Paul’s brief visit to Thessalonica and his follow-up letter makes for a goldmine of ministry insight for preachers. Last time I thought about the reverberating impact of the Gospel in chapter 1.

Let’s look at chapter 2 and get a glimpse into the ministry dynamics of Paul and his team.

There are some vivid lessons here for us:

1. Ministry motivation matters massively

They pushed through suffering in order to declare the gospel, selflessly seeking the best outcome for the people and to please God. I am sure we would all aspire to that in our settings too.

But there are a host of alternative motives listed. Error, impurity, attempting to deceive, trying to please people, with flattery, greedy, glory-seeking, self-elevating…what a list that is in 2:1-6.

Why do I preach?

Knowing my fleshly tendency to self-deceive, perhaps it is wise to take a list like this to God and ask him “to search me and try and see if there be any wicked way in me.”

And it would probably be wise to bring one or two others into that conversation too.

Any hints of impure motivation in your ministry? It would be better to face it, rather than allow something bad to become established.

2. Godly ministry is just like godly parenting

We have all seen parenting navigated as if it is a distraction from more important personal pursuits.

You can provide a home, food, resources and a bit of guidance, all the while watching the calendar until they leave home and your life becomes freer for your own hobbies and interests.

Many do parent that way, but it feels like an imitation of the real thing. The real thing involves a selfless love that literally gives yourself away for them to thrive.

The real thing requires labour and toil, setting a consistent example, and being willing to exhort, encourage and charge these blessings from God.

The heart of a mother and a father are poured out in the ministry of parenting. So it is with godly church ministry too. Paul says so in 2:7-12. Paul, Silas and co were not insecure men competing to look tougher than each other.

They were like a nursing mother in their giving to the new church, and they were like a father too.

How is your church ministry in parenting terms? Is the congregation becoming a hindrance to your personal goals?

Are you just throwing some food in front of them and hoping they will entertain themselves in front of a screen so you can get on with your own pursuits? Or are they like children you love dearly?

3. Church ministry is an invitation to profound enrichment

Paul was only in Thessalonica for a short time, but consider how he continually longed to be with these people (see 2:17-20). They were his hope, joy, crown of boasting, and glory.

The logic is fairly simple, but let’s ponder it anyway. The nature of God’s character should flow into our ministry, which will then characterise our connection with the church.

You can guarantee the enemy will try to disrupt that, but the invitation remains in place.

We can easily view Paul’s description as challenging: “I should work harder at ministry because I’m not sharing his sentiment for the younger believers God has given to me.”

Instead, let’s view Paul’s description as an invitation: “I get to give myself away for these people, and in the process gain the kind of connection that many in the world around us would give their left arm to experience with anyone.”

4. Gospel ministry can really hurt, love anyway

Paul wrote these words to the church because he was separated and wanted to be there for them. He felt the pain of a parent’s heart when they are forced apart from their children.

You don’t need me to tell you that getting hurt in ministry is not at all unusual. And it would be totally understandable to grow calloused in order to cope with that pain.

Maybe even in Paul’s separation and longing we can be reminded that ministry does hurt, but we can love others anyway.

In the end, we will get to our forever home where there will be no pain, no separation, no hurt, no sin, no church splits, no backstabbing, no misunderstanding, no failing bodies, etc.

I am not saying we should choose to burn ourselves out, there is selflessness in genuine self-care too. But let’s not choose the calloused coping approach.

For this brief moment, let’s keep our eyes on our suffering Saviour as we prayerfully press on.

1 Thessalonians chapter 2 is like a ministry training manual, what would you add?

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. This article first appeared on his blog Biblical Preaching.