Fight the Good Fight
Timothy was a young minister who must have dealt with many problems in his ministry. You might wonder what makes me think that, but I think it is only obvious based on the letters that his mentor Paul wrote to him. After all, Paul felt it necessary to encourage Timothy as well as give him some instructions for his own survival. I believe that this is something that every one needs, but perhaps ministers even more so.
Most people need that daily dose of the well-dones or way-to-goes, but for the most part the average person is able to get away from their job and spend some time with friends or family who can help them blow of some steam by sharing about their frustrations at work. Ministers typically live far from family and rarely have friends outside of their church. So when something at work is extremely frustrating they have nobody close to them that they can turn to for council and advice.
That is why it is important for ministers to find ministry mentors and build relationships with their peers in the ministry. I meet with a group of worship pastors 2-3 times per year. We have shared our joys and failures, plans for the future, our fears and more. We have even had a counselor from our convention meet with us to provide insight that we might have overlooked. It is a wonderful time filled with lots of laughs. A great stress relief for us all. And we leave feeling closer to those who probably understand what we go through more than anyone besides our spouses.
Read through 1st and 2nd Timothy to see how Paul served as Timothy's mentor and encourager:
1 Timothy 1:18
Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight. (Paul knew the spiritual battles Timothy would face and wanted to encourage him to press on through the hard times.)
1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (Paul reminds Timothy whose he is so that he would keep his focus on God.)
1 Timothy 4:12
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (Shows that Paul had reason to believe that people did not respect Timothy as their pastor because of his age. This happens often when senior adults believe they know more about their church than that young pastor.)
1 Timothy 5:23
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. (Shows that Paul cared about Timothy's health.)
If you are serving in the ministry and do not have a good network of ministry peers and/or a ministry mentor, I encourage you to set aside time from the many good things you are doing for your church and spend time building these vitally important relationships. This is important for non-ministry Christians as well. Many people do not have Christian co-workers, friends or family members to help them through those frustrating times of life. God uses fellow Christians to lift us up, encourage us and compel us to fight the good fight.
Most people need that daily dose of the well-dones or way-to-goes, but for the most part the average person is able to get away from their job and spend some time with friends or family who can help them blow of some steam by sharing about their frustrations at work. Ministers typically live far from family and rarely have friends outside of their church. So when something at work is extremely frustrating they have nobody close to them that they can turn to for council and advice.
That is why it is important for ministers to find ministry mentors and build relationships with their peers in the ministry. I meet with a group of worship pastors 2-3 times per year. We have shared our joys and failures, plans for the future, our fears and more. We have even had a counselor from our convention meet with us to provide insight that we might have overlooked. It is a wonderful time filled with lots of laughs. A great stress relief for us all. And we leave feeling closer to those who probably understand what we go through more than anyone besides our spouses.
Read through 1st and 2nd Timothy to see how Paul served as Timothy's mentor and encourager:
1 Timothy 1:18
Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight. (Paul knew the spiritual battles Timothy would face and wanted to encourage him to press on through the hard times.)
1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (Paul reminds Timothy whose he is so that he would keep his focus on God.)
1 Timothy 4:12
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (Shows that Paul had reason to believe that people did not respect Timothy as their pastor because of his age. This happens often when senior adults believe they know more about their church than that young pastor.)
1 Timothy 5:23
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. (Shows that Paul cared about Timothy's health.)
If you are serving in the ministry and do not have a good network of ministry peers and/or a ministry mentor, I encourage you to set aside time from the many good things you are doing for your church and spend time building these vitally important relationships. This is important for non-ministry Christians as well. Many people do not have Christian co-workers, friends or family members to help them through those frustrating times of life. God uses fellow Christians to lift us up, encourage us and compel us to fight the good fight.
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