Qualification Hurts

          I was visiting a big church near Nashville one summer awhile ago. Three things to know about most Nashville churches: they’re musically amazing, you can’t overdress for them, and there’s no such thing as a celebrity. The particular church I visited had members and Bible study leaders who had abilities in writing published books and recording popular albums. 

          I was excited to get a chance to talk to one of this church’s music directors, who had just finished closing the service with a grand and inspiring version of “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Thrilled to get his email address (the domain of which was big Christian recording label), I told him I was planning on going into church music leadership.

          His smiling response: “Are you sure?”

          I chuckled, though I’m still, to this day, unsure as to the reason for his curious and potentially discouraging response. Regardless, it’s a question that shouldn’t be avoided in the hearts of all aspiring pastors. I was thinking this recently for this reason: the qualification process for ministry leadership hurts. Especially early on.

          To strive for the qualifications of an overseer (1 Tim. 3:1-7), it will very likely require permeating and potentially painful insight into your weaknesses. Do we understand this as we sing the popular “Refiner’s Fire”? It’s based in the apostle Peter’s encouragement (arguably the Bible’s persecution go-to guy) that such searing refinement makes faith worth more than gold (1 Pet. 3:3-7). It can hurt.

          At the same time, however, it’s been glorious to see, in my own life, how God can use all injustice and tragedy to heal hearts and better qualify people for ministry. He used my mild depression to teach me where I should find my true affirmation. He used my unemployment to teach a more selfless, compassionate and steward-like lifestyle. There are plenty of examples I can think of in my life (and I hope you can think of in yours, too!) of how God can heal from personal tragedy and use it for an otherwise unforeseeable “good” (Ro. 8:28) for His children.

          Just like professional athletes and method actors surrender their physical bodies to be refined (often painstakingly) in order to better the team effort, those who want to be ministry overseers (not just people in full-time ministry) ought to surrender their hearts, minds, bodies and souls to a refining process. It will likely be a painful (and lifelong) process, but it’s greatly overshadowed by the joy that comes from serving for God’s glory.