I love pastoral ministry, and I really love the people in my church. But as any pastor would tell you, no matter how much you love the ministry and the people, there are always seasons where one feels the weight of walking with folks through the problems and issues and hassles of life. (For many pastors, this season of Covid has been one of those times.) This is generally referred to as "compassion fatigue," a regular feature in the lives of pastors, counselors, and social workers of all kinds.
Anyway, this is all just a preamble to introduce the marvelously piquant title of a pastoral book I just found. A few weeks ago, I was in a pastor's meeting where the icebreaker question was, "If you were going to write a book about your reflections on ministry after your retirement, what would it be called?" I didn't think of this title at the time, but now I wish I had, since it strikes just that chord of dry humor and sympathy with the complex burdens of ministry that I think the other pastors would have really enjoyed:
Yes, this is a real book. I suspect the interesting title, with its apparent sideswipe at having to deal with those problematic laypeople, is likely the result of an unfortunate translation rather than of actual intent. But I find it marvelous nonetheless. Apparently there were enough problems from these people that it filled up not just one book, but four successive volumes published under this title! (Please note, I haven't read this book, and I have every reason to believe that it is deep and rich in theological and pastoral substance, as it comes from the pen of one of the truly great saints of our age, the late Coptic pope Shenouda III).
"So many years with the problems of people"--titles can't be copyrighted, you know, so maybe I'll just tuck this away in my back pocket for when I write my pastoral memoirs someday...