LESSONS FOR PASTORS (31 OF 34)

Lessons for Pastors (31 of 34)
Series: Acts
Robert Dawson
Acts 20

As a pastor you know you are in trouble when:

• You finally remember the name of that person you promised to visit in the hospital while reading the obituaries in the morning paper.


• You can’t find the book of Nehemiah when leading a bible study.


• You stand in the pulpit ready to deliver the morning sermon and realize your notes are from last week’s message.


• Your youth pastor calls in a panic asking about the church’s liability coverage.


• You find out the youth used steel wool for sponges at their carwash for missions.


• The couple you married 6 months ago calls your secretary asking for a refund.


• The church unanimously elects you as pastor emeritus and you are only 35

 
Ministry can be an adventurous and difficult undertaking at times.  Paul knew ministry could be a challenge and that being a pastor was not always easy.  That is why he wanted to revisit as many churches as he could, churches he had served in, as he traveled back to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost.  He wanted to see old friends.  He wanted to encourage the church.  He especially wanted to encourage and challenge the pastors.
 
There was one city, one church, in particular that was on his mind, Ephesus.  He had spent almost three years in that city and had seen God perform extraordinary miracles in the place.  Paul not only witness a great move of God in Ephesus he witnessed great evil.  Things did not end well and he was forced to leave due to an uprising in the community against the church.
 
While Paul wanted to go back to Ephesus and see the church he just did not have the time. He knew once he arrived that it would be difficult to get away.  He may have even been afraid that his arrival would cause problems for the church and its leaders. 
 
While he did not have the time to travel ...

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