For those called to do the work of church revitalization let us remember Martin Luther's "Theology of the cross." A modern day Reformer, Dr. Albert Mohler, opens up about the trials and tribulations of reformation ministry in a very honest way here http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=41308
I've included some select quotes from this very moving article below:
Mohler recalls an Easter party when some of those who opposed him were mean to his children who were only 6 and 3 years old at the time. "I sat down on the floor in the guest room in the president's home with Mary, and we just closed the door and lost it. And we, honestly, as tearfully as we could, prayed, 'Lord, it's in Your hands; we've got nothing more to give.'"
... "The full weight of the relational loss occurred in 1995, the evening when Mohler found himself alone with his wife, crying in the guest room of his home. He was completely spent."
..."Two weeks earlier, the faculty of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where Mohler had been president for less than two years, overwhelmingly supported a motion that rebuked him and repudiated his policies, with only two members voting for him and two voting in absentia. The days that followed weren't any easier."
..."I felt very imperiled about being able to be the president who would be able to build the institution on the other side," Dr. Mohler said. The trustees "needed me at least to get the hard work done and do the deconstructive work, even if I didn't have the opportunity to have the constructive work on the other side."
..."We were, day by day, living in the tortuous context of walking into nothing but unending conflict, from beginning to end," Mohler said. The conflict "wasn't just on the campus, but extended over into the SBC, extended over into the world of theological education, extended over into the city of Louisville, such that Mary and I were almost unable to go eat in a restaurant without having invectives hurled at us."
..."If it's about the convictions, then you can handle the opposition, the criticism, the controversy because it's not most importantly about you," Mohler said. "My ambition and goal and purpose has been to articulate convictions that I believe are not only true, but are important for the sake of the church, for the sake of the world, for everything from eternal life to human flourishing. If you understand the issue of the truth, if you have confidence in the truth -- and your convictions ... are not only true, but urgently important -- then you have to be willing to undergo a great deal of controversy."
..."Like any movement, the return to orthodoxy and confessional fidelity at Southern Seminary included not only a leader, but many people. Among them, Mohler expressed his thankfulness for the support of the trustees and pastors within the conservative movement who provided essential support and encouragement."
