So, You Want To Be A Pastor...

So, You Want To Be A Pastor... 

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew--fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen. 19Jesus called out to them, "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" 20And they left their nets at once and went with him.Matthew 4:21-23 

There are times when I have to laugh about the position God has placed me into. Here's a guy who was after the American Dream - had a great job with one of the best companies on earth, great family, new car, new house.. etc. We had just finished a year within which we had reached a level of income we had never seen before. Our friends at church were great, the church was growing, and we were a part of it. Word within the church was I was a shoo in for deacon. 

Then God went and made me a pastor. I sure didn't see that coming, but it was clear to me and to others I trusted that God was calling me to serve His church.

Which leaves me wide open for questions like why? 

If it was in pursuit of accomplishment - well I'll have you know I had already achieved great success. 

For example, were you aware that I had sold the first full page color Pepto Bismol ad in the known world? Ha! Didn't think so. Or that I had sold 23 trucks full of Folgers coffee, marking the single biggest purchase on record for that brand? No? Well, now you know. And I hope you also know that compared to a person coming to know Christ or growing deeper in ther faith, that stuff's so lame.

If you decide to go into the ministry though, I should tell you that you'll have to learn a lot more about failure than accomplishment. And instead of trusting in your skill or passion, you'll have to learn to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit even when it seems He's nowhere to be found. Trust Him.

Now there will be times when everything goes well and people will single you out as a great pastor and leader, and then there will be times when things are running the wrong way and people look to you to make something happen and wonder if you can. But you have to know in your heart that all you've done from the very beginning is to love God, love His people, and try to give both your best. Any success has come from God and if it's dry right now, then He's still at work, just in a different way. Follow Him.

You'll have to come to grips with the knowledge that there will always be people who question your motives and wisdom. It'll happen more at first, but after almost 17 years here and over 20 years as a pastor, it still happens. Love them.

Sometimes there will be people who come but are at cross purposes with what the church is and hopes to be and that you still have to love them, but you don't have to let them have their way. In fact, you can't - because you're the pastor, and the good pastor lays down his life for the sheep. You'll pray for them, talk with them, and try to make them understand God's call on your church. Not the one across town or across the oceans. The church you serve. Stay true to that call. Follow the Holy Spirit's direction. 

Some people will leave, and you have to wish God's best for them, even if you believe they are leaving just that. Even if you've stood up for them to others. Even if you've given them your time. And then you have to believe that it is all part of God's plan and keep praying, keep loving, and keep preaching the Word. Does it hurt? Oh yes. Sometimes it rips your heart and that of your family. When you've prayed literally hours for someone and been there during some of the events of their life, it's tough. Guess it should be. If you don't care for people, don't you dare become a pastor.

There are stresses and strains in your life that no one will see. We've had to make use of the church food pantry too many times. Racing the Gulf Power cut off guy home gets old. We got really good and pinching pennies, but after over 20 years as a pastor I've never equalled what I made the year before I became one. When you get to the church on Christmas Eve, check the mailbox and find that your check has bounced, it takes a deep faith to stick that slip in your pocket and go lift people's eyes to the cross. My wife and my family have paid a price for my answering the call. It can destroy a marriage - it can ruin a life - several lives. I was blessed with a wife who has been more and done more for the churches I have served than anyone will ever know. And my sons - well I hope they saw that their Dad did his best. If money matters a lot to you, this is the wrong career field.

I have fewer years ahead than I have behind me, and I'm bivocational now instead of full time. But there's never a day that I'm not praying, not studying/ reading in some way to be a better pastor, a better communicator. I'm always looking for ways to see New Hope grow. We've tried some that did great, and some that didn't. But you have to keep trying to connect people to God and to people. It can be frustrating to have to build the consensus and gather the volunteers to get something done. But it's worth it, and there are many times that if you'll listen, some of the best ideas you will ever hear come from them.

One day I'll no longer be the pastor of a church. I'll still be God's servant, but I'll be serving in a different role. I don't know when that will be, but I know when it comes I'll be praying every day for my pastor, and seeking to do whatever I can to help him as he works for God.

Pastor - It's a hard, hard job. It's a thankless one from the world's point of view. But keep following Him. Keep loving His people.

For the knowledge that you served Jesus... now that makes it all worthwhile.

The Barna Group - Survey Reveals the Life Christians Desire

From It's Like Herding Cats - A pastor's life

The Barna Group - Survey Reveals the Life Christians Desire

Good article that highlights the differences in what the evangelical follower of Jesus believes and those of other faith groups. Could spur you to think about what you want out of life too. I can tell you that after struggling through another April 15th tax filing last night, the thought occurred to me - "Is the trajectory our life is on consistent with what we believe?"

There are so many needs in this world. So many people have a fraction of the resources that we do. And our God is constantly reminding us of them and of OUR need to make a difference in their lives. When I looked at what we had given to God's work compared to what we earned, I felt that we didn't do enough. And when I look back over all our years as a pastor and wife, I can tell you without a doubt that the best period was when Bunny was employed by the Florida Baptist Children's Home shelter "My Friend's House" in Niceville, I was early into my work with New Hope, and we were both totally invested in that work. Our home was rented (as it is now), our cars over 10 years old, we had so little - and yet had so MUCH.

As I said, the article can make you think.

Running On Fumes

I like the idea of this. Many cars will show you a miles per gallon estimate and range to empty.

This one's range has reached - PULL OVER AND FILL UP NOW!

I'm about there myself. If I could go to bed right now I think I'd sleep right through until tomorrow morning.

But I've gotten to this point by doing exactly what I'm put here to do.

So I'll press on until we can get home tonight, work on tomorrow's funeral sermon for a while and CRASH.

A Prayer, maybe for Christmas

Dear God,

I am so afraid to open my clench fists!

Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?

Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?

Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me.

And what you want to give me is love – unconditional, everlasting love.

Amen

prayer by Henry Nouwen

You know, every time I visit the nursing home, this is the overwhelming impression I get. The people who grasp what this poem is speaking to, can adapt, because they haven't lost what really matters.

I pray that I am found that faithful.

For My Friends In the Ministry - The Morning Sickness Principle

When you look at the picture, and see a young mother with her head over a toilet because of morning sickness, you don't immediately think - WOW! This is amazing! This is a work of God! But that's what it is.

What you are seeing is the threshold of a miracle.

New birth.

Remember, process doesn't always look like progress.

Take A Breath

We got back home tonight after a punishing trip to Macon to encourage Bunny's Mom. Both of us are worn out.

We've got stuff waiting to do though, so we'll get back after it tomorrow.

Spend your time voting or something. :)

Amens all around

"The happy result of a theological understanding of people as sinners is that the pastor is saved from continual surprise that they are in fact sinners. It enables us to heed Bonhoeffer's admonition: 'A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men.'"
- Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor (via Bob Hyatt and shamelessly posted here)

It's like... herding cats. :)

What Is the Key To Surviving As A Pastor?

Matt Chandler speaks truth when he points to Jesus.




"If your hope is set on anything other than Him, how do you survive when it goes bad? How do you remain passionate and vibrant when no one comes or the baptismal waters are still for long stretches?

How do you maintain doctrinal integrity or teach hard things if He isn’t the treasure?

How do you worship when your wife gets sick or your son goes for a ride in an ambulance?

If He is the goal, the treasure, the pursuit, then those things are fuel that presses you into His goodness and grace all that much more. I am not saying they are pleasant or enjoyable but only that if He is your goal you will find your faith sustained.

May God bless you and keep you. May you see that He is the treasure, He is the pursuit, He is the goal…and may you press on toward the goal for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

That's it. The key is Jesus. The praise of men is fleeting at best. Measuring your worth by nickles and noses will fail you. Checking to see what the "brights" of pastoral ministry do as a way of discerning your abilities is a losing game.

There are days where you come home on Sunday barely touching the ground. And there are days when you don't feel the need to open the door - you could just slither under it.

It has to be Jesus.

He is the goal. His approval is what we seek. His grace is what we live through.

Thanks Matt,for reminding all of us who are privileged to serve Jesus through His Church what we should be looking to.

Directions

When led by the Spirit,
the child of God must be as ready to wait as to go,
as prepared to be silent
as to speak.
– Lewis Sperry Chafer

In the Details

It's just one key.


No way you'll really notice it being gone.


I mean how many times do you use words with "k" in them anyway?

If you've ever had this occur, you know how annoying - even frustrating it can be. Like a paper cut on your finger, or a nick on the side of your tongue, all you can feel is that one annoying spot, and it seems everything you do winds up there or happens to trip over it.

It's such a little thing. But is it?

I'm sitting here thinking about churches. Big surprise, that. I just got finished reading Outreach magazines' Top Churches of the Year issue. We weren't in it, again. They measure differently than I would, but it's hard to argue with some of those churches given the impact they are having for the Kingdom of God.

Also in the issue is a series of interviews with pastors of those churches asking two vitally important questions: What have you learned? What would you do differently?

One of them said, "I have learned that after 9 years, all churches forget why they started in the first place. It's inevitable. And from that point on, they are dying, and just don't know it."

Wow. Jolt of reality, huh. It does fit with what I read recently though.

Pastor Mark Driscoll, of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, says that churches have four phases:

Phase 1 - Creative, the dream stage The creative phase is the beginning of a new church or a new project within the church. This phase is marked by enthusiasm, hope, and numerous ideas that are considered for implementation, which causes momentum

Phase 2 - Management, the reality stage In the management phase, the ministry project becomes a reality and requires a great deal of organization, management, and problem solving to make it successful. This phase can be a lot of hard work and is not as enthusiastically pursued because it is tedious and difficult.

But without managing the creative ideas, success is not possible. The hope for every church is that they work through their management issues, thereby enabling them to return to the creative phase, where they dream up a new project and enthusiastically undertake it and raise a whole new set of management issues to overcome.

Therefore, the goal of the management phase is not to get the church organized or under control. Rather, the management phase is needed to eliminate the inefficiencies and barriers that are keeping the church from refocusing back on the creative phase and creating a whole new set of problems to manage.

Phase 3 - Defensive justification, the failure stage In the defensive justification phase, something has gone terribly wrong and has failed at the management stage. Or the church succeeded at the management stage but never returned to the creative phase and got stuck with a bunch of well-organized managers running the church but no creative and visionary new ideas to move the church forward.

When this phase sets in, the church begins to stall, plateau, and slowly decline. People are less motivated to serve, money is less generously given, and a cloud of lethargy and complaint begins to settle in. This is because some leaders in the church start to act defensively and justify their failures rather than finding creative or management ways to overcome them.

In this phase, time, money, and energy are used to explain problems rather than to fix them, which is the primary clue that organizational death is on the horizon unless changes are made. Because the church is in a defensive posture, people start to leave the church, and the best and brightest people are no longer attracted to the church because it has lost sight of any risky mission that calls people to rise up in faith.

The peculiar truth of the defensive justification phase is that many of the excuses provided in this season are in fact valid. But whether or not they are valid, the fact remains that they need to be overcome.

Phase 4 - Blaming, the death stage An organization that remains stuck in the defensive justification phase for too long inevitably then declines to the blaming phase. In the blaming phase, it is obvious that the church or ministry is going to die, and excuses and explanations for the death have been devised.

This does not necessarily mean that the church will be closing its doors; effectively dead churches have been known to keep the doors open on Sundays for many years to welcome a handful of people who have no mission.

In this phase, the focus of the church is determining who will be blamed for the failure so that another group of people can escape responsibility for the failure. Some churches blame the pastor and fire him, others blame Satan and spiritualize everything, and still others blame the outside culture as being too hard for a church to thrive.

Rarely does the leadership of a church in this phase rise up to repent of the things that are preventing the church from returning to the life-giving creative phase, and eventually the church dies.

Great insight.

Where's your church in that scenario?

Friends, it's not enough to remember the past successes fondly and point to them as what your church is today. That's a lie. A comfortable lie, to be sure, like using an old picture for your online profile. But when someone shows up on-site, they're going to know really quickly there are not 400 of you there, and there's a lot less hair or your head or a lot more of you to go around than that picture let on.

We have to keep dreaming.

We have to keep looking outside and thinking of ways to get people from the world to the fringe, from the fringe to the congregation, and from the congregation to the core.

This is not optional.

It is breath.

Stop doing it, and people might say "doesn't he look natural", but that detail they neglected to mention - that "he's not breathing" part - means a whole lot.

What are you doing to birth the next dream for your congregation?

We Have Met the Enemy, And He Is Us

When I was entering into this calling as a pastor, one of my pastors told me that one of the main maxims he had always heard about that role was this:

"A Pastor's job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."

Opportunities to comfort seem to abound. People in the hospital, teens going through something, people who just need to talk to someone always seem to be coming along one behind the other. In those times the pastor can not only exercise the ministry of presence - just being there, but we get the opportunity to encourage people with the Word and with prayer. In today's world, we get even more opportunities to do that through technology. I'll send out requests for prayer almost every day, and receive a couple a week from someone he just dashes off a note that says "please pray for me or for us."

The chances to "afflict the comfortable" are fewer and farther between.

And yet, pastor/preachers probably get more of those than most other professions do. The person sitting out in front of us on Sunday has made a choice to be in the presence of the Holy Spirit and under the ministry of the Word of God. So they really shouldn't be surprised when God uses that Word to bring the light of conviction on them.

I've lost track of how many times someone told me after a sermon "I felt like you were preaching just for me." Every preacher hears that. People wonder if we've listened at their window, or been a fly on the wall in their home. No, we've prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to use our pitiful words for His glory. People's lives can be changed in an instant and stay changed forever as the Lord moves into their heart and makes them a new creation.

But apathy... sigh


It is like nailing jello to the wall.

Personally, I'd much rather deal with someone who denies God, who lives as if there is no God than face off against an apathetic Christian. A functional atheist, the apathetic Christian carries their "faith" like a woman might wear a charm bracelet. It's an ornament to be "worn" at certain times and at certain places. This type of Christianity is cultural at best. And the epicenter of it seems to be in the South.

I remember years ago talking to a man on a search team from California. He had called out of the blue and wanted to talk to me about becoming their pastor. In his explanation about the church, he told me about their prison ministry, about their community ministry, and then said "You know pastor, we're all first generation Christians. Every single one of us needed saving bad."

If we're not careful, we can allow the churches we love to become centers of apathy. It's easy. In those cases, it is definitely the pastor's role to upset the status quo and break the church out of its rut. Maybe that means beginning the worship gathering with the sermon instead of with music, or being more interactive in the way you preach. Maybe it is working through a series directly tied to areas in people's lives that they struggle with. Maybe if you are a topical preacher, it might mean preaching expository sermons through a book.

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES

The first sign of leprosy is the absence of pain.

The first sign a dying church presents is apathy.

Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray for the FIRE to be a part of regeneration.

And don't let them...

change you.

It's Really Important To Remember Your Part

From Steve Brown's blog today:

I have a friend (you would know his name…he's a famous Bible teacher) who was introduced at a Bible convention this way:

You're very fortunate to be here. I've been asked to give an introduction and the man I'm introducing to you has spoken to audiences the world over. His message has changed millions of lives and his presence has brought peace, repentance and love to very difficult situations throughout the church. He is profound, wise and compassionate, touching people everywhere with his message.

His name is Jesus.

And here is _______________ to tell you about him.

That's my job.

That's your job if you are a follower of Jesus.

We do our part by living the love of Jesus out loud through our lives - our words, our actions, and what we value.

Ya Think?

We've had some intense weeks lately around here.




They are normally pretty full anyway, with a pastor's job being "on call" 24/7 and Bunny's piano teaching keeping her hopping.

But throw in her mother's illness and it really ratcheted up the pressure.

Bunny's been up to Macon twice in the last month, camping out in the hospital and doing whatever it took to get her mother well. Her Mom was able to leave the hospital at the end of last week and was placed in a nursing home for a rehab stay. Then Saturday morning, when Bunny went to surprise her with a visit - the surprise was that Dot was very ill and had to be sent to the ER, into ICU, and back into the hospital again.

Just this morning, news from Macon had Bunny in tears at 8:30 AM and thanking God after talking to her Mom on the phone at 11 AM.

Pressure? Yeah, you could say that. And yet, as I tried to take today as the gift that it is from God, I read this.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. 3 You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. 4 So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
5 If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. 6 Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.
James 1:2-6 (MSG)

What I want "out in the open" is that I rely on God. Yes, I have some experience as a disciples after 35 years of following Jesus. And it is true that I have gained some insight as a pastor in helping others through their trials.

But I'm a human being. There are times when I want life to be easy. My preference would be for everyone to be healthy, money to never be an issue, and everything in every area of my life to be incredibly blessed.

So the idea of not trying to get out of anything prematurely is not natural. It's like running into the wind, or swimming against the current. And yet that "resistance training" is exactly what develops a faith that will last.

When God Asks the Questions

God asked Jonah two questions in the fourth chapter.

“Is it right for you to be angry about this?”
Jonah 4:4 (NLT)

and then after a plant God provided to shade Jonah was then killed by a worm God appointed to that task, God asked Jonah...

“Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
Jonah 4:9 (NLT)

God uses questions all throughout the Scriptures to try and make us stop and think. Here's a list I found of just a few.

·Where are you? Who told you that you were naked? What is this you have done? (Genesis 3)
·Where is your brother Abel? What have you done? (Genesis 4)
·What have you done? (1 Samuel 13:11)
·Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? (2 Samuel 12)
·Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? (Isaiah 6)
·Who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16)
·What do you want Me to do for you? (Matthew 20)
·Are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? (Luke 22)
·Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? (Acts 9)

We're so prone to ask God questions, but how uncomfortable they seem when He is the One asking.

The one question written in the Scriptures that sticks in my head?

It's at the close of the book of John. Peter has been restored by the grace of Jesus into fellowship and ministry. It would seem that Peter would be only focused on following the One who has just shown him the most incredible mercy and grace - right?

Nope.

Peter asks Jesus about His plans for the apostle John. Jesus replies, "What is that to you? You follow me."

It's so easy to start looking at what other people are doing. So tempting to worry about how a decision you might have to make would affect the lives of others. But Christ calls us forward - with Him.

When God asks, answer in obedience, not just words.

Craig Groeshel - On "It"

The leader must care more about what God thinks than what people think.(emphasis mine) That sounds basic—and it is, but it is not always easy to do. For me, I have to be obedient to all that I feel God is showing me—even in the very small things. When my other people’s opinions become too important to me, I find myself delaying obedience to God or even disobeying. - Craig Groeshel in an interview about his new book "It"

Sounds like a good and needed book for pastors to read and think through. It is so easy to go with the flow - so easy to do something that you know a certain person or persons will like.

"Going along to get along" never grew people or through them a church.

Think back. How hard was it for Elijah to stand in front of Ahab and tell him the heavens were going to slam shut - there'd be no rain or even dew until Israel repented.

What about Stephen, or Peter calling out the people for their sins.

God's man is only a man. But he has to find the strength in his relationship to God to resist the siren's call to acquiesce to less than God's best.

Hey Pastor, Will You Do My Heart Work?

"But prayer is not a work that most pastor are often asked to do except in ceremonial ways. Most pastoral work actually erodes prayer. The reason is obvious: people are not comfortable with God in their lives. They prefer something less awesome and more informal. Something, in fact, like the pastor. Reassuring, accessible, easygoing. People would rather talk to the pastor than to God. And so it happens that without anyone actually intending it, prayer is pushed to the sidelines.

And so pastors, instead of practicing prayer, which brings people into the presence of God, enter into the practice of messiah: we will do the work of God for God, fix people up, tell them what to do, conspire in finding the shortcuts by which the long journey to the Cross can be bypassed since we all have such crowded schedules right now. People love us when we do this. It is flattering to be put in the place of God. It feels wonderful to be treated in this godlike way. and it is work we are generally quite good at..."

- Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor (HT - Bobby Hyatt)

I keep reading this and rereading it. The more I read it, the harsher it gets. I respect Eugene Peterson greatly. Several of his books sit on my shelves. If his accusation is true then those pastors who practice such selfish behaviors should be ashamed.

There's no one who can heal a hurt or right a wrong but Jesus. A pastor has no power unless the Spirit of the Living God chooses to work through him.

No pastor can do someone else's heart work.

We can cry with you. We can call out to God for you. We can point you to Him - even beg you to call out to Him.

But each person must carry their own cross.

Light

call•ing \kô'lĭng\ noun 1 : a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence

“When God is stirring in my life, everything familiar gets uncomfortable”
-- Ron Sylvia, Starting High Definition Churches

Yes it does.

Looking back, Looking Forward

It's been a week of milestones remembered for me. August 6th marked the day I asked the lovely Bunny Clinard to be my wife. It was a typical hot August day in GA and we were riding down the road in her 1973 Chevy Vega when I realized that my life would forever be incomplete without her. I literally was struck by the thought that I could not imagine living without her. So words came out of my mouth because of what was overflowing in my heart. And she said YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






August 11th marked the entry into the world of our oldest son David Adam Wilson. Upon his arrival, a couple became a family and I gained a coveted title - daddy. He was a joy as a child, and is a blessing today. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way he became a Bulldog fan. We have an intervention scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving at Grant field.



And then it was nine years ago that I accepted the call to be the pastor of New Hope Baptist in Valparaiso. Before my interaction with the search committee, I had no idea where Valparaiso was. After my interaction with them and their full disclosure of the church's situation, I was not sure I wanted to know any more. But we came down to meet with the committee, praying all the while, and after a few days we knew that this was the place God was calling us to minister in His name. I agreed to come here because of what my heart told me God wanted me to do. It was a clear calling.

I think a lot of people misunderstand what a calling is. All believers receive a calling to come and follow Jesus. Their journeys may vary widely, though. One might live out her calling while caring for people as a nurse. Another might work in a machine shop, or sell cars. The pastor receives a calling to serve God as a leader of His people in a way that is clearly different.

Within me beats a constant reminder that I will be giving an account one day for how I cared for God's treasure - His Church. An individual is responsible for their singular walk, but I carry responsibility for the flock God has entrusted me. I am, if I am following Jesus' example, to lay down my life for the sheep.

A career is something I choose for myself - a calling is something I receive from God.

A career is something I do for myself - A calling is something I do for God.

A career can promise money, status, or power - A calling frequently promises difficulty and even some suffering - but gives the opportunity to be used by God.

A career is about moving on up - A calling leads down "He must increase, I must decrease."

A career may end with retirement - A calling isn't over until the day you die.

A career's rewards may be significant but temporary - A calling's rewards last for eternity.

Pharaoh had a career. Moses, that bumbling, can't talk, who me guy - he had a calling.

A calling is about God using the inadequate to do the impossible.

There are times in the lives of most pastors that it gets difficult to go on. We are not immune from any of the normal rips and tears in the fabric of life. Add to that the "it's like herding cats" aspects of being a pastor, and the stress levels in the house can rise.

It is at those precise moments that God draws near and reminds me of His love overflowing to me. "You are my child. I have set you apart for My purposes." That is a calling, friends. Without it, this would just be another social work job.

With it, I am God's instrument.



I have a calling.

Imagine!

I laughed when I saw this picture, because though I don't have a chalkboard, lying all around me are sheets of paper on which I work out and through some of the ideas that come to me.

Yes, this is the digital era, and I was an early adopter. But I still have a tendency to work out my dreams and hopes on paper.

But here's the thing.

In my line of work, my hopes and my dreams are in the hands of others, namely:

God : For sure, or I'm way off track and those hopes and dreams wind up as wanting something for me, not for Him.

His people: It's the people who I live and work with that are entrusted with the majority of what I imagine could be - might be - should be. The church. The people.

My job as pastor is to love them and try to keep them open to the possibilities of life with God. To the vision of what the church we love can be. And aware of what we can do together with God.

And so I imagine.

I imagine a group of people so in love with God and each other that they can't wait to leave our worship gathering to go and tell others what God has done and is doing and invite them to see.

I imagine our church being on the speed-dial for the school principals, the older Americans council, the city commissioners, other nonprofits and the people in our neighborhoods because when someone needs a hand they KNOW we'll be there in a hurry.

I imagine getting a phone call telling me about a service ministry project that has already been done that I didn't even know about.

I imagine children and youth growing up learning about Jesus, becoming followers of Him, and taking their love for Him to their schools, and out in service.

I imagine young men and women leading us into worship, into service. Going off to school and instead of leaving church, coming back and investing their lives in it because they know God is at work there.

I imagine older people serving as mentors and helping out in the neighborhood schools, refusing to see retirement as anything but a greater opportunity to serve God and their neighbors.

And I imagine walking with them all through the joys and the heartaches, sharing our lives and our love for God together for the rest of my life.

20 Questions - Are You A Church Planter?

Really good post on Adrian Warnock's blog where he interviews Scott Thomas, Acts 29 Director. He goes through the characteristics of church planters and lists 20 characteristics. In the article, he fleshes each one of these out, but I thought I'd list them here. Many of these would be shared by transitional pastors, but not all. Still, I think it is critical that you know what you are about and what you are after regardless of whether you are planting a new work or trying to turn an older church from inwardly focused to a church on mission.
HT - Adrian Warnock

Take a look at these and go over and read it all.

1. Am I a Christian?
   
2. Am I passionately in love with Jesus, and is he the Lord of my life in every area?
   
3. Do I believe his Word, and does it affect my life deeply?
   
4. Am I Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-directed, and Spirit-controlled?
   
5. Am I qualified as an elder?
   
6. Do I love the local church as an expression of a gospel community on a mission?
   
7. Am I a missionary to the city? Am I sent for the advancement of the gospel in the city?
8. Do I have a clear vision for this new work?
   
9. Am I wiling to pour myself out in obedience to the vision?
   
10. Am I healthy physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, relationally, maritally, mentally?
    
11. Am I the kind of leader many people will follow? Have I served as some form of church leader successfully?
    
12. Can I preach effectively?
    
13. Can I guard the doctrinal door with biblical clarity and tenacious confidence?
    
14. Can I architect a new work with entrepreneurial skill?
    
15. Am I called to plant a church at this time and in this place?
    
16. Have my church leaders commended me for this calling?
    
17. Am I a hard worker? Am I persevering?
    
18. Am I adaptable to new people, places, and concepts?
    
19. Can I raise the funds required for my family's needs? Can I still be there for my family?
    
20. Am I humble enough to learn from others — particularly from those who have gone ahead of me in different areas?