Audio from our 2021 Shepherds Conference: The Good Soldier. Session 3, "Soldiers Work," by Pastor Andrew Dionne.

Ministry is hard work—you don’t get to live as an ordinary civilian. The Lord enlisted you and now you are on duty serving as His soldier. This is more than the work of preaching—it’s the work of constantly shepherding, counseling, rebuking, and praying for God’s people. This work never stops coming. How do pastors remain faithful when they come to the limits of their own strength? How do pastors give to their wives and children when the people of God have left them exhausted?

2 Tim 2:4-7 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.