Popularity or success. This leads to a third mark of maturity: knowing the difference between popularity and success. Barabbas was popular but hardly a success. Popularity is a passing thing; success is permanent. (Of course sin can transform a successful pastor into a failure; but the work of an obedient man continues to help others.)
As I look back over my ministry of nearly thirty years, I am reminded of some painful lessons I learned along the way. Although I’ve never received combat pay in the ministry, I’ve been in situations where warfare was a fairly accurate description of what was going on. As I’ve accessed the memory files of
"This, too, shall pass." -- William Shakespeare
"Life comes in clusters, clusters of solitude, then clusters when there is hardly time to breathe."-- May Sarton
"Pain is never permanent."-- Saint Teresa of Avila
"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."-- C. S. Lewis
"Pain and suffering are not necessarily signs of God's anger; they may be exactly the opposite."-- William Bridges
"Suffering times are teaching times."-- William Bridges
"A man is not known by his effervescence but by the amount of real suffering he can stand."-- C. T. Studd
"The Scriptures show conclusively that tribulation is a natural by-product of genuine Christianity."-- William E. Cox
"There never yet was an unscarred saint." -- Anonymous
"God sometimes puts his children to bed in the dark."-- Anonymous
"I had a million questions to ask God: but when I met Him they all fled my mind; and it didn't seem to matter." -- Christopher Morley
"When you and I hurt deeply, what we really need is not an explanation from God but a revelation of God."-- Warren Wiersbe
Dealing with Difficulties
– Warren W. Wiersbe Someone has said, “On every pew, there is a broken heart.” That being the case, it is good for ministers to preach and teach on the problem of pain and suffering. With that in mind, we would like to point out a few books that have been around a while. One
– Chuck Swindoll Someone has said, “On every pew, there is a broken heart.” That being the case, it is good for ministers to preach and teach on the problem of pain and suffering. With that in mind, we would like to point out a few books that have been around a while. If the
– Max Lucado Someone has said, “On every pew, there is a broken heart.” That being the case, it is good for ministers to preach and teach on the problem of pain and suffering. With that in mind, we would like to point out a few books that have been around a while. Using the
– Ben Patterson Someone has said, “On every pew, there is a broken heart.” That being the case, it is good for ministers to preach and teach on the problem of pain and suffering. With that in mind, we would like to point out a few books that have been around a while. Patterson says,
– Ron Dunn Someone has said, “On every pew, there is a broken heart.” That being the case, it is good for ministers to preach and teach on the problem of pain and suffering. With that in mind, we would like to point out a few books that have been around a while. The author