When I was in junior high, I had a fervent desire to become a great basketball player and one day possibly be drafted into the NBA. Now that never became a reality (not even close), but my love for the game was sincere. 

This month I will celebrate my fortieth year being ordained as a Baptist pastor. No one could have prepared me for the changes that were ahead in the church and ministerial landscape over this forty-year period.

When most of us think of ministry work, we think of shepherding people, leading souls to Jesus, and teaching and preaching God’s Word. Yet for these essential roles to be successfully fulfilled, there is an unglamorous, easily-neglected side of local church ministry—the administrative side of managing projects and processes. It’s the daily grind, and, frankly, it doesn’t come naturally for many ministry leaders. But local church ministry benefits from intentional strategies and processes. 

It doesn’t take long to notice the great spiritual needs at the average public high school. But getting into a local school with a gospel ministry can be challenging. One avenue few churches consider is through the athletic programs. In most public schools, athletics is a hub for student life. Ministering to the athletes and their friends is a way to serve a large percentage of a school. 

Many Christians think of doctrine as irrelevant to their daily lives. They hope their pastor studies it, but they don’t think of it as having practical importance to the average Christian on a Thursday afternoon. 

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. You see, it is understanding and believing “the faith” that allows us to exercise daily faith.  

The objective of all true educators is to provide learning to students. But the framework in which that takes place in a Christian school is clearly distinctive from its secular counterparts. Our colleagues in the arena of public education see the state as the party responsible for educating a child.

One of the great privileges of the pastor is to shepherd church members through difficult seasons. What can you do as a pastor to help and encourage? 

1. Point them to the Lord. We can and should pray for people. We can and should encourage them. We can and should share biblical truth with them. But their primary relationship is not with us but with the Lord. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

“Rene, you have stage three cancer.”

My dear wife, Krisy, was seated next to my bed waiting for me to wake up from the biopsy on my throat. We knew this diagnosis was a possibility. In fact, the doctor had said he had “a strong suspicion” that the tumor on my larynx was malignant. But we had hoped and prayed for better news.

Prior to the procedure, I had asked my pastor to gather the staff and deacons and pray for me. In obedience to James 5:14–15, he had anointed me with oil, and several men prayed aloud for my healing.