My name is Tyler and I'm ready to...

I spent a summer running a ropes course. During that summer I challenged literally hundreds of kids, teens and adults to step out of their comfort zones. Here's what I learned:

It's not easy. Not at all. You hear the kid say, "I wanna come down. Let me down." You naturally want to let the kid down and answer that perceived need of his. And if you're persistent and you don't let him down, he gets upset with you. Sometimes he'll even still hate you after you return him to the ground safely. All for what? So he could reach his goal of walking across a wire? I really didn't enjoy that job, and chose not to apply for it for a second summer.

However, I'm seeing some parallels between that job and the pastoral ministry. Pastors can never be content with the status quo of their members, but have to constantly challenge them to step out of their comfort zones. People may not like that. They may get upset. Still, as the pastor gently nudges his members towards personal growth, we keep in mind that the reward is far greater than a child being able to look back and be proud of accomplishing his or her goal. The result of this difficult job is that the saints are equipped to step out of their comfort zones and reach people who otherwise may not be reached. While this won't be easy, the high stakes and great rewards make this work the most exciting work that I can imagine.

Can't wait.