The Pain of Being a Pastor

“Nothing I do will be good enough…”

Author of the quote is unknown — Image designed by this author in Canva

“Nothing I do will be good enough; everything I do can be picked apart; and that’s okay.” I read that quote for the first time today. It appears in an article by John Mark Comer (which was shared by Carey Nieuwhof).

And it really hit me.

Comer is a pastor and bestselling Christian author. Whether you’re a pastor or not, I encourage you to read his article: “What Do You Do With Your Wounds, Pastor?” According to Comer, the quote is a mantra he learned from a spiritual mentor many years ago.

The first two parts of the quote very accurately describe a pastor’s reality:

• No matter how hard pastors work, it’s never good enough to head off painful criticism, and…
• Whatever pastors do accomplish, it can (and often will) be “picked apart” by disgruntled critics

I’m sure this is true for leaders in just about every arena, but I am focusing on church leadership because…well…that’s my arena.

People invest themselves emotionally in the churches they attend (which is understandable) and they bring with them varying amounts of baggage, needs, desires, opinions, and expectations. And…