Pastoral Leadership

While families that homeschool their children can be a great blessing to a church and pastor (as I have experienced firsthand), many preachers find it difficult to assimilate them into their church. This is due to a variety of reasons, and even some misconceptions on the part of many pastors.

It’s staggering to contemplate the demands placed on Jesus’ life. Not only did He come to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), but He was continually sought out by the multitudes. Naturally, once you heal a blind man and cleanse a leper, you’re pretty much in high demand!

All of us go through times when things just seem “down.” It may be that some folks have become unhappy and left the church. It may be that key people have moved away from the area. It may be that there has been a crisis or problem which has dampened the spirit of the ministry. What do we do during those times?

You couldn’t be any more loved by God than you are right now. Does that statement strike a nerve of unrest with you? It’s absolutely true. We all love affirmation. We all desire significance and recognition. We all benefit from being encouraged by others. And yet, this silent struggle for approval can often become an over-riding motivation that keeps us on an unpredictable roller coaster of insecurity and instability.

As a man and his wife were traveling across the desert by camel, a terrible sand storm came up causing the man to be separated from his wife. He desperately started searching for her on camelback, but could not find any trace of her. After several days, the man was separated from his camel in another sand storm.

Pastors carry many burdens. That is why Paul said, “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28). Paul had many difficulties. He had physical handicaps, he had been persecuted severely for the faith, he had been marooned on an island with criminals in the middle of a storm.

The first time we held a missions conference, I was greatly disappointed by the attendance at the Monday and Tuesday evening services. I had assumed that our people would come because I had announced the meeting and had excellent missionaries in attendance.

In a recent post, I shared several concerns and hopes for young preachers. Here I would like to continue the theme with some thoughts regarding older preachers.

I was recently with a young preacher here on the West Coast who asked me a thought-provoking question: “What do you see that concerns or encourages you in younger pastors?”

The modern model of the office of a pastor seems to be that of a spiritual executive. The vision is of a man sitting in his office, reading reports, conducting meetings, and issuing instructions. It is true that if we are to “look well to the state of our flock,” inspection and direction are necessary. But the Bible model is one of service.

We know that Christ ultimately came to save us from our sins. Truth be told, the reason we face so many hurtful situations and circumstances in our lives is because we live in a sin-cursed world, and we are sinners. Because people are sinful, they do hurtful, hateful, and sinful things which always affect others.

We greatly value people who can do it all in a local church. These versatile members of the body seem to thrive no matter what responsibility they shoulder. They are precious gifts from God to the local church, but we would be unwise to let them do it all, especially when it comes to matters of church finances. In financial discipline in the local church, there are duties that are incompatible for the same person to do.

Five-point Calvinism has, in our generation, been a disincentive to soulwinning, a hindrance to evangelism, and sadly, a source of intellectual pride.

In Psalm 133:1, King David wrote, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” God desires His children to dwell together in peace and unity. How accurate are the famous lines, “To live above with saints we love, that will be glory. To live below, with the saints we know, that’s a different story.”

One of the most satisfying moments in ministry is when we see men and boys called of the Lord to serve full-time. It is wonderful when a man of God has a, “son in the ministry.” In truth it is the natural order of things.

After preaching several times a week for almost forty years, I am not sure I could honestly say that very many of those thousands of messages were completely pure in motive. Far too many times, (especially, although not exclusively, as a young man) my motive was to impress the listeners with my eloquence, humor, or knowledge.

If there is a story in the Bible that simultaneously encourages and irritates me, it is the account of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

On any given service, I can look across our auditorium and see people whom I’ve led to the Lord, baptized, dedicated their babies, and, in many cases, married their children. To me, our church is just family.

It is inherent in human nature to blame other people for our problems. All too often, we as pastors wish to blame the maintenance man, the staff member, the deacon, the Sunday school teachers, or others for the failures and difficulties in our church. This human tendency should be avoided.

One area Independent Baptists are not lacking in is our full schedule of conferences and meetings. From coast to coast there are ample opportunities to attend meetings that will “re-charge your battery.”