Pastors, seize every opportunity to go to the hospital on these occasions to see new born babies.  It is some of the only times you go to the hospital to celebrate.

I get it. It is hard to invest and train leaders, then send them out. It is hard to deeply love others only to let them go. But I am reminded in encouraging notes like this that despite the real personal loss pastors and churches feel, it is still worth sending them. Pastors, pour yourself into young men and women. Train them. Raise them up. Send them out.

What made this particular funeral the most difficult I have ever done? As the funeral approached, nothing I tried lifted the burden. No matter how much I prayed or meditated on Scripture, the weight remained and it was an intensity I cannot recall ever feeling.  As I reflected afterwards, here are 5 factors that seemed to create this “perfect storm” of struggle that peaked at an unbearable level just a few minutes before the funeral began.

Through cleaning the bathrooms at my church the Lord, in His grace, taught me some of the most valuable lessons about humility, faithful pastoral ministry, and what it truly means to serve Christ and His church while cleaning toilets.  These are two of the more important lessons.

As we celebrated the births of these little ones, I began to get excited about the privilege it is of going to the hospital, being one of the first to see and hold the baby, and care for the parents in what is always one of the most significant moments in their lives.  Here are a few things to think about as you seize these wonderful opportunities to minister to the new parents in your church.