Seth Thompson, Part 1: Bearing the Burden of Ministry
January 17, 2020
He may not be one of the Avengers, but as you’ll hear in this interview, Pastor Seth Thompson is a hero to Adam and many others. In this episode, Seth shares some of the challenges he faces in ministry and what he does to deal with the weightiness.
Born and raised at Fairview Church of the Nazarene, Seth studied at Trevecca University before returning to his childhood church as a pastor in 2015. Since its foundation in 1951, Fairview has remained a small, country church in an underprivileged part of the greater Chattanooga area. The focus of Fairview’s outreach is the families and children who live in trailer parks and other rough neighborhoods around the church. This is an incredibly challenging avenue of ministry, so Seth keeps himself surrounded by other pastors who provide encouragement and discipleship and help safeguard against the temptation to rely on the self.
Listen in to this episode to hear more about Seth and why he thinks it’s critical to find your identity in the cross of Christ.
Jump Through the Conversation
[1:15] Introduction to Pastor Seth Thompson and Fairview Church of the Nazarene
[5:04] The community context of Fairview
[7:29] Seth’s education and the demographic of Fairview
[10:44] Some of Seth’s ministry challenges
[12:32] How to find your identity in the cross of Christ
[16:36] Friendship, support, and accountability with other pastors
[21:00] Our egocentric nature vs Jesus’s kingdom mindset
A resource of the Chattanooga House of Prayer