Among the most esteemed professions in our culture are “first responders,” people who courageously move toward dangers and disasters rather than the normal human reaction of running for their lives. I think here especially of firefighters who go into burning buildings and rescue people despite the heat and the imminent danger of a collapsing building. Now I don’t imagine that secular society will ever see pastors with that kind of esteem, but I do believe that we pastors must see a significant aspect of our pastoral ministry in that light: moving toward pain, suffering, sorrow, and dysfunction. And given that pastors’ tools are words, that means especially not avoiding the hard or awkward conversations with the people of our flocks.
When the little boy Samuel heard God speaking his name for the very first time, Eli had to tell him to say “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam. 3:9). Little did Samuel know that the Lord was calling him to ministry, and was testing him to see if he would speak a very challenging message of judgment to a man he loved dearly—Eli. But Samuel faithfully told Eli what God had told him despite the pain it would cause, thus beginning
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