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eration.
It
was felt that the Church
and the prospective pastor would be
better served if he worked a few
years after graduation in non-minis–
terial occupations, gaining valuable
experience and maturity in such
fields as sales, computer program–
ming or management training.
Then, upon the recommendation of
the church pastor, the candidate
could be ordained and, as the needs
ofthe Church required, be hired full
time into the ministry.
TheWives
article about the ministry
ould be incomplete if it
failed to mention one of the
most important elements
to the success of a minister-his wife.
No single individual assumes a
larger share of the pastor's burdens
than his wife. The career of a minis–
ter's wife is a calling to service and,
if need be, sacrifice. If they have
children, she often has to assume a
major share of the responsibility for
rearing them, since so much of her
The
PLAIN TRUTH June/July 1978
husband's time is committed to
others.
l f there is anything that a minister
and his family must be willing to
sacrifice, it is sorne of their privacy.
Their homes must usually double as
offices where people come for help
and advice. The wife is often the
unofficial
receptionist/secretary.
Also she often doubles as a caterer
and gracious hostess for numerous
meetings in their home.
If
her husband does not have an
assistant to aid him in visiting, the
wife of a minister often takes off
severa! days a week to accompany
him.
Add to that the load of being a
lover and companion of her hus–
band, his closest confidante and
most faithful critic, and you begin to
get sorne idea of what it's like to be
married to a pastor of a church.
Somehow, in the midst of all these
pressing demands, she must also
find sorne time for herself, her needs
and goals. Obviously it's not easy.
And a gr·eat deal of credit must be
given to the ministers' wives for
handling their many challenges in
such a commendable manner.
There is a biblical injunction in
Paul's first letter to the church at
Thessalonica to "get to know those
who work so hard among you"
(5: 12, Phillips translation). Perhaps
it is because people have not sought
to get to know their pastor that a
mystique has been created and per–
petuated that makes ministers ap–
pear to be unusual people. But there
isn't anything unique about the
human being who occupies an office
in the ministry. He's just like every–
one else. What is unique is the call–
ing he has, the giant responsibility
of serving and helping wherever
possible. Any roan who shoulders
those burdeos will quickly acknowl–
edge that if it were not for the power
of Christ, the job would not even
begin to get done.
Next issue we will look more
closely at the role of a minister.
What are his responsibilities to God,
to the Church and to himself and
his family?
o
(To Be Continued)
17