If
you want to read the tale of a Pastor who really did some dumb things, keep
reading.
I
served as Pastor of four churches. It was only by the grace of God and the
graciousness of the congregations that I was called and allowed to stay at
those churches. I absolutely love the members of those four congregations, and
I will forever be grateful to them and for them.
Frankly,
I’m not sure I would give myself a passing grade as a pastor. I messed up quite
a bit. I would do several things differently today. And as a point of full
disclosure, my list of nine is not close to being exhaustive.
1. I
neglected my prayer life and time in the Word too often. It sounds absolutely insane
as I write it, but I got too busy for God. As a consequence, I operated out of
my own insufficient power too many times.
2. I
neglected my family too often.
Paul wrote these words to Pastor Timothy: “If anyone does not know how to
manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?” (1 Timothy
3:5, HCSB). Ouch. So many times I communicated through my actions to my family
that they were not as important as other church members.
3. I
let the crisis of the moment overwhelm me. In doing so I did not trust in God to see me
through the situation. And I did not have a longer-term perspective to
understand that difficulties are only for a season.
4. I
perceived most of my critics as my adversaries. Some of my critics
actually had constructive input. Others were going through their own struggles,
and I was a convenient target. I took criticisms personally instead of
responding pastorally.
5. I
competed with other churches.
Shame on me. Too often I wanted my church to have a greater attendance than
other churches in the area. I should have been praying for and working with
those other church leaders more.
6. I
neglected praying with my staff.
My prayer time with my church staff was haphazard at best. The one thing we
needed to do the most, we were doing the least. I was a terrible leader on that
front.
7. I
often worried about what others thought about me. My sole concern should
have been how Christ-like I was. Too often I sought the approval of others
rather than the blessings of God.
8. I
often yielded to unreasonable requests and demands. Instead of spending my time
doing those things that really mattered, I gave in too often to the “squeaky
wheel.” I sacrificed the great in order to do the good.
9. I
gave up too often.
Due to frustration, exhaustion or, more often, lack of faith, I gave up on
challenges too quickly. I am convinced I missed out on many victories when they
were just around the corner.
Those
are but a few of the stupid things I did as a pastor. Most of you can breathe a
sigh of relief that I never served as a pastor. So why I am writing these
self-critical comments at this stage of my life? I pray that some of you may
see something in your own lives and leadership that you can correct before it’s
too late. God is able. God is willing.
Although far to many pastors, missionaries, youth leaders, and individual Christians serving God have repeated each one of these, he have been able to articulate them in a way that bring an individual to a place where they can evaluate their own actions and move forward if they choose to in their own life.
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