Altar
Call – Opelika-Auburn News
March
24, 2002
Walter
Albritton
Despite the stress of pastoral ministry, most clergy are deeply
satisfied with their work
A recent survey by Duke University Divinity
School indicates that most members of the clergy are “deeply satisfied with
their jobs.” This finding does not surprise me since most of the clergy I know
appear to enjoy their work.
The Duke survey should be viewed as
quite professional and dependable. Nearly 900 clergy from about 80 faith groups
were interviewed. The great majority reported a high level of job satisfaction.
Six in 10 clergy indicated that they have “never doubted” their call to the
ministry. Seven in 10 said they have never considered leaving the ministry.
One interesting finding was that 70
percent of clergy believe that one of their primary problems is “the difficulty
of reaching people with the Gospel.” I can identify with that and agree. Most
of us who are pastors will admit that we sometimes feel ill equipped to
persuade people to take the gospel seriously. So many folks seem willing to
settle for a shallow, superficial Christianity, rather than embrace “the real
thing” which involves personal sacrifice.
Despite this concern, most of us clergy
will admit that we find great joy in realizing that some people really do take
us seriously. We often have the thrill of “being there” when someone decides to
put God first and stop living merely for the “things” of the world.
There is no way for me to describe
adequately the sheer joy I have felt many times when someone has come to me and
said, “I have made a mess of my life, preacher; will you help me find peace
with God?” Most of the time I have wept and prayed with such individuals until
they embraced God’s forgiveness. The privilege of sharing that experience with
a fellow struggler is so much more than a “job” that it would be shameful to
think of the ministry as a job.
No wonder so many clergy are satisfied
with their work. We have one of the most wonderful “jobs” in the world. Perhaps
that is why we use the term, “a calling,” which reminds us that God calls us to
this task. It would be a mistake to think of the ministry as a career or
vocation. Unless a person feels “called” by God to serve as a pastor, believe
me that person should stay out of the ministry.
What about our work is “wonderful?” So
many things I do not have the space to describe them all. But I will give you a
few examples.
When I was a young pastor I often
visited in Mrs. Wilson’s home. Her mother was old and dying. I would visit and
pray. Finally there came the day when Mrs. Wilson called and said, “Pastor, can
you come over right now? I think mother is going home soon.”
I dropped what I was doing and drove to
her home. Sure enough, her mother was near death, her breathing a struggle. For
the next few minutes I stood at the side of the bed, not speaking, but
strangely aware of the unseen Presence of God in that bedroom.
Soon Mrs. Wilson’s mother stopped
breathing. I placed my hand on Mrs. Wilson’s shoulder, assuming that
momentarily she would ask me to offer a prayer. In my mind I began thinking of
what I might say in a prayer.
Then to my amazement Mrs. Wilson calmly
said, “Pastor, I would like you to offer a prayer, but before you do, I want to pray
myself. Will you kneel with me at the foot of mother’s bed?”
We knelt and this dear Christian woman
began praying the most beautiful prayer I had ever heard. I do not remember it
word for word, but it went something like this:
“Our Father, on my knees I want to thank
you for the wonderful mother you gave me. Nobody ever had a better example than
my mother was to me. I thank you for her patience, love, and faith, especially
her faith, Lord. She taught me to love you. She led me to have faith in your
Son Jesus. She inspired me to treasure the reading of your Word. I know Lord
that I am a woman of faith because my mother was a woman of faith. Now I thank
you that her suffering has ended, and that she is in a better place with you.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
I was so deeply touched that I could
hardly pray. I offered a simple, stumbling prayer. As we stood at the end of
the bed that day, I realized that I was standing on holy ground. The one I had
gone to minister to had instead ministered to me.
Another special memory is this. One
Sunday morning many years ago, Roy knocked on my study door. I was going over
my sermon notes just a few minutes before the morning worship hour would begin.
Roy was my lay leader, a chemist and a strong Christian. He said, “Can I pray
for you, pastor?”
I welcomed his coming for a brief prayer
and he began to pray. This is what he said, “Lord, I thank you for my pastor.
He is your man and you have put him here to be our spiritual leader. Bless him,
Lord, and speak through him in a powerful way. Help him to say what we need to
hear whether we like it or not. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
From that day on Roy came by and every
Sunday quietly offered brief prayers that God used to make me a better preacher.
The impact of those prayers is beyond my ability to describe.
What I am saying is that clergy have the
high honor of sharing very special moments in people’s lives. So great is this
honor that it would be a sacrilege to call our ministry a job. The Duke survey
did not mention this, but it may help us all understand why most clergy are
deeply satisfied with pastoral ministry. I know it is true for me.