why ministry is hard

When people think of ministry as a stressful profession ( if they think about us at all), I imagine they think about long hours, funerals and hospital calls. But I think what is hardest on the preacher's soul is the secrets. We who have been called to tell the truth are also bound to keep people's secrets, and unlike therapists or attorneys or doctors (though I suppose such people in small towns are different), we see these same people week after week, in a variety of settings and roles. We know more about the lives of the collective community than anyone else, and we cannot share that information in any direct fashion. It's the secrets that wear on your soul.