52. Being a Pastor of the Cross w/ Chad Bird

How successful is your ministry? Are your sermons impactful and meaningful? How full is your church? Are you getting results?

Let's face it, as pastors we often equate our success in ministry with "greatness" and bigger numbers. But what do you do if God has assigned to you an "unexciting" ministry? Is God really in a church with 45-50 people? Definitely not 10 people, right? What about when you suffer in ministry - is God in the midst of that? Our guest today, Chad Bird, helps us see that not only is God present, but He's more present in these things than we realize.

In today's episode Chad unpacks what Martin Luther meant when he wrote of the "theologian of the cross." The theologian of the cross understands that the things of God are rarely the mountain-top experiences. Rather, God reveals Himself in suffering, in un-met expectations, in ordinary life, in the word, in bread, in wine, in water.

Pastor, if you've been weighed down by the burden of greatness, be encouraged to lay that aside and just be a normal minister who preaches the good news and administers the sacraments.