Last week during a casual lunch conversation with a fellow preacher, he asked me if I ever have doubts about my faith.
My answer was that I have always had certain aspects of my faith that confused me, but I kind of assumed that went with the territory. Faith and certainty were not always compatible.
“What do you do about doubts?” this person wanted to know.
“I kind of keep them simmering on the back burner…” was my response. “…Try not to fixate on them or give them more attention than they deserve.” But at that point I wanted to know if he was asking more an academic question, or one that was personal to him.
His response was that he was struggling with whether or not he still believed everything he had always been taught.
What followed resulted in a really good tip for our waitress, because we occupied one of her booths for a good two hours. That talk also revealed that his concerns really had little to do with doubting. It’s just that this was his obtuse way of getting to the heart of what it was he really wanted to talk about.
The experience made me aware that sometimes pastors need a fellow minister to listen to them talk—someone who will keep asking them questions until they finally get around to the actual topic that’s troubling them. I was glad that on that given day I was able to be such a person for this friend.
Maybe this is a role God will also have you play on behalf of a fellow minister in the near future.
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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.
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