Jamie Dew told pastors that he had one simple but honest question for them — “Do you ever want to quit?”
“I can think of a million reasons we might feel that way,” said Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, as he spoke to the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference in Dallas on June 9. “The most important task to be done on earth right now is the proclamation of Jesus Christ — to stand in hard places, dark places, broken places, places where the oppression is thick and strong, and there in the darkness, preach Jesus Christ,” Dew said.
Preaching from 2 Timothy 2:8–13, he encouraged them that the Apostle Paul had talked about how ministry would come with a lot of difficulties and struggles, but he called pastors to remember the truths of the faith that would bolster their spirits.
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“He’s giving us reason to continue,” Dew said, noting four realities that should encourage pastors to keep going.
- Remember that Christ has been raised victorious.
“There may be bad things that happen, but the bedrock of our faith is that empty tomb,” Dew said. “It’s the truth that no matter what Satan may throw against our Lord, no matter what the world might do to try to squash our hope, our God is powerful enough to raise His Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead, and if that is true, we constantly forever have hope.”
Because Christ has been raised, when pastors preach, they offer hope to a world that desperately needs it, he said.
- Remember that God’s people are worth the struggle.
Dew said sometimes it might not feel like people are worth the pain that can come through ministry.
“You can get frustrated and you can grow weary,” he said. “But deep down we’ve got to remember that behind every set of eyes we look through is someone that God loves.”
Paul said he endured all things for the elect of God because they are worth the labor.
Dew said sometimes Southern Baptists can get discouraged because of their differences, but “at the end of the day, Southern Baptists are humble, hardworking people who love Christ with all of their heart and they want to make Him known.”
On his hardest days, that reality motivates him to get up and keep going in ministry. Dew referenced Philippians 1:23 where Paul said he was torn because he longed to be with Christ but knew the reason he was still on earth was for the sake of God’s people.
Dew said he understood that feeling.
“I long for the day that this world will no longer weary my soul. I long for the day I will no longer have to fight my sin,” he said. “I long for the day I will finally cast my eyes on the One who created me and loved me.”
What keeps pastors here is the people of God, Dew said. “My friends, don’t ever forget the fact that the people of God are worth it.”
- Remember the hope of the gospel itself for you and for me.
“Our union with Christ presupposes our very own death,” Dew said, noting that Paul talks often about dying in Christ.
“When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, there is this very real sense in which we have died to ourselves and now rise up to live in Christ,” Dew said.
With that comes the promise that God’s people will rule and reign with Him, he said. “Our King is coming, and His Kingdom is coming with Him, and you and I get to be heirs of that Kingdom one day.”
That makes suffering worth it, Dew said.
- Remember God always fulfills His promises.
In Exodus 2, the people of God cried out for help, and God heard them and remembered His promises to them.
“It may not happen the way you think it should happen, it may not happen when you think it should happen, but you just remember that the tide of God’s Kingdom is coming. Therefore, don’t quit,” Dew said. “Continue on. Be faithful.”
For more information about the SBC Pastors Conference, visit sbcpc.net. To see Dew’s sermon and others from the conference, visit sbcannualmeeting.net.
