Whew! The pastorate is messy!

Good quote from Larry McKain

Being a priest in Old Testament times was not for the faint of heart. Imagine if your job description included activities such as removing "all the fat from the bull of the sin offering... both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver..." (Lev. 4:8-9). It probably felt a lot more like being a butcher than being a preacher!

Pastors today don't have to deal with entrails, but their job is still plenty messy. Their weeks hold much more than just preparations for Sunday's sermon. Every day, they have to deal with the messiness of their church members' lives--whether it's a marriage in crisis, a teenager's rebellion come to a head, a worsening conflict between ministry leaders, or a report of giving being down and expenses being up. Add to that the pressures of his own family life and struggles to keep everything in balance. Sure, there are many joys in serving, but much of being a pastor is day-to-day nitty-gritty, roll-your-sleeves-up, dirty, and thankless work.