People seek out pastors for a variety of reasons: marital troubles, concerns about congregational direction, absolution for sin, guidance for an important decision, and a search for a deeper spiritual life, to mention a few.
After more than 30 years of listening, prayer, and conversation, my vote for one of the top circumstances for contacting someone like me is meaningless suffering—an automobile accident, an unexpected terminal disease, a natural disaster. No one to blame; no specific sin at the root. No real cause or purpose to examine; a completely pointless event, seemingly empty of meaning.
It’s easier to handle suffering, I suspect, when there seems to be a reason for it—when one can point to something concrete and reflect upon cause and consequence. When no reason is found, even those normally inclined to distance themselves from church often think of God. What sort of God is this? When confronted with meaningless suffering, at least one of the points of the “omni triangle” (omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence) is often called into question.
