The challenges pastors often face
“I never want to say what we do is harder than anybody, but there’s an emotional weight to pastoring that you almost can’t tell someone who’s not in the role. You carry this emotion. And it’s not just the emotion of people, it’s the emotion of what you’re leading, what you hope happens, what happens in peoples’ lives.
And there it is.
It’s like in a day, I can go from counseling a couple who’s on the brink of divorce, to talking to someone who’s suicidal, to talking about the budget” at church.
Scott Marshall is lead pastor at Wichita First Church of the Nazarene.
A significant spiritual pressure can be felt, as well
“You’ve got the weight of ‘Hey, I need to get this right, to say this right. Someone’s eternal destiny depends on what I’m saying right here.’”
Pastor Scott believes there are some notable misconceptions about pastors around America. He says some people may have “this spiritual sense of expectation, like this person (a pastor), ‘must be incredible holy … they probably don’t ever make mistakes. They probably never fight with their spouse. Probably great parents.’ – or – in our current cultural moment, it’s the exact opposite. The assumption is, ‘I bet that person (pastor) is a liar. I bet that person is just in it for the money. I bet that person is cheating somebody. I bet that person is manipulative.’ And maybe at the same time, you have people who grew up in the church struggling with both of those things.”
Bottom line
But I think the thing that I would want to say is ‘Pastors are just people. We’re human beings. We’re trying to listen and respond to the call of God on our life like we’re asking you to do the same in your life.”
“We’re just human. We struggle. We laugh. We cry. We hurt. We get sad. We feel anxious. And I work really hard, as much as is possible for me, to take myself off any pedestal. I’m just a human being like you.”
Pastor Scott appears to be well-placed in his role, a caring, committed pastor who stays engaged with his congregation, keeps track of culture, always with an eye on Jesus. And there are many positives he has to share with you. Check out our complete podcast interview just below.