On our first day of seminary, we scanned our lists of scheduled classes: languages, theology, church history. We couldn’t wait to dive into learning everything from the nuances of the text to the how-to’s of leading. We just knew that we would be receiving full preparation for ministry.
Though we didn’t notice its absence at the time, neither of us had a class called “Bearing Burdens 101.” We don’t recall ever talking about this subject. We knew we’d be discipling, teaching, maybe even autographing a few books we would surely write someday. We knew we would be counseling and helping people with issues in their lives. Accidents and tragedies, hospital visits and funeral services are, sadly, to be expected in ministry.
Yet we never imagined that our calling would also include bearing the burdens of people who would make a mess of their lives, and then give us the responsibility of helping them through. We never dreamed of all the tears we’d cry and weight we’d carry because of other people’s sin. Often repeated sin.
We remember the first time a teenager in our church had sex with his girlfriend just after we had finished a series on sexual purity. Our hearts broke as the two began experiencing the consequences.
A few years later, newly into our church plant, we were shocked when a man, whom we had spent hours discipling, had an affair and destroyed his family. We also remember the woman whose life was unraveling so fast that she threatened suicide. The weight of these problems was enormous.
Years later, we’re not so surprised anymore by the hidden burdens that often come uncovered in Christians’ lives. Pastoring means serving people, loving them, and teaching them God’s Word. We encourage them to live right, even when we’re heartbroken as they make horribly destructive choices.
Compassion comes easily at first. But over time our hearts grow more and more callous as people continue to fail and fall, despite our best efforts to point them to God’s Word. We didn’t realize we were signing up for this kind of disappointment when we entered ministry.
As ministry leaders, we get weary of giving biblical advice, seeing it ignored, and then being expected—by the fallen one, by God, by whomever—to shoulder the consequences we knew were coming. Isn’t this asking too much?
Yet the apostle Paul makes it very clear that bearing burdens is a part of every Christian’s calling: “Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path” (Gal. 6:1).
“Bearing one another’s burdens” is obeying the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). It’s what Christ did for us. He carried our sins as his burden in order to lead us back to God. By his example, he established a calling for every believer, regardless of whether it was in our course syllabi or job descriptions.
Still, the pride easily arises in our hearts when those we teach disappoint us. However, “If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself” (Gal. 6:3).
None of us is so important that we can say, “You made your bed; now lie in it,” and push someone aside in order to do “more important” parts of ministry. We’ve been called to be burden bearers.
“Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well” (Gal. 6:4). How we react to people who have fallen is a litmus test for our own character. “Doing your work well” is at least partly determined by the way we bear burdens for those God has entrusted to us.
By his grace, we are learning to do something we never studied in seminary.
Kelly and Tosha Williams Vanguard Church Colorado Springs, Colorado
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