Most pastors I talk with can point to a specific moment when ministry started to feel heavier. That was how I was going to open this message but then my beloved uncle, Pastor John Ericksen, passed away and we had his memorial service in February. When I heard the funeral message, I realized you all need to hear THAT message more than mine.
Ministry IS feeling harder these days. I hear it from my clients all the time. The current culture, partisan politics, Christian nationalism (which ironically doesn’t look anything like Christianity) and then the declining numbers and finances in our churches. Ministry is feeling heavy for many.
My uncle chose Matthew 22 for his funeral – Love God, Love People. His pastor said that Pastor John Ericksen’s life was shaped by this commandment – not perfectly, not easily, but faithfully.
And this was one of my favorite paragraphs because it speaks to all of us:
“Loving people is where faith gets tested because neighbors aren’t abstract. They’re real people, with real opinions, real disagreements, real wounds. And that can make life…messy. Churches are messy. Ministry is messy. Why? Because it’s about people and people are messy!”
Truer words were never spoken!
“…for John, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. He definitely had moments. The kinds of moments that test everything. There were seasons of joy and growth. There were seasons of deep challenge. There was even a season of deep pain during his pastoral leadership. That kind of moment can harden a pastor. It can make someone defensive, bitter, or closed off. It can cause a leader to cling tighter to control – or walk away altogether. It tests a pastor’s calling. It tests trust in God. It tests whether love will remain when unity is fractured. But John stayed. He trusted God. And he kept loving people. Not by pretending everything was fine. Not by avoiding hard truth. But by refusing to let the conflict shift Christ from the center.”
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” In other words, “This is what holds everything together. John understood that the Church only holds together when Christ remains at the center. Not success. Not survival. Not programs. Not personalities. Not traditions. Not preferences. Christ.
When Christ stays at the center, humility matters more than being right, faithfulness matters more than success, love matters more than winning.
Later in the sermon we were reminded, “We are still called to love God with everything we are. We are still called to love our neighbors – especially when it’s hard. We are still called to keep Christ at the center of everything we do.”
“Today we give thanks for John’s life not because he fulfilled the greatest commandment perfectly – but because he trusted the One who did.”
Thank you, dear readers, for indulging me in sharing some of my uncle’s funeral sermon (used by permission). This will be the first newsletter sent since his passing that he will not be responding to with words of encouragement and gratitude for the ministry of Clergy Life Coaching. He often spoke of how he wished that he had a coach when he was in ministry. Be sure and reach out to your mentors today and thank them!
