No Family Is Exempt

As our Pastor closed Sunday mornings' service, he gave an altar call for people that were going to be around family and friends in the coming days and weeks who do not have a relationship with God, as well as people who work or live near those who, likewise, need to hear the message of Christ. Pastor then proceeded to say, that He was responding... for the nephew in his family who is away from God; and not just away, but with a multi-generational history of family members who gave their lives to full-time ministry, the nephew is far, far away from God.

He than followed it up with a phrase that perfectly sums up the reasoning behind Bring Me 70 and the need to #pray4pastors.

"No family is exempt."

For whatever reason we think pastors are, they are not. For whatever reason we think they should be, they have never be. For whatever reason we hope they might be, it's never going to happen.

Pastors and their families are neither exempt or immune... to arguments and disagreements, frustrations and challenges, struggles that last for extended periods of time; tragedies of life and the heart-breaking moments of regrettable decisions made by family members they care for deeply.

All of which, sounds exactly like the life of everyone who attends church as well as everyone who has never set foot in church.

Pray, this #seniorPastorMonday, for Pastors and their families who have members wanting nothing to do with God and the church. Pray they would be strengthened and encouraged with the hope that God has a plan for them to return, just as the prodigal came to his "what am I doing" realization. Pray for the challenges and difficulties Pastors face on the home front, for the moments of  stress and tension that we all experience and try to work through. May there be a grace about their lives, that would cover them, realizing they don't have to maintain some level of perfection because of their position. Pray God would accomplish the miraculous, as they seek Him and trust Him, anew and afresh, for the prayers that weigh heavy on their heart.

God is greater, than the situations that would seek to take them out and the challenges that are planned to burn them out. May their hearts and minds be fortified as they focus on God and the ministry for which He has called them to carry and fulfill for the kingdom of Heaven. For His glory. For the sake of the cross. Redemption, in the name of the Lord.

-PNC

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