It's beautiful.
Then Monday comes.
The pastor is now the servant of the flock and the expectations are high. Everyone is an expert on how to lead churches. External gifts, strengths, and weaknesses will be weighed and judged. The success criteria of comparison to the church down the street is held close at hand. The pastor is so often judged by the externals.
Yet this is not his identity. His identity is in Christ. Consider Paul's words on this Sunday:
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
The good pastor counts all that we consider "success" as lost because his desire is to be found in Christ so that by any means possible he may attain the resurrection of the dead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLy8ksqGf9w
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