Augustine’s Advice for Discouraged Pastors & Leaders
In a time of tumult and crisis, a bishop writes to encourage his friends and colleagues in ministry. There is much to discourage them: their perceived lack of ability; biblical and theological illiteracy in their congregations; interruptions to their busy schedules; and scandals rocking the church. As he writes, he looks for a golden thread that will tie together his advice and will call them back to faithfulness in their task. That bishop was Augustine of Hippo. Though he wrote a millennium and a half ago, his words ring true today. In a remarkable section of Instructing Beginners in Faith, “How to Avoid Discouragement,” Augustine addresses a number of challenges pastors face. He binds his encouragements together under one theme: the call to follow Christ in the simple and humble work of love. His advice is timeless, and we would do well to listen to it. Communication It worries us what was imbibed by the mind in one swift draught takes long and convoluted by-ways as it comes to expre