Pressure
June 30, 2026

Every day, a pastor somewhere despairs of ministry. Ministry has become complicated. Pressures multiply. Someone misunderstood your words or motives. A new ministry initiative is slow to take off. Sermon preparation comes around again every week. Technology keeps changing. A long-standing conflict that predates your coming has boiled over again.

Your family needs you, too.

You begin to wonder what you are accomplishing for all the effort and energy you expend.

And maybe nobody knows it but you.

You’re at the end of your rope, and something has to give. Soon.

(Just not the rope.)

Even the Master Preacher understood the pressures of ministry. He rode into Jerusalem on a wave of popularity on Sunday, and He knew what awaited Him at the end of the week. He had endured resistance and rejection from His own people, and it would only grow worse. He felt the sentence of death keenly.

As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it, and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring
you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19.41-42). 

 

The hardness of the people broke Jesus’ heart. He wept over His people. They took out the frustration of their unmet expectations on Him.

The Master saw the potential of a people devoted to God. But they couldn’t see it.

He also knew the outcome of His suffering. He would rise again from the dead. 

You may despair of ministry today. The circumstances you face are happening that you might rely on God instead of relying on yourself. He still raises the dead. What seems hopeless on Friday afternoon may look entirely different in the light of Sunday morning.

The followers of Jesus in the first century experienced mocking, rejection, and even death, just like their Master. His disciples have undergone suffering, disappointment, and despair. The Apostle Paul wrote this to encourage believers:

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under
great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But
this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead(2 Corinthians 1.5-9)

The situation may not need your “fix” today. It may be beyond a simple fix. It may seem far beyond your ability to endure.

Stay true to the message the Spirit lays on your heart, dear preacher.

“Preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance…when it is convenient and when it is not” (2 Timothy 4.2 The Living Bible).

Take the opportunity to rely on God, who raises the dead. Rest in the comfort of the Savior who called you to proclaim His name. He walked the same path before you.

 

 

 

 

ABOUT

Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through Barclay College, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.

Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of Barclay College and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.

Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).