'What Does A Minister Do?'

I attended a birthday party -- a lavish party. A wealthy businessman asked me: "What does a minister actually do?" I told him about the services, the Church groups, the administration. Then I got to the visitation and the counselling. When he heard about this -- about the sick and dying, and people in crisis and depressed, he said: "That sounds very discouraging to me. I don’t think I could do that." I said: "It’s not a discouragement to me -- and there’s only one reason for that. I see God at work. I see what the Holy Spirit does through suffering. I see the power of God in seemingly impossible situations. I see the life and growth of a whole congregation, which is the work of God."