Missing Ingredient For Ministers
 

I was speaking to another Minister about the possibility of this other younger Minister being trained as an assistant Pastor & while I said that I felt that he wasn't ready, this other Minister concurred with me and said that he was missing an important ingredient.

I asked him, "what was that?"

He said, "he is missing being a broken vessel without which he will not be able to
effectively Minister/Pastor."

I agreed, and it got me thinking,

"Do you feel that being a broken vessel is an important ingredient to being an effective Minister/Pastor?

Yes sir!!!

You can't be given until you've been broken!

You have to know what people are feeling or going through in order to minister to them.

Very true!

That's an interesting statement. I in our common "lexicon" I think the idea behind a "broken vessel" implies humility. Humilty is often hard earned through bitter experience. One think the other pastor may have had in mind was that they younger man simply lacked experience in being broken.

In the OT laws, an earthen vessel was to be broken whenever it came in contact with something very holy (Leviticus 6:28) or something unclean (Leviticus 15:12). Could it be that our "earthen vessel" is not "broken" because it has not made these contacts?

And for the "unclean" I don't mean that the vessel itself was necessarily "in sin." But for some people, a necessary part of growing up is to have contact with those who have truly hit bottom in their lives. If the young minister feels empathy and compassion for someone like this and not self righteousness, then that may equate to an experience of "brokenness."

Failing to be a "broken vessel" may not be a short coming in and of itself. It could be that the vessel simply hasn't been out among different types of people and needs to get a little "scuffed" up for a while.

If cannot love people,and show compassion how can they minister to hurting people ?

Some are broken vessels.....some are just crackpots. :D

That is true.
If one isn't broken, the contents are still bottled up & not easily shared!

Interesting thought.

Very well said Bro Scott!

Heb 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.


2Co 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

One reason we suffer is so that we may comfort others who are suffering.

We have learned the hard way by using people too soon many times it ruins them. Pray about those you use.

Proud people come to a sudden end...Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall..I have seen this several times...names and titles go to people's heads.