer is this of the pastor, who also has the weighty task of shepherding other believers? If we want to avoid the all-too-common pitfalls of burnout, scandal, and disillusionment, we must follow seven keys to pastoral perseverance rooted in Scripture and biblical wisdom.
Key #1: Radically Trust the Holy Spirit
If we’re prone to neglect one person of the Trinity, it’s probably the Holy Spirit. This is a tragedy. If we can’t draw one breath of oxygen into our lungs without his aid (Ps. 104:29–30), how much less can we persevere in the ministry without his constant breathing of empowerment (John 20:22)?
I wonder if one of the reasons for a high dropout rate among pastors is that we often try to do the Lord’s work without seeking his rejuvenating power. This divine power comes only through ardent faith and prayer.
Oh, how we need conscious, wholehearted dependence on the Spirit! Those who sit under our ministry and preaching will be as dead as dry bones unless the sovereign Spirit breathes on them and transforms them into a mighty spiritual army (Ezek. 37:1–14; Eph. 2:1).
Key #2: Pray Like Your Life Depends on It
Prayer is the breath of the Christian and the heartbeat of persevering ministry. If you want to persevere, dear pastor, take every aspect of your ministry to the Lord in prayer—every sermon you preach, every class you teach, and every visit you make. Pray, pray, pray your way through the ministry!
Oh, what sweetness you’ll find in sacred, childlike dependence on your heavenly Father. As John Calvin puts it, in prayer we climb into the lap of our heavenly Father and whisper our needs in his ear.
Prayer is the breath of the Christian and the heartbeat of persevering ministry.
As ministers, we must be much on our knees in prayer. Our method of study should be on our knees, then back to our books, then back to our knees again. We never do our theology alone; we do so in the presence of the triune God. Perhaps we don’t cry out to God more in secret—begging for his help in holy desperation and importunity—because we often don’t recognize how weak and needy we truly are.
Key #3: Soak Up the Bible as Your Highest Calling
As pastors, our power in public depends in large part on the quality and quantity of time we spend with God in secret (Matt. 6:6). We abide in Christ in proportion to the degree that his Word abides in us, and the Word abides in us in proportion to how much quality time we spend absorbing it—reading it, meditating on it, praying over it, memorizing it, internalizing it, preaching and teaching it, speaking it, trusting it, applying it, and fleshing it out through practical obedience.
With the Spirit’s help, digest God’s Word with consistency, read it systematically, and absorb it experientially. Linger over every divine word. Bask every day in God’s presence. Cultivate holy familiarity with him. As you do so, your soul will be invigorated with life, strength, and vitality.
By marinating in Scripture as pastors, we can walk with God like Enoch (Gen. 5:24), cultivate friendship with him like Abraham (James 2:23), know him face-to-face like Moses (Ex. 33:11), and enjoy sweet intimacy with him like the psalmist (Ps. 25:14). Through the Word, we can savor God’s presence and gaze on his beauty (27:4).
As you soak in the Word, you’ll be better equipped to preach it with all your heart. Aim for the glory of God and the consciences of your hearers. Seek to convict sinners as though you could convert them, yet knowing that the Holy Spirit alone can do that great work. Never assume you’ve already learned all there is to learn about the gospel, for in it there’s such a depth of grace and glory that our eternal immersion in its redemptive realities will not even begin to expend the bounty of its riches.
Key #4: Love Your Family with Passion
If you want to enjoy a long-term pastorate, be even more careful to shepherd the hearts of your wife and children than you are to shepherd the hearts of your church’s broader membership. The pastor must always be diligent to know the state of his family, who is his choicest little flock (Prov. 27:23).
Regularly ask yourself these questions: Are my wife and children spiritually dead or alive? Strong or weak? Well-nourished or starving? Am I doing all that’s in my power, the grace of God helping me, to see Christ formed in them?
Key #5: Aspire to a Long Pastorate
Until recently in church history, it was more common for pastors to stay at one church for the long run—often several decades, if not for his entire ministry. Charles Spurgeon served the same church for 38 years. John Gill served for 51 years. Benjamin Keach occupied the same pulpit for 36 years. Many contemporary pastors, too, are amid long pastorates. For example, Mark Dever has served Capitol Hill Baptist Church for 32 years, and Peter Masters has been at the Metropolitan Tabernacle for 56 years. This should be the ideal.
But sadly, many pastors leave their churches when trouble strikes in the first few years. Much like hired hands, they abandon the sheep when the sheep need them most (John 10:12). Doing so repeatedly, they never experience the joy of fruitful ministry over the long term. Until pastors stop “dating” the church, their relationship with God’s people may resemble little more than puppy love.
Mushrooms, like Jonah’s gourd, spring up almost overnight (Jonah 4:6–7). Oak trees, on the other hand, take years to establish root systems, shoot out branches, and grow leaves, but they last for many decades. It’s often better to establish roots at one church over the long term instead of repeatedly uprooting yourself because of greener pastures across the proverbial hedge.
Key #6: Lead Wisely
In pastoral leadership, know exactly where you’re going. But don’t push too fast, too far, or too quickly. Earn trust and credibility by building relationships and communicating clearly. A wise leader gets the right people in the right place at the right time according to their skill sets and commitments. Make effective decisions after considerable thought, consultation, and prayer. Delegate as much as possible to well-qualified people. Strive to manage your time well. Get organized and stay organized.
I like the idea of making three lists for each day: the “must dos,” the “should dos,” and the “like to dos.” Always know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, even if it’s a leisure activity.
Exercise patient leadership with the flock. God calls you to lead them, not force them. Be grateful to your people and love them. Grow in humility and its kindred virtues. Use biblical models to guide your leadership. Learn long-term planning from Joseph, artful delegation from Jethro, lifelong consistency from Daniel, and aged wisdom from John.
Key #7: Live on the Growing Edge
Ask yourself where you’re weak and how you can grow. Avoid stagnation, especially in prayer. When my prayer life is growing cold and dull, I often read the prayers of other ministers. (I keep nine or ten books of prayers from other ministers behind my study chair, such as the prayers of Spurgeon and William Jay.) Keep reading and writing. Make time for edifying conferences.
You can also stay dynamic by working on three levels—a basic level (e.g., teaching children’s Sunday school), an intermediate level (e.g., preaching on the Lord’s Day), and an advanced level (e.g., reading or writing an academic paper). Like Paul, pastors should preach in the “marketplace” of diverse levels of instruction, for in the ancient marketplace, philosophers rubbed shoulders with the uneducated (see Acts 17:17).
Learn long-term planning from Joseph, artful delegation from Jethro, lifelong consistency from Daniel, and aged wisdom from John.
Steward your body as a gift from God. Don’t neglect healthy habits of sleep, rest, exercise, and diet. Use your gifts diligently. Do what excites you, both in life and the ministry. Cultivate healthy friendships.
And don’t forget to take regular seasons of rest. Find a schedule that helps you function and flourish every week and every year. I take off part of Monday morning as my “mini sabbatical” every week. Every winter, Mary and I escape the cold weather of Michigan and go to Florida for a week or two with our children and grandchildren. With the Spirit’s blessing, a healthy balance of rest, relationships, and daily labors will help keep your ministry fresh.
Remember the Big Picture
Looking back over my ministry over the long term is much more encouraging than looking at it in the short term. A long-term perspective helps me see those who have been saved by the Spirit through my sermons, those marriages that have been strengthened, and even the fruitfulness of elders and deacons who were unsaved when I arrived at my church 40 years ago but have since come to know the Lord personally, vibrantly, and experientially.
Then too, our work is difficult because it’s never truly done. We must train ourselves to enjoy the process rather than just the outcome.
Two days after I was ordained into the ministry in 1978 in Sioux Center, Iowa, a godly and well-respected minister in another denomination who had been preaching for nearly 50 years visited me. Eager to learn whatever I could from him, I asked, “What advice could you give me as a young minister from all your decades of experience?” Before I had a chance to get out my pen and paper, he said,
Young man, I can sum it up in one word: prayer. Never, ever undertake any duty in the ministry without first getting on your knees to ask for the Holy Spirit’s help. That is the secret of perseverance in pastoral ministry.
These words have echoed and reechoed down the corridors of past decades in my mind and soul hundreds of times. If you’re tempted to leave the ministry because you’re overwhelmed, turn back to God in prayer. Don’t resign but re-sign with the Lord. Look to Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of your faith, to sustain you to the end (Heb. 12:1–2). The Christ who bought you, called you, and preserves you will ever remain faithful to his shepherds and to the sheep they shepherd for time and eternity.
The Gospel Coalition