Today's Heroes

Today, more than ever, we seem to be a nation of numbers. What are the stock prices today? How much is gas? By what percentage will my utilities increase? In the new age of technology, as always, it’s all about numbers: so many units sold equal so many employees and so on. Too often numbers measure our success. How many sales today, or how many books have you written? And how about this one: how many people are in your church? Yes, it is true. Unfortunately, even in churches we too often measure the success by numbers in attendance or how many people got saved at our last crusade. However, I am sure most pastors would agree—it is not about numbers; it is about the heart. During years of Outreach America’s existence, I had the great pleasure of working with various churches that would be classified as small in numbers. I cannot help but be impressed by the utter dedication to God and the furthering of the kingdom these pastors possessed. Let me say this, however, I don’t believe for a moment pastors of large churches are any less dedicated or committed to Christ. The men and women who pastor these churches are often not just the pastor. More often than not they are pastor, shepherd, teacher, church secretary, janitor, and more. Yet they continue to serve and seek God with all fervor. Often secluded from contact with other pastors (largely due to their schedule), it becomes easy for them to feel alone and sometimes even questioning their call. So why do they do it? We know it isn’t for the money or the fame or the free time. They do it because the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has asked them to! On a particular day I spoke with a college student whose father pastors a church of approximately twenty families in a small Oregon town. I could not help but be impressed with this man, whom I have never met. As she began to describe him, she spoke of his dedication to family and his shepherd’s heart. How by day he worked in an auto repair shop, and in his off time made time for family and pastoring, in that order. His own personal convictions did not allow him to take a salary from the church. Even though he may be a master at delegating, you can still imagine the kind of dedication it takes to pastor a church in this way. He has managed to somehow balance his family, ministry, and employment. Obviously, he has a loving spouse who also supports his calling and, no doubt, works every bit as hard as he. His daughter recently graduated from Simpson College with an education degree and is off to serve the people of New York on a short-term mission. Listen to how she describes her father: “A great man who, when he opens his mouth to preach, seems to have rivers of honey flowing out.” Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Another pastor I have had the pleasure of serving with has a little different story, with his vocation and formal education revolving around ministry. Called at a young age, he spent years evangelizing on the streets of inner cities and now serving a church of one hundred in a small mountain community, raising a family and trying to provide, all the while being husband and father, as well as shepherd. Same story, another town, while daily struggling to get by, relying totally on the Lord, and often holding to Him as an overboard passenger would cling to a life preserver. How do they do it? They must have realized this one important truth: It is not about them but Him and that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Please join me today in praying not only for these but also for all who labor so diligently to shepherd us. After all, those who know sheep know this—they’re not easy to handle. Pastor Gene Burroughs