I love Jim Shaddix because of his walk with the Lord–beginning in his home (no matter what they face, including now when he’s facing serious health concerns). For that reason, these words from a blog he wrote a few years ago challenge me:
I wrote my dissertation on a well-known, dynamic, Bible-preaching pastor. I remember asking him in an interview how he kept his feet on the ground and avoided letting his popularity get the best of him. I’ll never forget his response. He said, “I have to go home at 5 o’clock every day.” To be clear, he wasn’t bemoaning his responsibility as a husband and father (nor was he speaking literally about his work hours!). He was simply acknowledging that his wife and kids knew the real him.
It doesn’t matter how many people sing our praises. The people who know us best are the people we live with. They see us 24-7, not just for an hour or so each week when we’re leading in worship. In addition to our families, all of us have people in our church who help us identify with the Apostle Paul’s experience:
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.” (2 Cor. 12:7)
Both our loving family members and difficult parishioners often speak and act in ways that remind us that we’re not anything special.
Takeaway: Preachers, let’s listen closely to the people who know us best and love us the most, and let’s not be too quick to dismiss the naysayers in our ministries. Both are deposits of God’s grace that keep our egos from becoming inflated and make it easy to foster humility in us.