"We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. . . professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry. The more professional we long to be, the more spiritual death we will leave in our wake. For there is no professional childlikeness, there is no professional tenderheartedness. There is no professional panting after God."
-John Piper, from Brothers, we are not Professionals
On Thursday, we rested together.
Several pastors and staff from various churches and ministries around the Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford area gathered in the Crosspointe Conference Center in Riner, VA to share with one another about what it is that the Lord has done in their lives and ministries of late. At first, I felt somewhat strange about the idea of a half-day retreat with a bunch of pastors in and around Virginia.
"Will this be a worthwhile endeavor?" I wondered as we arrived, skeptical as to the need and the worth of such a meeting as this.
Much to the folly of my own skepticism, though, I ended up enjoying the four hours that we spent together very well. We didn't speak about denominations, public policy, money, or political wrangling, as I thought might come up between men from such positions of service and diverse backgrounds as these; but instead we worshiped God in song, prayed together, and heard about a ministry in the Blacksburg area called "The Pregnancy Resource Center" that supports and guides women medically and emotionally on how to handle having a baby, providing services such as sonograms and counseling for women and their partners.
After a time of prayer with the administrators of the PRC, we shared life stories about how God had brought us to the point where we were, working to minister to the people of Blacksburg. It was such a clear encouragement to my heart and mind just to hear the stories of these dozen-or-so people who have chosen to work their careers and engage the world in professional ministry. I am humbled to have been around so many men and women who have lived their lives for God in both the professional realms as teachers, professors, restaurateurs, and soldiers, but now find themselves head-long in a calling to minister the Gospel to the people around them. It was clear: God had brought each and every man and woman in that room from a place complete darkness into a redeemed, reconciled relationship with himself-- in each case and through incredibly diverse circumstances, it was accomplished through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
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