A few months ago a firehouse in Hawaii responded to a call and rushed to the scene of an accident. The problem was, they forgot something important back at their own station… Read on:
Oahu firefighters have been issued a reminder to be sure to turn off cooking equipment when responding to emergencies. The advice comes in the wake of a May 22 blaze at the Waipahu fire station that caused about $25,000 damage.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said food was inadvertently left cooking on a stove when the firefighters responded to an emergency call involving a traffic accident.
He said after finishing the call, the firefighters responded to a call at their own station house. Seelig said like everyone else, firefighters need to be careful and attentive when cooking.
According to Seelig, the fire caused smoke and heat damage, primarily to kitchen areas that had been scheduled for renovation. He said the damage has been repaired. (Associated Press)
I looked over this story the other night, and at first glance, I saw it as just another interesting news read. For whatever reason, I decided to skim through it again. As I read, God gripped my heart and reminded me of something that so many pastors/ministers forget – myself included.
We are called as pastors to serve people and minister to the world we live in. We are called to help others in spiritual need, mediate in difficult conflict situations, and challenge people to walk closely with Christ. But herein lies the problem: we are often so concerned with others that we neglect our own spiritual growth and well-being.
I have heard it said that “the mechanic has the worst car in the shop.” As I hear stories from around the country about pastors and ministers that have had significant moral failures and burnouts, I fear that this is true in our context. Pastors work so hard “fixing” everyone else’s spiritual problems that they forsake their own spiritual health. It may seem like the natural thing to do in ministry, but all it leads to is an atrophy of the soul.
Reading this story brought to light a passage of scripture I’ve been meditating on recently. Paul instructed Timothy in many things, and one of those things makes more sense now:
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1 Timothy 4:15-16
While we’re called to shepherd the flock of God (1 Peter 5:2), we must remember to be sheep ourselves as well as tend to the lives of those around us. We need our Shepherd as much as anyone else in our churches.
There are a few introspective questions that this story and this verse made me ask myself. Be careful if you read this – conviction ensues:
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First: Am I walking closely with my Shepherd and growing in my walk with Him?
Second: Is there any sin in my life (or the temptation of any such sin) that will, if not addressed and repented of, lead to destruction?
Third: Am I honest/accountable with Christian brothers so as to avoid disaster?
Fourth: Am I busy attending to the needs of others while neglecting my own soul?
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Here’s the moral of the story: if we aren’t careful and intentional about this, our “firehouse” will burn down while we’re out on call.
6 Comments
What a great reminder!
This is outstanding, my friend! Grateful for your sensitivity to the Spirit, for your personal resolve to pursue obedience and faithfulness in your own life and the appropriate challenge/reminder to all of us!
Great post. Too many people fall into this trap.
Hey man. This resonates with who I almost became. When I worked at NC State with CCC, I felt like I did ministry all the time. The way that it affected me wasn’t so much in my own personal walk with God, but it affected my interaction with people of the community. I did ministry with students like crazy but after 5 years of ministry, I had made zero in-roads to people who I could connect with on a personal, non-ministry level.
So, what I learned form that is that I need to chill with the ministry stuff sometimes and realize that I should have a life as well outside of my job. I think we’re guilty sometimes of thinking we’re more important than we really are in ministry, like the ministry or church will fall apart if I am not on campus or at the church every second of my life. It’s like we live as if God really isn’t in control.
Anyway, that’s how it resonated with me.
Thanks for the warning Todd. I heard Tim Keller in Chicago say that before we are shepherds we are sheep in need of the chief shepherd.
I think sometimes pastors can separate themselves from the benefits of being a part of the body of Christ. We facilitate accountability groups and often have no church centered accountability, we are so busy leading others in worship we don’t stop to be encouraged by others singing the truth of the cross.
I have tried to allow myself to be ministered to as much as possible to keep a hose nearby in case of emergency.
That’s a good word, Todd. One of the common pitfalls that I see Christian leaders fall into is using sermon/lesson prep as their devotional time with God. On the surface it seems like multi-tasking–efficient time management. But what God wants to say to us and what God wants to say through us are often two very different things. If we don’t listen to what God wants to tell us personally, we may find ourselves responding to an emergency in our own home. Thanks for the great post, Todd.