The Challenges of Pastoral Ministry

By Rév. Wilguymps Charles

This book on “The Challenges of Pastoral Ministry” is a practical handbook and an educational guide that aims to sensitize and motivate pastors who are already at work in the Vineyard of the LORD as Church leaders, on the necessity to face, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the enormous challenges of their ministerial task in a careful and thoughtful way. They need also to address them with courage and determination. This book also warns new leaders, by awakening their awareness on what await them as ministers. Pastoral ministry is a very demanding work that should not be taken lightly but it’s a commitment and a responsibility that must be accepted with seriousness. This book will be helpful to every leader.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796074208

Rév. Wilguymps Charles

L’auteur est un Ministre ordonné, diplômé du Séminaire Théologique de Gordon Conwell. Il est le Pasteur titulaire de l’Eglise Baptiste Evangélique des Rachetés à Medford, Massachusetts (U.S.A.) qu’il dirige depuis plus de 24 ans. Pendant longtemps, l’auteur hésita d’afficher son appui à une telle célébration jusqu’au jour, où, convaincu par le Saint-Esprit, il croit trouver un atout majeur à explorer dans le texte de Luc 1 :26-38 …, que la date du 25 Décembre puisse être, en réalité, la date de la naissance du Sauveur Jésus. Alors, lisez ces pages et méditez profondément sur ce que vous aurez lu, et tirez votre propre conclusion en comparant ce que vous avez cru ou pensé dans le temps avant la lecture de cet ouvrage. Que le Saint-Esprit vous aide à comprendre les démarches qui ont été effectuées dans sa rédaction et vous persuade à accepter les faits qui y sont rapportés comme étant authentiques !

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Rev. Wilguymps Charles.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-7960-7421-5

                eBook            978-1-7960-7420-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Rev. date: 11/26/2019

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

804732

DEDICATION

This book, written on "The Challenges of Pastoral Ministry", is first and foremost dedicated to my family, and especially to my wife Jusleine Charles and my daughter Joanne Charles. I thank them for their support and patience during its writing.

I also dedicate it to all the members of the Evangelical Baptist Church of the Redeemed (EBCR)

I dedicate it, finally, to all my parents, all my friends and all my colleague pastors, from here and elsewhere.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1    The Call For The Service Of The Ministry

Chapter 2    The Necessity To Have Time For Your Ministerial Task

Chapter 3    The Pastoral’s Function

Chapter 4    Pastor Facing Opposition And Revolt

Chapter 5    Conflict Management Within The Church

Chapter 6    The Pastor And His Family

Chapter 7    How To Manage Stress Related To Your Ministry

Chapter 8    The Church And Technology

PREFACE

First, I want to thank the LORD my God, the Almighty for the privilege and inspiration He has given me to write this last book.

This book entitled: "The Challenges of Pastoral Ministry " is a book with a character more or less practical than theological. It discusses how to practice pastoral ministry and warns about many problems, and challenges that are waiting for all those who are called by God to any ministerial function within the Church.

This book also warns all those, at work in this field, who pretend to be called by God but who have not been really called. It does a real radiography of the pastoral ministry with all that it entails. It is an important tool that will help each pastor or minister to better understand the scope of their call, the nobility of their ministry, and also the vastness of the expectations to be met.

I have the honor to present it to the Christian community. It’s a practical handbook to encourage pastors in their task. May it serve as a warning to Church leaders. I also dedicate it to all those who are looking for a document of this kind to help them.

To God be the glory!

Rev. Wilguymps Charles.

The Challenges of Pastoral Ministry

A Practical View of Ministry

INTRODUCTION

The call to get involved in pastoral ministry is, according to most people, a scary, frightening, alarming call that requires a lot of courage and wisdom before accepting it. Because, it is a hard work that presents many challenges to which the one who is called will be confronted, and in presence of which he will not be able to escape. It is a delicate function, a rough and difficult ministry that one must not accept lightly. It is certainly a noble task, but at the same time it is immense and fraught with consequences for the one who answers and exercises it. Pastoral ministry is a spiritual, moral and practical function that requires the full consecration. It is punctuated with hardships and difficulties that will inevitably affect the dignity of the minister in various areas of his life. Yet, it is the Apostle Paul, in his second epistle to Timothy, who writes and I quote: "Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task." (1 Timothy 3: 1)

The definition of the word "challenge is: a difficult task or problem; something that is hard to do. Whereas the definition of the verb to challenge means: to confront or defy boldly; to call out to duel or combat; to stimulate especially by presenting with difficulties; to put someone in the position to do something by suggesting that you think he is incapable of succeeding. From this classic definition of the word challenge", you will quickly understand, dear readers, that pastoral ministry is not a child’s game where we take the risk of winning or losing unconsciously without taking into account the stakes, but it is a commitment and a conscientious responsibility that must be answered with great enthusiasm and seriousness. One must be well prepared and equipped spiritually, mentally, academically and theologically in order to be able to practice such a ministry. Because it is not enough to be willing to be called pastor or to position oneself at the head of a group as leader.

Pastoral ministry is a very demanding job. Often, the pastor is required to assume several roles, such as: theologian, preacher, teacher, mediator, therapist, and has a range of skills such as: preaching, teaching, organizing, counseling, administering, and much more. But the question that we must ask is: how can only one and the same person respond effectively to such a large display or array of expectations? Yet, despite the irrational and unrealistic demands of the office, the pastor is called upon to play a balancing role between his skills, his personality, his family, and the needs of the Church. Because, for most people, what seems to be a volunteer and a way of restoring spirituality, for the pastor, it is a place of work. Hence the need for the pastor and the members of the Church to know how to distinguish between the minister of God who is in the service of a congregation and the individual person who can be husband and father, in order to put the boundaries between ecclesiastical and ministerial activities, and those of the pastor’s private life.

The author of this book is the senior pastor of a Church, and has lived more than 26 years of pastoral ministry. During this long career that has lasted more than a quarter of a century, he has seen a lot, he has heard a lot, he has faced a lot of problems