In their book, They Call Me Pastor, seasoned pastors, H. B. London, Jr and Neil B. Wiseman share their observation that at some points, every church ministry experiences “obstacles.”  Be that as it may, “Turning obstacles into opportunities, with God’s help, is something Christians do well,” they conclude.  But before we can do that, we must first introspect, look within, us.  Perhaps, these obstacles do not originate from outside factors, but rather from inside factors. 

One of those internal factors they mention in their book is from none other but the pastors themselves. Sometimes pastors “expect people to invest more energy in Christian service than their spiritual life generates.”  Simply put, sometimes pastors expect people to do and give more to the church ministry, but they do not nourish them adequately, spiritually speaking.  It’s like expecting people to work harder but depriving them of the nutrients they need to do the job.

So, what happens to the church members when they are expected to do and give more but without sufficient spiritual nourishment?  Pastors London and Wiseman’s answer is apathy or lack of interest.  Instead of feeling encouraged, people become discouraged; instead of feeling excited, people become indifferent; instead of taking part, people dissociate themselves.  In one word, they become apathetic.

So, before we can turn obstacles into opportunities, we must find the problem and if we happen to be the problem, we had better do something about it. There is one more insight I can share with you: We do not turn obstacles into opportunities for us, but for God, for Him to accomplish His work. A siege by the Ammonites turned out to be an opportunity for Saul to rally support from all of Israel.  God uses obstacles to draw us to Him and to draw us out of our box so, we can see more of God and of us, what we both can do together.

Pastor Paul