Day 31

[kevrev16]

This familial aspect of ministry is one of the things that has been affirming and sustaining for me when things become difficult. I am blessed to be on a medium-sized paid staff that enjoys a fair amount of camaraderie. The place where I enjoy the most “fictive kinship” though is on the smaller team of leaders whom I engage with most often and directly. These are people who have shared encouragement, opened up their homes, hosted baby showers and adoption fundraisers and treated me (and, perhaps more importantly, my wife) as part of the church family and not just the pastor in the room.

This has been an enormous blessing in my life, one that I’m prone to overlook. What has proven elusive in the past few years is a friend “closer than a brother” or someone with whom I can share some of the burden of ministry as well as accountability. I have a healthy circle of friends but have felt myself desiring greater relational depth.

A former associate of mine have actually grown closer as ministry prayer-partners and encouragers since he left the church. He is fulfilling his dream in ministry as an ARMY chaplain. Interestingly enough, our two years of ministry together created a bond that has not been shaken by time and distance.

I am grateful that I do not have to “labor” alone. I know that this is not the case for many in ministry and so I desire to not grow weary in doing good, especially when there are so many other co-laborers in the field too.
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Kevin Maurice