Personal Story: The Pastor I was Sent to Help
Years ago I was pastoring a church in a small town. I was new to the pastorate, having surrendered to full-time ministry only a short time before I came to this church. The church knew I had a master’s in counseling, so several members approached me one day and asked me if I would reach out to the pastor of another church in town. This pastor was decades older than me, but he had lost a son within the last year and was struggling with life.
I knew that this pastor frequented a local diner every morning, so I decided at least once a week that it would become my first stop each day. Over time, we formed a friendship, he began to trust me, and, most importantly, he began to share his broken heart with me. He became one of my dearest friends.
My pastor friend passed away about six months into our relationship. I still think of him and his absence with a heavy heart. I miss him. I will never forget the last months of our friendship and how he consistently told me that God had sent me to him. He was so appreciative of our time together.
He died unexpectedly and, though I had told him how much he meant to me, I never fully communicated to him what I grew to understand, perhaps because I didn’t fully process our relationship until months after he was gone. God confirmed some truths to me after his death:
I was sent to him…I believe that is true….but, equally true…he was sent to me…
My pastor friend, with his years of experience, helped me as a new pastor learn how to handle situations and deal with people in my church. He was a listening ear when things were not going as I thought they should go. He was an encourager to keep doing the things God had called me to do. He was iron sharpening my iron.
Looking back, God used him in my life perhaps far more than I was used in his.
Have you ever had a similar situation? Has the one you were sent to help ended up helping you? To whom could God be sending you today? Could it be that they need your help…and you need theirs?
Are you willing to get messy with people to help them…so that they can help you?
