JOSHHANSON.ORG

EPISODE 116: Q&A

Date: 5/25/2022

Questions

When God says in Genesis he is going to make man “in our image”, is he referring to the holy trinity or more?

  1. The “our” in “our image” is one of the earliest references in Scripture to the Trinity.
  2. We talk more about this 15 minutes into Episode 6, as well.

    What led you to become a pastor?

    1. I was serving in a Baptist church in Tampa, after my time in the Army, and opportunities just started presenting themselves for me to serve in the church.
    2. One day, I set up a time to meet with the pastor to talk about how someone goes into ministry. This was me submitting myself to whatever God wanted for me.
    3. A few months later, I had an interview at the first church I worked at. I began in the worship ministry and moved to what — at Gateway — is our connect ministry. Finished two seminary degrees at this time. And had opportunities to grow in understanding my gifts and abilities. 
    4. Eventually I felt that preaching was one of my stronger gifts and looked for an opportunity to be a senior pastor of a church. My wife and I also valued being part of a denomination. Thus we found the EPC and the church in WV that I served in prior to coming to Gateway.

      What is the hardest part about being a pastor? What can your church do to better support pastors?

      1. Hardest part
        1. Unity vs uniformity (and seeing good, godly people leave because they desire uniformity)
        2. Biblical illiteracy among Christians
        3. Privatization of our faith
        4. Worldliness influences the church more than the church influences the world (at least in our country)
        5. Sorrows never cease (joys don’t either, but you hear more about the sorrows)
        6. The world seems constantly trying to divide us.
        7. Instantaneousness of information and the expectation to respond to things.
      2. Support
        1. Pray for your pastor, elders, deacons, and staff
        2. Love our families (ministry can be very lonely for pastor’s families)
        3. Remember that we’re human. We mess up. Sin. Don’t have all the answers. Have limited time. Are husbands, fathers, etc…in addition to being a pastor.