LIFTING UP TIRED HANDS
Exodus 17:8-13
Pastor appreciation is very much in order. God’s word calls us to support clergy. In 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 we are told: "And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love" (The Message).
The Pastor’s Plight
The pastor of a church is in a precarious position; he can’t please everyone! It has been said:
If he is young, he lacks experience; if his hair is grey, he’s too old for the young people.
If he has several children, he has too many; if he has no children, he’s setting a bad example.
If he preaches from his notes, he has canned sermons and is too dry; if he doesn’t use notes, he has not studied and is not deep.
If he is attentive to the poor people in the church, they claim he is playing to the grandstand; if he pays attention to the wealthy, he is trying to be an aristocrat.
If he suggests changes for improvement of the church, he is a dictator; if he makes no suggestions, he is a figurehead.
If he uses too many illustrations, he neglects the Bible; if he doesn’t use enough illustrations, he isn’t clear.
If he condemns wrong, he is cranky; if he doesn’t preach against sin, he’s a compromiser.
If he fails to please somebody, he’s hurting the church and ought to leave; if he tries to please everyone, he is a fool.
If he preaches about money, he’s a money grabber; if he doesn’t preach spiritual giving, he is failing to develop the people.
If he drives an old car, he shames his congregation; if he drives a new car, he is setting his affection on earthly things.
If he preaches all the time, the people get tired of hearing one man; if he invites guest speakers, he is shirking his responsibility.
If he receives a large salary, he’s mercenary; if he receives only a small salary, well-it proves he isn’t worth much anyway.
According to the Pastor Care Network:
80% of pastors believe ministry has negatively affected their families.
33% say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their families.
75% report a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.
50% feel unable to meet the demands of the job.
70% say they have a lower self-image now than when they started.
40% report a serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.
70% do not have somebody they consider a close friend.
50% have considered leaving the ministry in the last three months.
50% of those who go into full time ministry drop out in five years.
94% of clergy families feel the pressures of the pastor’s ministry.
And according to the Jan/Feb issue of The Christian Examiner, between 1,400 and 1,600 Christian leaders leave the ministry every month. {2004}
The Alban Institute estimates that 17% of pastors are experiencing burnout. A study of one major denomination concluded that less than one-third of its pastors were happy in their work. Another 30% were "deeply ambivalent" about ministry. And 40% described themselves as "heading for burnout."
Though the pressures pastors face are great, the resources God provides are too. And one of the greatest resources is God’s people. Every person in the church can encourage his or her pastor’s heart. Let’s look at a powerful example in Moses’ time.
It was a time of war for Israel, just as we Christians have wars today with the enemy of our souls. But in this ancient war, the enemy was easy to spot. Exodus 17 tells us that the Amalekites were on the attack. According to Deuteronomy 25:17-18 Amalek attacked Israel from behind, attacking the weak, the stragglers, and the faint. Joshua was in the thick of the battle, with Moses standing on top of the hill holding up the staff of God in his hands. As long as his hands were raised, Joshua and his men were winning. But have you ever tried to raise your hands over your head for any period of time and just hold them there, let alone have something in them? The strongest of men will eventually have to lower their hands. That’s what happened to Moses; his muscles would fatigue and his arms would droop. In this case, there was an unseen spiritual element as part of this picture. Whenever Moses’ hands lowered from fatigue, Joshua started losing immediately.
So long as the hand was upraised, the Israelites prevailed; not because they saw it, and took it as directing them to continue the fight (Kalisch), but because God gave them strength, and vigor and courage, while Moses interceded.
Moses literally stood between Israel and the Amalekites in the spirit realm; he stood between death and life; he stood between victory and defeat.
You may be in the trenches fighting battles and while the pastor may spend a lot of time in prayer and studying the Word and you may think, “is that all he has to do is pray and study? What an easy life.” But hear me, your victory or your defeat may depend on the pastor praying and studying. If he becomes weary and can’t pray you may end up in defeat. You see the reason a lot of churches are in defeat today is because the pastor may be so busy with trivial things that he doesn’t have enough time to spend in intercession for his people.
Ezekiel 22:30 - "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
How many times did Moses literally stand between Israel and judgment? How many times did Moses literally stand, as their leader, between victory and defeat because he dared to intercede or go into the presence of God in their behalf? Moses at times was willing to give his life up for them not to be destroyed.
Romans 8:26-27 – “(26) Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (27) Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:34 – “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
It didn’t take long for two of Moses’ disciples—Aaron and Hur—to see what was happening. They stepped in, one on either side of their shepherd-leader, and held up his hands so the battle could be won. Without them there would have been a disaster engulfing the Israelite family. The enemy would have been able to defeat them, plunder and enslave them. But because two men came alongside their leader to help him do his God-given task, victory was secured where defeat had seemed inevitable.
And notice with me they did not tie his hands, they did not handcuff him, but they held up his hands.
They may not have agreed with him on some points, but what they realized was that they could get the victory if they held up Moses hands.
Our situation is no different today. The enemy is at the door of the members of our congregation. Our pastor-shepherd has a role to play in helping his people win their battles. He doesn’t physically fight the battle, but he definitely plays a key role in helping each of us be victorious. But as with Moses, he can’t do his job alone. It takes others to come alongside of him. Now remember, no matter how skilled Aaron and Hur may have been, what they needed to do in this situation took no great training or brains—just their availability to be used to hold up the hands of their leader.
God has not changed His method of operation even today. He allows each of us to be part of winning the battles the body of Christ faces. This may not always be on the front line as Joshua and his men were, nor may it even be in a visible place as Moses was. But it may be in a seemingly insignificant role of holding up one arm of a key person. John and Sylvia Ronsvalle summarize the concept:
For the contemporary church, the mandate is for lay leaders to help pastors by coming alongside them and their families to facilitate their time, finances, and lives. Like Moses, they need someone to hold up their hands in battle and to perform lesser duties so they can give themselves to eternal kingdom concerns. Ministers need someone to free them from minutia so they can do what God called them to do. Ministers need someone to befriend them to care for them, and to lovingly keep them accountable for essentials.
One very important part of holding up the hands of a pastor is to pray regularly and strategically for him. To lift your pastor’s arms—and encourage his heart—you must be ready to assist.
Have you ever noticed that when a war or battle is won that the soldiers are the ones who get all of the credit? They are the ones in the trenches but in order for them to win somebody had to build the weapons they use; somebody had to build the vehicles they ride in; somebody had to sew the clothes they wear, etc. What I am trying to say is that while their solders fought and won the battle many others served as the support behind them and they could not have won the battle without all of this support.
Our pastor may get the credit when the church is doing well and succeeding like it is now but he can not be successful without the support group helping him.
“It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:2-4, NIV).
The church for many years followed this pattern. But is seems that in the twenty first century, with all the emphasis on self and what makes me feel good, the pastor has once again become overburdened with doing too much. He is no longer viewed as the shepherd, who exists to mobilize and to lead, but is considered an employee, hired by the church to fulfill everyone’s expectations and needs.
Through the years, church researcher George Barna has interviewed hundreds of pastors and lay people. In looking at the American laity, he concluded, “But the pastor is not simply reflecting a lack of faith when he voices concern that people are giving less of themselves to his church than they used to. Research has borne out that volunteerism within the church is on the decline.”
So there you have it. The pastor is overburdened, the laity is not responding and is under-challenged, and the results distress everyone.
The goal, wrote the apostle Paul, is for the church—pastor and flock—to “stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). This is what pastors are looking for, this is what pastors are praying for.
