Rhonda Stoppe is the NO REGRETS WOMAN as a speaker and author she helps women build lives with NO REGRETS. Rhonda ministers along side of her husband who pastors at First Baptist Church of Patterson, California, where she teaches, and mentors women. She and her husband live on a ranch in Northern California where Rhonda writes books, for Harvest House Publishers.
Whenever your husband pastors at a new church you likely have been asked, “So, what do you do?”
I learned long ago to boldly answer, “I sleep with the pastor!”
The unique ministry of minister to the minister is one I do not take lightly. Did you know 1500 pastors leave the ministry each month, due to strain on their families?
How can you guard against becoming another statistic?
For me, I am often “up to my elbows” in ministry when I realize that once again I’ve wondered into that dangerous place of serving within my own power, rather than by the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit.
I am the earthen vessel filled with the most amazing power of the almighty God and yet I repeatedly go back to serving by my own “methods” –rather than humble before the Lord to use as He sees fit–perhaps you can relate?
What does this “serving in my own power” look like?
Psalm 119:165 says, “Great PEACE have they that love thy Law and NOTHING shall offend them.” In over 30 years ministry, true success comes when I love His Word.
All too often I am reminded of my failure to allow God to cleanse me with the “washing of the water of the Word” (Ephesians 5:26) by how quickly I stumble. As a glaring result of not spending time in His Word, I become, dare I say it…Offended!
My thoughts go from, What did he mean by that? to She seems to be withdrawn today, she must be upset with something I have done, I probably didn’t measure up to her expectations in some way. ––Have you ever had these thoughts?
And what’s worse is that I become self-righteous or self-justified in my “feelings”, which only contributes to the danger of my wandering–maybe you’ve been there too?
“The Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword…and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)…my heart–and yours.
I am all too free to tolerate my own shortcomings as I scrutinize the motives of those around me. But God’s Word is faithful to confront me with Truth. You see Truth is a Person not a concept. The very Person of our Lord and Savior, He said of himself, “I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life…” (John 14:6) A set of religious ideals cannot know my deepest thoughts and intents, but my Savior does.
Through the lens of Scripture, there is clarity. And a new flame in my heart for this unique ministry! Through His Word, God is calling you and I to be His minister to the minister. Can I live in the center of that purpose? You bet I can! How about you?
So, the next time someone asks you “what is it that you do?” You can smile and say, “I sleep with the pastor.”
Visit www.NoRegretsWoman.com to book Rhonda for your next women’s event and to order Rhonda’s Books:
-If My Husband Would Change, I’d Be Happy & Other Myths Wives Believe
-Moms Raising Sons to Be Men
-I Sleep with the Pastor
-A Christian Woman’s Guide to Great Sex in Marriage