The true reasons people go into ministry are manifold.  We’ve written at length about the need for divine calling.  But not surprisingly, there are human factors as well.

One major human factor that is widely unacknowledged is personal brokenness.  I’ve never met anyone in ministry who didn’t have some level of emotional wounding in their lives.  In Henri Nouwen’s words, we are “wounded healers.”

There is an upside and a downside to this.  Emotional wounds make us more sensitive to and responsive to the working of God in our lives.  Like Jacob, the wound causes us to stop wrestling and start clinging (Genesis 32).  Properly acknowledged and brought to the feet of Christ, our hurt can be a great vehicle for blessing to others (2 Corinthians 1).

These wounds come in many shapes and sizes. Here are some I’ve seen:

• Strained relationships with parents, especially those who are physically or emotionally absent
• Alcohol or drug abuse, in us or our families
• Traumatic experience
• Early or unexpected loss of a close friend or relative
• Sexual abuse
• Experiences of rejection, isolation or loneliness
• Some other addictive habit or besetting sin
• Physical handicaps

This list is not exhaustive, obviously.  We could add more to the list.  My first question I would pose to you is: what is the primary place of brokenness in you?

It’s possible that some of you will read this and say “This must be wrong, because nothing like this has happened to me.”  Maybe not.  It is possible that you are in denial, but I’m content to admit that you may be a happy exception to the rule.

But for the rest of us, whom I’m convinced are in the majority, it is critical to the success of our ministries that we learn to be stewards of our brokenness.

Brokenness has a couple of snares.  First of all, the same emotional need that drives us to God can easily drive us to sin.  The temptation is to find quick satisfaction and relief from pain in a forbidden distraction.  Many people in ministry flip back and forth between pursuing their healing in Christ, and pursuing some relief in alcohol, pornography, relational dependency, or escapism of other kinds. Unchecked by healthy accountability, this snare can easily lead to moral failure and an ignominious end to your ministry.

The second snare is far more pernicious.  It is very possible to be driven to Christ by your emotional wounds, and then fail to fully acknowledge and address them and apply to gospel to them.  Ministry can become a cloak to hide behind.  When our wounds are not properly acknowledged and addressed, they will fester, turn poisonous, and seep out everywhere.  There are plenty of people like this in the church and in ministry, who are inadvertently damaging the church.

I remember the first time I recognized this.  I knew two individuals in one church whose passion for the Lord was very apparent.  Casual visitors to their church would have said that these two were the most spiritual people in the congregation.  One was a man who was deeply committed to prayer, ready to serve, and always very enthusiastic.  As I got to know him I discovered that his prayerfulness was a cloak for a massive spiritual pride-entirely unacknowledged by him-that annoyed his wife and drove his children away from Christ.

Another was a woman-passionate, eager, hard-working, and idealistic.  Her fervor covered a deep father-wound that came out in manipulation, undermining authority, and a need for control that bordered on insanity.  These two people, who on the surface appeared most spiritually together, were in reality the most emotionally messed up people in that church. Their loud display of commitment to Christ was not sufficient to counteract the bitter poison of an untreated wound.

I heard this week about an associate pastor whose insecurity and control issues are about to cost him his job-for the third or fourth time.  If we are to have an enduring ministry, we must steward our brokenness well.

The gospel of the love of Christ is the ultimate solution to our emotional wounds and our proclivity to sin.  Stewarding our brokenness means

• Fully acknowledging our wounds
• Pursuing our healing and satisfaction in Christ
• Submitting to regular accountability in healthy community

A few questions:

• How are you emotionally wounded, and how does it affect you?
• How are you pursuing your healing in Christ?
• Who is asking you about it on a regular basis?

It’s important that we come to clear and definite answers on these questions.

Along the way, I’ve learned a few things about having a fruitful ministry through pulpit supply. Here are some of the lessons learned:

Approach it as a ministry. If you’re doing this just for the experience– or worse, just for the money– then you shouldn’t be doing it. I try to see myself as the minister of the flock that I’m preaching to for that day. Attend to their needs, pray for them and with them, and generally make yourself available, heart and soul, for their spiritual needs for that time.

Be willing to preach. How much notice will you require to accept a preaching invitation? Here’s my policy: if they call me, even last-minute, because of some sort of emergency, I’ll go unless I’m preaching elsewhere. This policy has meant that, on a handful of occasions, I’ve had to preach with only a day or two of notice. But it has also meant the world to those congregations– and I promise you, it didn’t matter to them if my sermons were a little rough.

Be considerate of the church you’re preaching in. If you’re a Presbyterian and you’re preaching in a non-denominational church, it’s probably not the time to pull out your sermon on predestination. Sure, it’s part of your deepest convictions, but there’s no need to ram it down their throats. Tone down your language if you’re talking about a topic of difference; if you have to discuss predestination, use “election” instead. You’re there to love them, not tell them everything they’re doing wrong or that you disagree with. If you want to have a lasting, long-term ministry to them of any sort, be considerate.

Don’t preach in a vacuum. If something huge has happened, be sensitive to that in your sermon. I spent all of Saturday, Sept. 3rd, 2005 writing a new sermon, even though I had plenty of sermons I could have preached. Why? Because Hurricane Katrina had hit Louisiana and Mississippi the week before, and the people I was preaching to needed to hear God’s word speak to them about tragedy and disaster. I’ve also written a sermon for a church whose pastor’s wife had a heart-attack the Wednesday before– they called me on Thursday to preach.

Show up 10-15 minutes earlier than they tell you. Chances are, they won’t tell you what time to arrive– just what time the service starts. But the chances are also good that the Elders or other leadership will want to pray with you before worship. If nothing else, being there early will give you a chance to look over the order of worship and note any changes you should be aware of. Or, if you have trouble with the directions it will allow you a few minutes to find your way without being late.

Take a partner. Whenever I can, I like to take someone with me when I go to preach. Often this is Marcie, and she is a great partner to me. But a number of times she hasn’t gone with me for one reason or another, and I almost always try to take someone else. Why? For starters, it’s easier if you’re not alone; if you have a companion, then you know that you have one supporter. (But don’t believe the lies of your own heart here: everyone else there is for you, too.) It’s also good to have someone to help you evaluate the sermon– what worked, where you could improve, how well you did on that one part you weren’t sure of. I know it’s easy to hate the evaluations in the cold, sterile Homiletics class environment, but you long for some kind of honest feedback when it’s live and in front of regular people.

Be prepared to lead worship. Think about it– the churches that are likely to call you for pulpit supply are not the ones likely to have another pastor on staff to lead worship. Sometimes there will be an Elder who does it, and occasionally a music director that takes a strong part. Most of the time, it will be up to you. It’s a good idea to be ready for it: have some scripture ready for a call to worship, assurance of pardon, and other readings that are appropriate for your sermon topic (or at least appropriate for those functions); maybe even have some hymns picked out that you could suggest if they’re needed (be sure to pick hymns that are familiar to most people AND that you know, since you’ll probably be leading them). If you’ve never done this before, pay attention to the way your pastor does it at your church. Note the way that he has something to say between the elements of worship, how he gives a brief explanation of some parts, etc.

Let one of their Elders/leaders pray for the congregation. I rarely will lead the congregational prayers, because they need to be very personal and familiar prayers– and I can’t offer those for a congregation I don’t know very well. In fact, there is only one church that I’ve preached at where I’m comfortable leading these prayers, and that’s partly because I’ve been there more than 10 times. You may end up leading them anyway, but ask their leadership to take them if they will; most will quickly understand why this is a good idea.

Show your gratitude to the musician(s). If you’ve ever led worship without accompaniment, you’ll understand why this is so important. But it goes beyond that; if you are open with them in your appreciation of how they share their gifts, you are acknowledging that it’s not all about you. You can be sure that the musician(s) will not be the only ones who notice this, and it underscores the value of your ministry to them tremendously.

Be ready to stay for lunch – or at least be ready to stay for a while. You shouldn’t just take off right after the service; if you want to minister to them, talk with them for a few minutes after worship. Often there will be some sort of fellowship time, with coffee and doughnuts or other food. Sometimes there will be a potluck dinner afterward. Now and then someone will invite you out. Don’t deny them their opportunity for hospitality; if you do, you’re communicating that you don’t really care about them, but only about the preaching opportunity. At very least, have a good reason why you can’t stay; “I’m tired” won’t do, but “I have to pick up my family at our regular church” will. “We have to get the kids home for their naps” is iffy.

Thank them on the way out. Be sure to seek out one or more of the leaders and tell them how much you appreciate the invitation to preach. You should feel honored and privileged that you were given that blessing, and you should also feel obligated to communicate to them that you feel that way. I thank everyone I speak to after the worship service for having me there, but I make sure to give a particular word of appreciation to the leaders.

Don’t make a big deal about the money. Most churches will hand you a check at some point while you’re there. By all means, don’t make this exchange any more awkward by drawing attention to it. If they give you a check, smile, quietly thank them, then tuck it in your Bible or your pocket. Definitely do not open it up and check how much it was for. If they don’t have the check ready, there will probably be someone who is very uncomfortable and apologetic about it; assure them that it is no big deal, and they can send it in the mail later. Again, if you’re there just for the money, you shouldn’t be there. I always approach pulpit supply as something I am willing to do for free; I’ve never refused an honorarium, but if a church couldn’t pay me I would still go when they asked me to preach.

If you take these lessons into consideration, you’ll probably find the ministry of pulpit supply to be even better. Your preaching will improve, your confidence will improve, and you’ll probably get more invitations back to churches you’ve preached at before.

Ed Eubanks is a contributing writer for Seminary Survival Guide.

Nothing in your life will determine the power of your ministry and your survival in its stresses more than the strength of your personal prayer life.

From J. Oswald Sanders, author of Spiritual Leadership

In nothing should the leader be ahead of his followers more than in the realm of prayer. And yet the most advanced Christian is conscious of the possibility of endless development in his prayer life. Nor does he ever feel he has “already attained.” Dean C.J. Vaughan once said: “If I wished to humble anyone, I should question him about his prayers. I know nothing to compare with this topic for its sorrowful self-confessions.”

Prayer is the most ancient, most universal, most intense expression of the religious instinct. It touches infinite extremes, for it is at once the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try and the sublimes” strains that reach the Majesty on high. It is indeed the Christian’s vital breath and native air.

But, strange paradox, most of us are plagued with a subtle aversion to praying. We do not naturally delight in drawing near to God. We pay lip service to the delight and potency and value of prayer. We assert that it is an indispensable adjunct of mature spiritual life. We know that it is constantly enjoined and exemplified in the Scriptures. But in spite of all this, too often we fail to pray.

Full article here.

He’s right. People in ministry wrestle with this as much or more than ordinary folk. But for us, there is much more on the line.

Learn to pray now with the commitment and vigor that you expect of the godliest people you know.

Learn to pray in such a way that you see real life coming into your life and others’ as a result of your praying.

The best way to learn to pray is by praying.

Do prayer experiments. Try different ways of praying and see what happens. I did this while I was in seminary. My most memorable one was when I prayed visually as discussed by Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline. It was the first time I received in prayer specific and exact foreknowledge of future events.

Answer this question: how long each day do I think a pastor / missionary / whatever-ministry-you-aspire-to should pray each day?

Some practical suggestions from one who is no expert at praying.

• Most of you probably already have a habit of daily prayer. If not, begin now, with whatever length you choose, and let it grow. Could be as few as 10 minutes, as much as a couple of hours. I think 20-30 minutes of uninterrupted prayer each day is a good target.
• Find a quiet place where you’ll be uninterrupted, but one that has some room to move around. Cell phone off.
• I know we live in the age of diminishing attention spans. I deal with this, too. To help my attention span grow and to be less concerned about the time, I set a timer or alarm on my cell phone, and simply pray until it goes off. This frees me from having to think about the time. When I catch my attention wandering, I simply bring it back and reengage until my timer goes off. Soon, you’ll be setting the alarm for longer times.

If you have attention issues, then create for yourself an environment for prayer with multiple attention stimulators:

• CD player or iPod
• Candles
• Your Bible and a pencil or pen (I ALWAYS read the Bible with a pencil; helps me interact with the text. Underline, circle, write questions, etc.)
• A devotional book (The Valley of Vision, The Book of Common Prayer, etc.)
• A sketchbook with colored pencils or other art material.
• A piece or two of sacred art.
• Natural items: wood, stone, water, a cross

Spread everything out on a table or on the floor and get after it.

You might try the continuous online prayer meeting at the World Prayer Center.

Pray in unconventional ways. Find a posture that helps you. I pray well when I pace. If walking works, walk. Standing? Sitting? Kneeling? If you pray best while playing an instrument, then do it.

Find a prayer mentor. I recently met with another local pastor who prays for two hours every day. I’m nowhere near that, but I’m learning from him.

I cannot overemphasize how important this is. I believe that your lifelong ministry habits are begun in seminary (if not before). I’ve seen too many people wash out of ministry because their foundation in intimacy with God was not well established at the beginning. I plead with you: learn to pray.

Links:
Praying for Spiritual Awakening

Christianity Today Articles on Prayer

More Articles on Prayer

The complete text of Andrew’s Murray’s book The Prayer Life

(With contributions from Jordan, SSG.com research assistant.)