Encouragement for a Pastor's Heart Following Easter Sunday

It is Monday, and Easter Sunday is behind you. Now what? I don't know any pastor who isn't replaying all the details from Easter over and over in his head in deep contemplation over how well things went, especially with his sermon. Was I faithful to God's word; did I do justice to the most monumental event in history; was I clear enough about sin and the gospel; did I connect with people; was the music good enough; will our Easter guests come back next week?

For some pastors there is a sense of letdown. A bigger crowd was expected than what materialized. More members were expected to do outreach to their lost friends than what appears to have happened. The music, the flowers, or the entire experience was just not quite as memorable as expected. For others, though, it was an awesome Sunday. There was a great crowd with lots of encouraging things reported. But when compared to the crowds and stories of other churches that were better, sometimes even a great Easter Sunday feels like a letdown.

Lots of these things have certainly been true of me personally, having preached Easter sermons for 26 years. From those early years in a really humble church plant to a much larger church after years of growth, some of those very questions would gnaw away at me. What is a pastor to do with those thoughts? How can he stop them from tearing him down with discouragement? And how can he prevent that way of thinking from turning into chasing the idols of success and ever-larger numbers?

Here's a super practical help: Pastor, go have coffee with one or two of your elders and download all those thoughts. Bare your soul and speak honestly. Then listen and receive their input. Get the faithful shepherding of your pastors for the care of your own heart on the Monday (or some other day) following Easter Sunday. Godly elders will help you bear the burden of critical thoughts that might cause you to fall prey to the enemy's deception. Accept their encouragement and even their correction in whatever way it is faithfully given. Pray together for God's help to provide biblically-sound leadership of your church. (By the way, this emphasizes the importance of a church implementing the biblical practice of a plurality of elders. Contact Thrive if you would like to explore this.)

Another helpful idea: call a fellow pastor from another church, go have coffee, and talk over all those thoughts you are likely both having. Ask him to share his Easter Sunday experience and the thoughts that have followed. Listen to, encourage one another, and bear one another's burdens.

And even more importantly, I want to give you these biblical texts to counsel your own soul, just as we are instructed by Proverbs 4:28, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."

Rejoice - Regardless of how well you think your Easter Sunday service went, how great the crowd was, or how you think your sermon made an impact, rejoice. Rejoice and give thanks that the Lord's Day at your church was filled with the singing of praises to our risen Savior. The darkness of sin and death was exposed for what it is, defeated enemies over whom Christ has triumphed by His resurrection. Whether it was a crowd of 10 or 1,000, rejoice. Jesus has triumphed and in your church this history-changing truth rang out. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything" (Philippians 4:4-6). Rejoicing in Christ literally has the power to lift your downcast mind out of discouragement and fill you with the strength of God.

Rest - Ok, so maybe things could have gone better at your Easter service. That's likely true for every church. But watch out for this deceptive snare of the devil, the trap of needing to have the best experience, best performance, highest attendance, or most influence in your town. This is a tool of your enemy aimed at puffing up your heart with pride or deflating it with defeat. This trap can be avoided by doing what Jesus instructs us in John 15. Resist the urge to find fulfillment through success in the world's terms and instead rest in the all-sufficiency of Christ's abundance as He said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Put your confidence only in Him instead of the excellence of an Easter service, bury the thoughts of any shortcomings in the overflowing abundance of Jesus, "the Vine."

Remember - But it is not wrong to want your Easter service and news of Christ's resurrection to have as much influence as possible on souls in your community. All pastors and church leaders should want that. So we must remember this: powerful influence does not draw its strength from the excellence of those leading on the platform but instead from the power that is found nowhere else other than in the Word of God, itself. God spoke this truth through His prophet, Isaiah: "so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Isa. 55:11). Do you see where God says the power to influence lies? It's not in the preacher's ability to speak the words or the worship team's ability or that of others; but rather it is in the power of God's mouth speaking the words. His power ensures that everything He desires is accomplished by the preaching of His words. Remember that!

Regardless of how your Easter Sunday went, whether it was amazing or less than what you had hoped, rejoice that God did supernatural things in the hearts of those who were blessed by the preaching, songs, and prayer on the Lord's Day. Most of those things you will never know about. They were done in the secret place of the heart in men, women, boys, and girls. And He is doing His work in the heart of you, the preacher, as well. Rejoice! And may that joy increase more and more as you prepare to preach this coming Sunday with your soul filled with the confidence that God will perform His mighty work in His people once again.

All glory to God!