When Pastoring Makes Perfect Sense

Tim never really had birthday parties. There was always a critical shortage of the most important factor involved in parties – friends. Tim has a mental disability and so throughout his school life he had to get by without friends.

Tim always lived in the shadow of his two brothers who were very outgoing and sporty, and who never had a shortage of friends. That all changed dramatically after he left school and his 21^st birthday party was beyond anything he or his parents imagined.

Tim started tagging along with his brothers to church. His family aren’t Christians and church was pretty new to Tim. Another thing that was new to him was people who were prepared to give him the time of day, who were prepared to befriend him and develop genuine friendships.

Tim put is hand up to join the church soccer team and gets to play every game in the season. He’s not the fastest guy on the field obviously but he is an important member of the team. After being ridiculed and bullied his whole life because of his disabilities Tim found an environment that was supportive and encouraging.

Tim began to grow in his faith and his life began to change.

These developments culminated in two unforgettable experiences: his baptism and his ^21st birthday party, which was bigger than Ben Hur. At both occasions, Tim’s father spoke with emotion about how his son’s life had been transformed through going to church and the new friends he had gained since then.

Most of all, his father remarked about how much Tim had been transformed. Previously he was moody, depressive, angry and withdrawn. His new environment and his growing faith drew him out into a new life. Tim is a new creation.

The friendships he has developed are not contrived. The enthusiasm of people for him is genuine, and the affection is real.

On these occasions I was filled with pride at our young adults, and the quality of their faith and values. The acceptance of Tim into their lives was not engineered by leadership. It was a genuine expression of love, the outworking of the fruit of the Spirit across an entire young adult community [about 50].

At occasions like that, being a pastor makes perfect sense. On occasions like that all the trauma and complexity of pastoral ministry is worth it. Money or programs can’t buy these outcomes. I pray you have many of your own to celebrate!