A few months ago I was asked to email a brief philosophy of ministry to be shared with seminary students. The request directed that my submission should be short enough to be read aloud as part of a worship service.
Convinced that brevity usually enhances retention, I kept my counsel to three short statements. (1) Love your Lord and His people. (2) Love your spouse. (3) If you have any other questions, call your conference president.
Before you dismiss this as too simplistic or too overly-dependent on judicatory leadership, allow the prioritization to sink in. Jesus—Himself and His body. Your partner who is your own flesh. Cooperative engagement with your supervisor. Most trauma that we experience as pastors is the result of fol lowing different priorities than these.
As a result of that request, I began to wonder about the advice that others might give to beginning ministers. So when Sharon recently met with a group of retired pastors, I asked her to brain storm with them about the good advice they would share with young pastors. I believe you will find some practical help from their combined wisdom, regard less of your age, and especially if you are young in ministry.
Be assertive, not aggressive. Churches today are looking for leaders; not seeking dictators. Your members expect you to have an opinion and to forcefully express your convictions. They do not, however, want you to push your agenda to the point of destroying their ability or desire to move forward with you. Involving members in establishing the congregations priorities is a sure way to develop plans that will bear fruit through implementation.
Pastor within the framework of your congregations needs. For example, small churches need different things from their pastor than medium-sized or large churches. Young pastors of small churches will likely never become the leader of a church family (read all related kinfolk) where real patriarchal or matriarchal leadership has been long established and is unlikely to change. In fact, your pastoral tenure probably will not last long enough to become the leader of the small church. So you will likely pastor more effectively by coaching, caring, and calling new believers than by attempting to wrest control from the established power base.
Know your members. Visit them. Invest talking and listening time with them. Relax with them and relate to them. People are best pastored by someone whom they know and trust. Loyalty and trust are developed over time as your members see that you have their best interest at heart. Remember, they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Preach practics. Your best sermons will clearly show what you want your members to do about the message next Tuesday. Prepare each sermon with a specific application expectation in mind. Your theology should be sound, your delivery may be dazzling. But real life implementation in the experience of your listeners tells whether you have really preached.
Pastor inclusively. Be especially eager to meet nonmember spouses and children. Encourage closed circles and cliques to force themselves to include newcomers. Legitimatize only those small groups who intentionally target potential members and actively seek to multiply disciples more than merely to nurture and maintain the establishment.
Avoid reactive ministry. By all means respond to requests from your members, but within the framework of your proactive design for ministry. Establish specific, prioritized objectives and permit only dire emergencies to drag you away from your plan. You will accomplish very little if you wait until someone telephones you to determine your next course of action. Such reactive processes care for the urgent at the expense of the essential.
Master technology. Is technology your servant or master? Limit your computer time. Computers may have replaced television as the great pastoral time waster. Previously effective ministers spend too much time with their computers and too little time with their spouses, their parishioners, or their Lord. Online pornography is not the only curse of the Internet. Consuming too much tech time—even with worthy activities—deprives you of essential opportunities for spiritual development and marital or social relationships.
Keep a spiritual perspective. As the old verse says, there is no indispensable man. Ernie Bursey, chair of the religion faculty at Walla Walla College, says, If you are a strong personality, remember that you are not in charge. The church will be there after you leave; prepare them for your absence. Find people who will tell you the truth, not just what you want to hear. Don't punish or ostracize those who tell you the truth!
