In his book Confessions of a Pastor, Craig Groeschel confesses nine areas of struggle that I think every pastor could agree with. Here is the list:
- I Can’t Stand A Lot of Christians
- I Have to Work Hard to Stay Sexually Pure
- Most of the Time I Feel Incredibly Lonely
- I Hate Prayer Meetings
- I Worry Almost All the Time
- Sometimes I Doubt God
- I Feel Completely Inadequate
- I Stink at Handling Criticism
- I’m Afraid of Failure
He of course offers an explanation to each of these, and ways that he and other pastors should deal with them. His purpose in the book is to call pastors and non-pastors alike to acknowledge their own areas of weakness. Many of us (not just pastors) are really good at faking it and fooling people. We know the right words and expressions that make us appear humble. We know how to pray in ways that sound like we are really close to God. We are so good, we can even fool ourselves, and think we have no need to stare into our own souls and get real with God. Let us confess our sins because we have a God who is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us (1 John 1:9).
GB
