Pastors have been spread pretty thin for the past two thousand years or so. But no one notices because, well, it’s been like that for the past two thousand years or so.
And how’s that working?
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Three out of four pastors report working up to 75 hours a week.
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80 percent say their ministry has negatively affected their families.
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65 percent feel they live in glass houses and fear they’re not good enough to meet expectations.
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90 percent say the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be before they got into it.
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70 percent say they have a lower self-image now than when they started.
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70 percent do not have someone they consider to be a close friend.
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And 71 percent of churches have no plan for a pastor to receive a periodic sabbatical.
The church has atrophied through the centuries from what Jesus created it to be and is largely ignored, even by 65 percent of the 167,000,000 Americans who claim to be Christ-followers. Nevertheless, its pastors seem to be busy, busy, busily working themselves into new careers or early graves.
The problem is that they’ve been trying to do the work meant for five—apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists—and their inability to measure up has left the church virtually powerless and insulated from the world.
One reason is that the church long ago decided it no longer needed the apostles and prophets Jesus established to serve as its foundation.
But God has begun to restore the five-fold ministry to the church. And the process is accelerating.
Jesus told Peter that he is building his church, and the gates of hell will never overpower it. He has not changed his mind and is beginning to restore the church to, and beyond, its original character and strength. One day soon, it will begin to leave its buildings and its potlucks, re-invade the world and reveal the God who loves it and made a sacrifice beyond our comprehension to restore it to him.
The impending restitution of the church Jesus established will not be a mere redistribution or a reallocation of church programs and ministries. It will be a glorious resurrection, revealing divine life and igniting miracle-soaked revivals throughout the world that will be far beyond all the Great Awakenings and Azusa Street combined.
This new year, 2020, marks the beginning of the return of the church. Things that have been prophesied in people’s lives will begin to happen. Discouragement will erupt into delirious delight.
Following Christ is not going to be merely another religion. It is going to once again become the real, tactile, glorious body of Jesus Christ on the Earth, not turning Earth into a religious planet but presenting the planet with a glorious option and dividing it into those who pursue him gladly and those who won’t.
~ Artwork by Sergio Sousa
