{"id":473,"date":"2025-03-21T14:37:17","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T14:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/?post_type=mere_resource&#038;p=473"},"modified":"2025-03-21T14:41:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T14:41:03","slug":"surrender-to-ministry","status":"publish","type":"mere_resource","link":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/resource-library\/article\/surrender-to-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrender to Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When I was a kid growing up in church, it was common to hear someone say, \u201cI surrendered to ministry in 1968,\u201d or, \u201cIt was on a Sunday night that I surrendered to ministry.\u201d You don\u2019t hear that kind of language much anymore\u2014the word&nbsp;<em>surrender<\/em>. But it\u2019s actually an incredibly powerful idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It doesn\u2019t mean ministry is so bad, so hard, so awful that you&nbsp;<em>finally<\/em>&nbsp;give in to it. Rather, it means that God has placed a burden on your heart\u2014so deep, so unavoidable\u2014that you can\u2019t give your vocational life to anything else but serving His church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That word\u2014<em>burden<\/em>\u2014feels a little old-fashioned too, but it\u2019s essential for understanding a pastor\u2019s calling and staying in the race. Every pastor, at some point, receives a burden from God\u2014a weight that pulls him toward vocational ministry. It\u2019s not just a decision. It\u2019s not just an opportunity. It\u2019s a conviction, a compulsion, a sense that nothing else would be as faithful or as obedient to what God has put in his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most pastors I know could make more money doing something else. They could work fewer hours, have less stress, and deal with fewer challenges. And yet, they stay the course. Why? Because their heart aches for the church. Because they long to see it thrive. Because they want to be part of God\u2019s work in a deep, meaningful way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s been a lot written recently about why so many are leaving pastoral ministry. And yes, it&nbsp;<em>is<\/em>&nbsp;hard. But it\u2019s always been hard. No one steps into this work because it\u2019s an easy, stress-free job. We step in because we have a burden. Because God has placed in us an unshakable desire to see His church strong and healthy. Because we want to see the church reach its full potential for the glory of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want an easy job, go do something else. If you want to make money off churches without carrying their heaviest burdens, go be a church consultant or start a podcast. But brother, if God has given you a burden for His Church\u2014if you long to see His people flourish no matter the cost\u2014become a pastor, and stay a pastor. Even when it\u2019s hard. Even when it\u2019s exhausting. Even when you wonder if it\u2019s worth it. Surrender to the burden of Christ\u2019s bride and be faithful to that calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you do, one day, in the presence of the Lord, you\u2019ll see the fullness of her beauty. You\u2019ll share in the joy of Jesus as He looks upon the people you had the privilege to care for, disciple, teach, and shepherd. You\u2019ll see how God used your faithfulness\u2014how He took your prayers, your sermons, your tears, and your struggles, and He built something eternal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pastoral ministry is a&nbsp;<em>heavy<\/em>&nbsp;burden, but it is a&nbsp;<em>beautiful<\/em>&nbsp;burden. And I pray that God would lead many of His best to surrender to it\u2014until we hear His words,&nbsp;<em>\u201cWell done.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I was a kid growing up in church, it was common to hear someone say, \u201cI surrendered to ministry in 1968,\u201d or, \u201cIt was on a Sunday night that I surrendered to ministry.\u201d You don\u2019t hear that kind of language much anymore\u2014the word&nbsp;surrender. But it\u2019s actually an incredibly powerful idea. It doesn\u2019t mean ministry [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":474,"template":"","tags":[],"mere_resource_type":[73],"mere_resource_scripture":[],"mere_media_type":[],"mere_resource_topic":[],"mere_resource_event":[],"mere_resource_series":[],"multi_author":[151],"class_list":["post-473","mere_resource","type-mere_resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","mere_resource_type-article","multi_author-jason-dees"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mere_resource\/473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mere_resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/mere_resource"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"mere_resource_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mere_resource_type?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"mere_resource_scripture","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mere_resource_scripture?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"mere_media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mere_media_type?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"mere_resource_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mere_resource_topic?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"mere_resource_event","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mere_resource_event?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"mere_resource_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mere_resource_series?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"multi_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ftc.co\/called\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/multi_author?post=473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}