How to Improve Preaching and Teaching Effectiveness - Part 1

Pastor, how effective is your preaching and teaching? How do you know, and what contributes to its relative impact? Is your work more effective in certain contexts, when you take a particular approach to the material or teaching, or with certain groups in your church? Is your people’s response to and growth from your ministry a mystery you wish you could unravel and something you would like to improve? Over the years, I have been disappointed and frustrated with a lack of transformation in Christians who have attended church faithfully for decades, know a lot about their Bibles, and like listening to preaching and teaching. Some still do not live according to Biblical principles and do not reflect Godliness of life, priority, and how they conduct church life and work. So, what might we do, and where does preaching and teaching come into play?

Exploring Your Experience of and Thoughts About the Subject – Before I make some suggestions to increase our effectiveness, let me pose some questions.

• The Preaching you Have Experienced – In terms of your life and walk with Christ, who are the most effective preachers, and what are the most effective sermons, you have heard? Beyond the work of the Spirit and your readiness to hear, what made the experience impactful? How often have you heard a sermon that stirred your heart but led to no significant change? Finally, have the effective sermons led you to key life changes such as following Christ or some other major adjustment, or have they made smaller, fine-tuned adjustments in you as a disciple?

• The Teaching you Have Experienced – What teachers have had the greatest impact on you and the way you live and think? Again, other than the Spirit and your openness to learn, what made their teaching effective for you? How did they approach the information? Did they get beyond information and even application? How did they have you interact with the material? What role has teaching played in fine-tuning you as a disciple?

• Learning and Growth you Have Experienced – Looking back at your Christian life, what has led to the most substantial gains in understanding and implementing that understanding in practical, God-honoring ways? Have there been notable benefits when you engaged in reflection and wrestled with the material in the context of life experience? How has preaching and teaching interacted with other aspects of Christian life – relationships and fellowship, personal study, prayer, serving others in practical ways, and even daily life in the world and your home?

Thinking About the Place of Preaching and Teaching – Let’s think about the nature of preaching and teaching and their place in the purpose and work of the church.

• Re-Centering on the Church’s Call – With variations in how we might word it, I think we would agree that the local church is called to embody Christ and declare God’s greatness in ways that make and mature followers of Jesus. Therefore, we must look at preaching and teaching as related functions intended to stand alongside other church functions and help in carrying out that call. With reference specifically to preaching and teaching, I recall a friend in college saying, “Preaching is slapping it on, and teaching is rubbing it in.” He further said, “All good preaching contains an element of teaching, and all good teaching partakes of the spirit of preaching.” I believe both are intended to do more than convey information and its application, but they are distinct, though related, tasks.

• The Nature and Purpose of Preaching – I believe preaching is more of a message for a particular people in a particular time based upon Scripture. I believe the information conveyed, the delivery of that information, and attendant points are intended to bring the hearer into an experience of God through the passage. The purpose is to convey the Gospel to the lost or to bring a believer to a point of conviction, exhortation, or encouragement so the hearer may respond to the work of the Spirit in that time. I do not believe preaching is intended to accomplish (or is the best vehicle for) deep discipleship. Don’t get me wrong – I love preaching, but I think sometimes we expect it to do more than it is intended to do.

• The Nature and Purpose of Teaching – I believe the purpose of teaching is to take the truths of Scripture and facilitate the learner’s understanding of, work with, and assimilation of those truths in a way that leads to increased Christian maturity in all areas of life and church. Thus, teaching must differ from preaching in that it guides the learner not simply to experience the text (and God in the text) but helps the learner wrestle with self, text, God, and life in ways that result in lasting implementation of Biblical truth, not simply response to that truth.

• Integrating Preaching and Teaching into the Overall Work – Preaching and teaching have related but different functions and do not fulfill the entirety of the church’s call. Therefore, we need to preach and teach with a view to the larger life and additional aspects of the local church, as well as to the larger life settings of our hearers.

What increases the impact of our preaching and teaching? In this post, I have sought to help you think more intentionally about the work of preaching and teaching and what might make them effective. In my next post, I will share some practical suggestions for increasing effectiveness.

The Importance of Ministry Fit - Part 2

How important is ministry match – fit between the minister and the setting, the people, and the role? Are there times or ways in which fit is more important than others? What positive or negative experiences or observations do you have with ministry match or mismatch? In my last post, we made some Biblical and practical observations concerning ministry fit and looked at the issue of what we mean by fit. What else might be important in understanding ministry match or fit?

Additional Parameters That Affect the Importance of Fit – We already have said one factor in the relative importance of ministry match is what we mean by match or fit. Here are two additional considerations.

• Minister’s Age and Ministry Experience – I believe ministry match or fit is less important early in one’s ministry career than it is farther down the road. Early in ministry and early in adulthood, one may not have a good sense of what does or does not fit, a good sense of leadership esprit, or a solid understanding of what God may be shaping him or her to do. With age and experience, as well as progressive life stages, fit may become more important.

• Minister’s Willingness and Ability to Learn, Accommodate, and Love – Fit or match is more important when a minister is unable or unwilling to learn their ministry context and adapt. Some people simply are more able to adapt and open to adjusting than are others. Ministers with this skill and willingness can lower the mismatch gap. Those who cannot or will not adapt to their setting and role allow an ongoing mismatch that can create problems. Additionally, a minister’s ability to love and value the congregation without disdaining them or condescending toward them because of differences is crucial and helps build connections with the people and overcome hindrances to effectiveness.

Possible Advantages of Finding a Ministry Fit – As I reflect on my own ministry career, younger ministers I have mentored, and the issue of alignment between a minister and congregation, several potential advantages of matching pastor and congregation come to mind. Fit or match…

• Lowers Relationship Barriers – People prefer to be around those similar to themselves, so a match between minister and congregation may make trust easier to earn and relationships easier to establish.

• Aids in Cultural Understanding – Although there always is a learning curve when a minister goes to a new church, a fit between minister and church / setting may help the minister understand the culture and tendencies of the church and setting better than if there were not a fit. This can help improve interactions and avoid unnecessary offense.

• Promotes Alignment of Direction and Ministry Approach – When a minister’s values and goals align with or at least compliment those of the congregation, it can help the church and pastor head in the same direction and strive for similar (or at least complimentary) ministry strategies.

• Improves Family Dynamics – If the minister has a family and there is a fit between the preferences and lifestyle of the family and the congregation and ministry setting, it may help avoid tension in the minister’s home. What I mean is that, issues such as rural or urban setting, the type of people in the ministry context, and standard of living, etc. can be problematic if the minister, the spouse, or the children either do not fit that setting or cannot learn to adapt and be comfortable there.

Potential Advantages of a Lack of Fit – Although it may seem surprising, I believe there are some potential benefits to be found when minister and congregation / setting do not entirely match.

• Creative Tension in the Minister and the Church – There is something helpful and creative in walking and serving with those somewhat dissimilar to ourselves, and I believe a level of mismatch between minister and church can provide fertile ground for growth. Of course, this benefit may depend on the level and type of difference, as well as how open the minister and the church are to learning from each other. One example is the minister who is used to the city and goes to a rural church and learns the value of a slower pace of life and relationships that exist across the various contexts of the community. There are other examples, but, in short, we are talking about benefits gained from those who are not just like ourselves.

• Exposing the Church to Some Enriching Breadth – A difference in ministry style or worship style between the minister and the church may expose the church to some helpful new ways of conceiving ministry and doing worship or service. A church may not have prior experience with elements of more liturgical worship, spiritual disciplines, or innovations in missions work (for example) that the pastor or minister may be able to introduce in the church.

• Developing the Minister – Particularly early in ministry, a minister may have a limited exposure to types of people and ministry settings, as well as an incomplete knowledge of personal and ministerial strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, and preferences. A mismatch between minister and church may enrich the minister by exposing him or her to new types of people, approaches to walking with Christ, and styles of living life as church family. The minister needs to learn that she or he is not the only type of good Christian and their prior church experience is not the only way to do church.

• Humility, Dependence, and Understanding – A mismatch between minister and congregation may develop humility in the minister, and it certainly may develop a deeper reliance on the Lord and heart for learning about self, others, and ministry approaches. A mismatch also may help the minister appreciate the diversity that answers to God’s creativity, as well as the parts of human need and condition common to all people.

I do not believe the issue of ministry match is simple. There is Biblical and practical support for the importance of match and for God working through surprising ministry assignments. There issues of what we mean by fit, what the minister is shaped by God to do, the demands of the role, the nature of the congregation and ministry setting, the personality and skills of the minister, and the life and ministry stage of the minister. However, I believe the material in these two posts will help you think and pray through the issue in your own service to the Lord.

The Importance of Ministry Fit - Part 1

Have you ever wrestled with whether or not there was a fit between you and a particular ministry place or role? Were those struggles more pronounced early in your ministry or later? Have you ever thought something was a workable fit, only to find out some time into your service there that it was not? How important is it to find a fit or match between you and a particular ministry setting or role?

Some Observations From Scripture – Reflecting on the Biblical narrative, it seems there is not clear direction concerning the importance of fit. There are people in Scripture whose background made them a good fit for what God called them to, and there are those who seem called from a certain life mode and setting to a very different one for ministry. The Bible affirms practical wisdom and the idea of preparation and strengths-appropriate work, while it simultaneously stresses God empowering us beyond our natural abilities and what normally would make sense to us. Some key issues seem to be obedience, God’s call, and God’s empowering. People point to the Apostle Paul’s background that made him a great fit for what God called him to do, yet this same Apostle wrote, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22b ESV)” That sounds a lot like accommodation rather than only ministering to people with whom he “fit.” The same Apostle wrote in Philippians 2 of the self-emptying of Christ and our call to eschew self-insistence for others. In fact, it seems ministry demands self-sacrifice and accommodation, the supreme example of which is the Incarnation of our Lord. My conclusion from Scripture is that there is everything right about considering ministry fit, but we also must be prepared for God to make surprising assignments and enable us to carry out that work.

Some Practical Observations – Earlier, I asked about your experience with the issue of ministry match. Have you ever observed a poor ministry fit? What did it look like, and what were the effects? Think about culture-specific ministries. Whatever your convictions about the relative legitimacy of niche ministry, people familiar with a certain culture have an easier time connecting with people in that culture. A pastor friend once reflected with admiration on his son’s ability to relate to and disciple skaters and BMXers while admitting he would not know how to connect with that subgroup. Conversely, I think of a friend who retired from being a high-profile oil executive and went with his wife into the jungles of Brazil to reach indigenous people with solid success. You may have similar stories on both sides of the issue, and you may have known people who would say of a season of ministry, “I never would have seen myself in that role or place, but God blessed and it was very rewarding.” Again, practical observations lend credence both the importance of fit and the possibility of working outside of what one might perceive as a ministry match.

What we Mean by Fit – One central factor in the importance of ministry fit is the matter of what we are talking about when we speak of ministry fit or match. Fit in some respects may be more important than in others, and we must consider relative closeness of fit.

• Personal Style, Taste, and Setting Preference – Ministry often involves accommodation and learning to work in a somewhat different culture. Particularly if you are in seminary or are going to a mission field, your preference in clothing, foods, size of town to live in, mode of dress, etc. is not a huge issue.

• Abilities, Training, and Personal Characteristics – Having examined strengths and weaknesses in other posts, it will suffice to say that a fit between the minister’s capacities and the nature and demands of the position and setting is important. A person may desire a position or feel called to a vocation for which he or she simply does not have the capacity, at least at the present time. (This is not to suggest God does not call people to serve beyond their capacity apart from His power, but it is a real consideration when we think about fit.)

• Education Level, Mental Functioning, and Innovation – A minister who thinks ably, is very educated, is innovative and creative, etc. will encounter difficulty connecting with and leading a congregation that does not value innovation, education, or intelligence. With might address each of these individually, because, despite their commonalities, they are not identical, nor is a congregation’s response to them. A minister may be very educated and learn not to show too much of that in dealing with the people. A minister may be creative and innovative without being overly educated, or vice versa. The point is that differences in any or all of these areas may be more or less important depending on the congregation and the minister, as well as how these differences are handled. Of the three, I suspect mind and heart for innovation may be the most important aspect of fit.

• Theology and Core Convictions – Obviously, if one is going into a mission field, there will be a difference in theology between the minister and the people, but in an established church or parachurch ministry, alignment in key theological issues and core convictions is vital. Approach to the Scriptures, doctrinal convictions, and basic understandings about how the church relates to the world and carries out its mission are foundational pieces where fit is very important. Minor differences on non-essential beliefs may provide fertile ground for discussion and growth, but core issues should align.

• “Leadership Esprit” – In Church Unique, Will Mancini uses this term to refer to the leadership and ministry passion of church leaders. The longer I pastor, the more important I believe is the fit or match between a minister’s leadership esprit and the congregation’s heart. A mismatch will result in frustration in the people and the minister, expending the minister’s life and effort in potentially the wrong setting.

As we think about ministry fit, we have to consider things like fit between our self and the position, the people in the church or ministry, and the setting of that ministry. There are multiple factors to take into account, and the issue may not be as straightforward as we would like, but the above reflections should help, and we will look at additional factors in my next post.

Identifying and Using Strengths in Ministry

In life and ministry, what are you good at? What are your strengths, and why might it be helpful to know? How might it honor God, bless you, help others, and further the Kingdom to identify and properly use your strengths? How comfortable are you with that idea? Do you tend to note your shortcomings more readily that your strengths? In my previous post, I encouraged you to deal with problematic weaknesses, but it also is important to know and utilize our strengths. How might we do that?

Pay attention. – In my post dealing with weaknesses, I reminded you of our need for self-awareness, and this applies to our strengths as well. Therefore, paying attention to certain sources of understanding or information can help us identify our strengths. Here are some filters or indicators that help us identify strengths.

• Pay attention to what happens within you as you do certain things. – Where is there a feel of ease, ability, and natural comfort? What tasks come easily, and where do you seem to have success? What resonates with your passions or interests? Sometimes, we enjoy things we are not good at, but other times this may help us identify strengths.

• Pay attention to others’ responses to you and your work. – Under what circumstances or in what tasks or roles do people tend to respond well to you and your efforts? Which efforts tend to gain traction or have impact?

• Pay attention to affirmation. – Both affirmation and criticism may be misguided or manipulative, but we still should pay attention, with discernment, when people affirm us in certain abilities. They may confirm something we suspected or help us see an ability of which we were unaware.

• Pay attention to opportunities. – Sometimes, we get opportunities to do things we are good at, particularly as others recognize our strengths.

• Pay attention to trusted confidants. – What do trusted people in your life tell you? What abilities do those who love you and know you see in you? Have you asked them?

Get help with assessment. – Sometimes, we are unaware of our strengths, while other times we believe we possess strengths we do not. What can help us with this?

• Personality assessments – Just as these tools help us spot problem areas and natural tendencies in our way of doing, being, and relating, they also can help us identify strengths and potential strengths for development. One particular assessment for this purpose is Gallup’s StrengthsFinder.

• Trusted confidants – I suggested in my previous post that we need a small number of people in our lives who love the Lord, love us, and want the best for us. These people should not only support us and ask us challenging questions but also should help us identify our strengths. Again, be careful whom you allow into this position, and if you do not have someone like this, begin asking the Lord to provide that person. As mentioned previously, I believe, other than your spouse, this person needs to be of the same gender as you.

• Better questions – Just as good questions help us identify weaknesses, they also may help us identify and utilize strengths. And, sometimes we need the perspective of someone like a coach to ask us those questions.

Types of Strengths – When I think of strengths, I think of broad categories of ability with reference to people, ideas, or tasks, but I also want to mention a few, more specific types of strengths.

• Natural Gifts and Talents – Natural gifts and talents are just that, things you and I have a hard-wired ability to do well.

• Personality Strengths – There is a balance of hard-wired tendencies and developmental results here, but again, these are our natural tendencies for how we relate to the world around us.

• Learned Skills and Developed Strengths – These are abilities or strengths we have had to learn, nurture, develop, and refine through education and experience, but still they are strengths.

• Spiritual Gifts – These are abilities given to us by God’s Spirit after we are born again and are intended for honoring God and serving His Kingdom purposes.

Utilize and Maximize Strengths Appropriately. – A single blog post cannot fully deal with how to capitalize on our strengths for God’s glory, but here are some suggestions.

• Be appropriately guarded and vigilant concerning strengths. – Oswald Chambers is quoted as writing, “An unguarded strength is a double weakness.” When we are good at something and know it, we may misuse it or fall into some temptation in that area. We also may play to that strength too much, knowingly or unknowingly neglecting an area of weakness or causing harm through overusing our strength. For example, I am good at trouble-shooting, which means I am good at seeing what is wrong and pointing it out. When not balanced with affirmation, this becomes a harmful way to lead others. What other examples come to mind? How might your strengths cause problems if not used correctly?

• Sharpen your strengths. – How might your effectiveness increase if you sharpened your strengths? In what ways might you make an existing ability even more useful for the Kingdom? Who can help you with that?

• Utilize your strengths. – Are you working within your strengths? How might you adjust your efforts so you capitalize on your abilities, using them more consistently?

• Realize the gaps and supplement your strengths and weaknesses. – No one is good at everything. If we are not careful, we will do only what we are good at and leave other, important things undone. Or, we will be distracted from applying our strengths fully because of spending effort on things we might let others help us with. What needs supplemented in your life and work?

• Surrender your strengths to the Lord in dependence on Him. – One of my favorite Bible verses is John 15:5, where Jesus reminds us of the necessity of abiding in Him for fruitfulness. One temptation concerning strengths is to forget we need the Lord’s power and blessing even in areas of ability. What might happen if we took our strengths and placed them and ourselves in Jesus’ hands in reliance on Him?

Addressing Weaknesses That Undermine Effectiveness

I recently heard a great question posed to seasoned ministers. Basically, it was, “If you could go back in time and give one piece of advice to your younger self in ministry, what would it be?” I suspect most of us would have more than one piece to give, and a lot of what I have written in this blog since its inception has been just that sort of information. However, my most likely answer would be, “Identify and deal with your weaknesses as soon as possible.” Professional coach training and doctoral studies in leadership have exposed me to the importance of identifying, developing, and capitalizing on strengths, but there are some weaknesses that, if left unaddressed, will undermine our effectiveness regardless of how intently we focus on our strengths. They include pride, anger and short temper, impatience, impulsiveness, being reactionary, procrastination, defensiveness, insecurity, being inconsistent, lack of follow-through, sifting blame and avoiding responsibility, avoiding confrontation, fear, combativeness, and being a people pleaser among others. What would you add to this list? So, how might we identify and address our weaknesses?

Pay attention – As ministers, you and I cannot afford to be oblivious to our own way of being, doing, and interacting with others, and an earlier post already has addressed the importance of cultivating self-awareness. However, we also need to pay attention to others in ways that help us identify our weaknesses and refine ourselves as Christian persons and ministers.

• Pay attention to other ministers and Christian leaders – What do you like or admire, and what do you dislike and find troubling in other ministers? Use the answers to these questions to get a feel for what honors God and is beneficial, and evaluate yourself based on that.

• Pay attention to others’ responses to you and your leadership – How do others relate to you? Do they seem avoidant, hesitant to communicate openly, defensive, etc.? Again, in an earlier post, I have noted that people interact with us often based on themselves rather than us, but people’s responses to us also can give us clues as to things that do and don’t work well in ministry and leadership.

• Pay attention to trusted confidants – What are trusted people in your life telling you? What have those who love you suggested you need to address? Have you asked them?

Get help with assessment – People have a remarkable capacity for self-deception and blind spots, including pastors and other ministers. Unassisted, you probably are not adequately aware of your weaknesses. Here are some sources of help.

• Personality assessments – We have access to helpful tools, some of which indicate problem areas, while others simply show us our natural tendencies, which can help us know what to watch out for as we live and lead.

• Trusted confidants – You and I need a small number of people in our lives who love the Lord, love us, and want the best for us, but who also will ask us hard questions and lovingly challenge our weaknesses and missteps. Be very careful whom you allow into this position, as some people will seek this role in order to control you or gain an inside track with you. If you do not have someone like this, begin asking the Lord to provide that person. Personally, I believe, other than your spouse, this person needs to be of the same gender as you.

• Ask better questions – The right questions are powerful. Part of my learning over the years has been through questions in this area. As I watched others or evaluated situations, I asked things like, “What went wrong and what might be done differently?” “Do I act like that person or sound like that person I find unpleasant and un-pastoral?” There are others. But, let’s go deeper. Interviewers often ask us to identify our weaknesses, but a better question is, “What would others say your weaknesses are?” An even better variant is to imagine particular people in the room and ask things like, “If my wife were asked, what would she say my weaknesses are?” “If someone asked my staff, what would they say my weaknesses are?” Get specific and use variations of this line of questioning. Further, obtain the help of a coach to help you get perspective.

Faithfully Address the Issues – A single blog post cannot fully deal with what we do about the full range of potential weaknesses in ministers, but here are some suggestions.

• Engage in regular reflection and evaluation.

• Stay focused on the Lord as you identify and deal with weaknesses, rather than letting them become your focus.

• When you identify a weakness, ask yourself things like: “Where is this coming from?” “When and why does this weakness show up?” “What is the payoff for not dealing with this?” “What is the benefit of getting this resolved?”

• Cultivate your walk with the Lord, including through spiritual disciplines, cooperating actively with Him in His work of shaping and refining you.

• Live by faith, by the Word, and in the Spirit with confidence and humility in Christ.

• Get professional help as needed, whether counseling, coaching, or both.

I think of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4 about carrying the glorious Gospel and reality of Christ in earthen vessels, and you and I certainly are earthen vessels. Our call is to not let weakness and fallen tendencies hinder the work or diminish the extent to which we show others Christ’s glory.

Additional Issues Surrounding Pastoral Authority

In my last post, I suggested some questions concerning pastoral authority – questions intended to help us think carefully and act responsibly with regard to this important, yet nuanced issue in the local church. With the multi-faceted nature of the topic in mind, let’s turn our attention to the apparent need for, nature of, and potential abuse of pastoral authority.

The Need for Pastoral Authority – Have you ever been in a situation where you bore responsibility without authority? It can be discouraging and even deeply concerning. As pastors, God holds us accountable for His flock, and in our society, the law holds pastors responsible for the actions of their churches. Intuitively, it makes sense that, if a person is going to have responsibility for something, that person must have some measure of influence or “say” in things, but let’s look deeper than intuition as we think about pastoral leadership.

I would suggest New Testament terminology for pastors implies authority, albeit loving and humble authority. For the most part, pastoral leadership literature holds the terms “elder,” “overseer,” and “pastor” are synonymous and interchangeable – thus we may draw on all three for our understanding of pastoral authority. An elder is one whose age and wisdom affords the opportunity to give counsel and guiding input. An overseer is one who manages or directs the affairs of some entity or group. And, “pastor” means “shepherd” – one who leads, feeds, and protects a flock of sheep and is thus concerned with and involved in all aspects of the flock’s life and well-being, as well as the one who leads the flock. Although the literature is clear that terms emphasizing official position or rulership are not applied to pastors, it does maintain that Scripture calls for pastors to have authority. However, in Baptist life, congregations grant that authority and may revoke it. 1

The nature of pastoral responsibilities also would seem to require authority. Of all the responsibilities of a pastor, those which most suggest a need for influence include the following:

• Ensuring what is taught in the church is doctrinally sound (not only what the pastor teaches but all that is taught in the church)

• Training the church and its members in the truths of Scripture for Godly living and sound decision making not only in public teaching / preaching but in spiritual direction, discipleship, and counseling

• Shaping congregational culture and identity so that the church faithfully embodies Christ and carries out the work of the Kingdom

• Directing the administrative concerns of the church

• Leading corporate worship

• Leading the church to carry out the functions of its God-given work and equipping members to minister in accordance with their gifts

• Give admonition and correction when needed 1

The Nature of Pastoral Authority – By way of direct statement, as well as implications in pastoral terminology and tasks, scholarly literature points to the need for and legitimacy of pastoral authority. It also sheds light on the nature of that authority. First, the literature points to ethical means of influence, modeling, example, and teaching as a pastor’s leadership methods and adds the call for pastors to teach church members how to make spiritually-informed decisions and allow them to have a voice, thus respecting priesthood of the believer and the reality that people other than the pastor have spiritual maturity and insight. Additionally, the literature suggests pastoral character is vital – a Godly character of one in whose life the Word is lived out and the reality of Christ is present. Authority is connected to a demonstration of this type of character. Finally, pastoral authority not only must be humble, loving, non-domineering, and always with the best interest of the flock in mind. It is framed in terms of shepherding, which is leadership grounded in relationship and trust. Pastors are stewards of Christ’s flock and sheep themselves, and pastoral authority must answer to these realities. 1

The Abuse of Pastoral Authority – Churches That Abuse by Ronald M. Enroth, is a stark reminder of the existence of abusive churches led by abusive, power-hungry pastors – churches and pastors that do immense damage to people and the witness of Christ. Although a full summary of Enroth’s points is beyond the scope of this post, he lists several “red-flags” potentially indicating problems. These include an emphasis on experience over Scripture, defensiveness and resistance to accountability or being questioned on the part of pastors, an emphasis on authority and discipline, oversight of the small details of peoples’ lives to name a few. Entroth further maintains that even doctrinally orthodox churches may become abusive and many abusive pastors begin with good intentions but later go astray. Enroth further posits abusive pastors commonly “fail to distinguish between spiritual and worldly authority” (p. 196), and “potentially abusive churches foster an unhealthy form of dependency, spiritually and otherwise, by focusing on themes of submission and obedience to those in authority” (p. 201). He insists pastors must be accountable both to God and to the congregation. 2

There is a weight and a tension in this subject that probably is healthy and should be maintained in each pastor’s heart and mind. Pastoral work involves leadership. Leadership requires influence, and influence normally means some form of authority at some point, even if it is humble and loving, non-domineering authority. However, authority can be abused, so there is a need for care and some means of and openness to accountability and correction – preferably before the pastor harms people and the cause of Christ. As in so many other areas, balance is in order.

1. Danley, Ronald V. (2015). The Relationship Between Authentic Leadership and Church Health in the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Doctoral Dissertation)

2. Enroth, Ronald M. (1993). Churches That Abuse. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Questions Surrounding Pastoral Authority

What comes to mind when you hear the expression “pastoral authority”? Does the term land well, or does it seem a bit awkward? Does it make you feel cared for by the spiritual guides in your life, or does it raise your defense or even your ire? Your approach to the concept probably depends on several factors. What has been your exposure to pastoral authority in the past – have you seen it modeled well, used for good, or abused in some way? Are you now, or have you been, a pastor wanting to have the requisite influence to lead your church in Christian growth and Kingdom effectiveness? If so, did that influence come easily or with greater difficulty? If you are early in your ministry, how do you see yourself gaining and using authority in the pastorate, and what challenges and temptations might you face?

As we think about pastoral authority, let’s specify some of the issues within the topic so we can think through how they affect our work and relationships in our churches.

• What do we mean by pastoral authority, and what do our church members think we mean by it? – Authority can be an ambiguous term, ranging from benevolent influence to dictatorial control, and we may need to clarify our understanding of and intention for it.

• Is pastoral authority a legitimate concept in the minds of our members, and, if so, what do they mean by it? – Just as there needs to be clarity on what we mean by pastoral authority, we need to know what our churches and their members have in mind when they speak of authority.

• If pastoral authority is not a legitimate concept in their minds, why not? – Is it because of their theology, their understanding of Baptist teachings, the common tendency to resist someone directing our efforts, past negative experiences, or some combination of these? What’s really going on?

• Where does the pastoral authority come from (your understanding and the church’s), and what is it authority to do? – Does it come from Scripture, from God, from the people, from your training and / or character? Is it positional authority, or is it grounded in something deeper? How is it gained, kept, and lost? What do you have and not have the authority to say, do, and expect? It may be that you have a broader or narrower understanding of your scope of responsibility than the church does. If there is a difference in your understanding and the church’s understanding on any of these levels, how do you and the church navigate that difference?

• What are your and the church’s motives regarding authority? – Why do you really want authority? Does the desire arise entirely from your conviction that it takes some measure of authority to further the Kingdom work of the church, or are there other motives mixed in? Are there personal or emotional needs you are trying to meet? Why might the church want or not want you to have authority? How do these sometimes-competing desires interact?

• How might the church’s history, age of members, setting, your age, and your tenure affect the authority you may be granted or denied? – What elements of this church’s history affect their understanding of and relative openness to pastoral authority and leadership? How have positive or negative experiences of past pastors shaped their understanding of leadership and authority, and how might those experiences have led them to formally or informally grant or limit pastoral authority. In a related vein, particularly if they have issues of trust regarding pastors, have you been at the church long enough and been consistent enough to earn the trust necessary for the church to follow your leadership and afford you influence? Finally, how might the church’s setting, the age and longevity of its members, and your age and attendant level of life and pastoral experience influence how the church views you and how it relates to the issue of pastoral authority?

• What do the church’s governing documents stipulate, and what are the differences between these guidelines and actual church function? – It is entirely possible for a church to have governing documents because it is supposed to have them, yet function in a different manner as the church members either do not know what these documents say or do not choose to follow them.

• How might pastoral authority be unduly limited in a church, or, conversely, how might it be abused by a leader? – Some churches tie their pastors’ hands so-to-speak. Either they do not allow the pastor the influence needed to do what they have asked at the time of the call, or they do not allow the pastor the necessary influence to do what Scripture indicates a pastor should do. On the other hand, there have been so many instances of pastors abusing authority that some boundaries seem crucial.

At this point, I have limited myself almost entirely to posing questions in order to prompt and clarify your thinking, lay out many of the components of our topic, and demonstrate its complexity. Navigating the issue of pastoral authority does not have to be overly daunting, but it is a nuanced task requiring love, grace, wisdom, confidence, humility, and maturity. When I began pastoring, I had an overly simple understanding of pastoral authority and made some incorrect assumptions about what it meant and how to exercise it. Since then, I have come to understand that it is not a simple matter. I believe the responsibility we bear cannot be carried out without a measure of authority, but churches may or may not be willing to grant us the requisite influence. And, there may be disagreement about what our responsibilities are and the authority needed to meet those requirements. Additionally, too much authority, unquestioned authority, or authority without accountability can lead to abuse of people, dishonor to God, and harm to the work of the Kingdom. In my next post, I will look at some specific aspects of pastoral authority and its abuse.

Maintaining Spiritual Well-Being in Ministry

How possible is it that you assume you are automatically OK spiritually because ministry is your job? If you realize you need to attend to your own spiritual life, how well are you doing at that? When it comes to our spiritual well-being, there are several detrimental places we can head spiritually or because we are spiritually depleted.

• Confusing Working for God and Walking With God – We sometimes equate doing church things with spirituality and assume we will automatically grow and be nourished. However, ministry involves pouring out, while spending time with the Lord allows Him to fill us, grow us, and renew us.

• Limiting Time in the Word to Preaching and Teaching Preparation – Some approaches to preaching and teaching preparation nourish our souls, but it is all too easy to work up a teaching outline or sermon without letting the Word search, stretch, refine, nourish, and grow us.

• Losing our Biblical Moorings – In several ways and for several reasons, we may begin teaching things, believing things, and promoting ways of life and church that contradict God’s Word. However, the Bible and its truths must remain our source of guidance for faith and practice.

• Allowing Organizational Goals to Replace Kingdom Passion – In certain places and at certain times, it can be easier and seem more expedient to maintain or grow an organization than to advance Christ’s Kingdom. Thus, we may begin to exchange our heart to advance the reign of Jesus in and through our church for a simple desire to take care of the organization that is our church.

• Relying Solely on Human Innovation and Ability – In the face of pressure to perform and a possible sense that God’s way isn’t adequate, we may forsake the spiritual and supernatural realities of Jesus growing His church, choosing to rely exclusively on business innovations and forgetting Jesus’ picture of the Vine and branches in John 15.

• Becoming Hard Toward God’s People or Even God – Discouragement, disappointments, betrayals, and isolation may lead us to put up walls in our heart and have an uncaring or sinful attitude toward our people. Similarly, if you have seen times when God did not seem to move in ways you hoped, you can even begin to distrust God and lower your expectations of Him, allowing frustration with Him to grow in your heart.

• Failing to Demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit – How do you treat people and respond to situations, and what frame of mind are you in? It is a spiritual issue when our lives do not exhibit the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit.

• Straying Into Sin – There are far too many stories of fallen pastors losing their ministries and harming the Kingdom work and people. These outward sins are results of inward problems, and there are inward sins that also are destructive even if they do not lead to flagrant failures. Any number of heart sins are spiritual problems that need to be addressed.

Which of these issues (or what others) have you noticed in yourself or other ministers? Do you realize many of these are both cause and symptom of spiritual depletion in our lives? Let me make some suggestions for how we can care for our spiritual well-being.

• Be Aware of Potential Issues and Guard Against Them – I will not walk through each of the preceding issues here concerning prevention, but look back through them with a view to how you would notice each beginning to crop up and how you would guard against each.

• Reflect on Your Spirituality – I think it would be helpful for some of us to spend some time reflecting on the fact that we are spiritual beings in need of a strong connection to Jesus, our Source, not just those who facilitate the connection of others to Christ or who maintain the functions of ministry and church. We must be nourished and poured into in order to be strong and able to pour into others.

• Develop Self-Awareness and Practice Evaluation – Cultivate the practice of evaluation and a sense of self-awareness. It may also be helpful to have one or more people in your life to hold you accountable, ask you difficult questions, or in some other way help you avoid blind spots and maintain spiritual health.

• Cultivate Christian Community – It may or may not be able to happen within the church you serve, but we need Christian community with whom we worship, serve, and grow in ways that simple church leadership may not accomplish. We need a context for being fed and doing Christian fellowship and the other aspects of Body life in which we do not have to stand apart but can function fully.

• Practice Spiritual Disciplines – If you serve in Baptist life, the practice of spiritual disciplines may be somewhat new to you. These help us be more grounded in the Lord and help nourish us spiritually. They include things like study, contemplation, prayer, fasting, solitude, journaling, and others. I cannot provide a full list and description here, but I have found devotional and contemplative reading of Scripture, journaling, praying (including praying Scripture), fasting, and solitude helpful. I intend to write more concerning some of these disciplines, but allow me to suggest some further reading on the subject. Three helpful sources are The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard, Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, and Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney. Of the three, Whitney’s book is probably the easiest to digest, but all are good sources on the subject.

Our own spiritual nature and call to Christian growth, the demands of our work, and the spiritual and supernatural aspects of Kingdom advancement call us to be spiritually healthy ministers. This spiritual well-being requires intentionality and discipline to maintain the vital connection to Christ that we need and that the recipients of our ministry need us to have.

Emotional Self-Care in the Ministry

How are you doing emotionally? In our series on self-care, we have explored physical and intellectual self-care. In this post, I want to look at the subject of emotional self-care.

Sources of Emotional Strain – As I reflect on the nature of ministry, it seems there are several sources of emotional strain, including the following:

• You Have a Life – Some seem to think we are not real people. However, in addition to the demands of ministry, you and I have the regular, emotional demands of everyday life, just like our parishioners. We may or may not do a good job of attending to those, but before we talk about the emotional demands of our roles, we have to be honest that life happens to us too.

• You Have a Background and a Past – You and I have tendencies to respond to certain triggers and situations in certain ways, including our emotional responses and the actions and words that flow from those responses. Whether conscious or subconscious, we have old messages and thought patterns in our minds, hurts and difficult experiences, weaknesses or vulnerabilities we want to protect, etc.

• The Broad Spectrum of our Work – Ministry involves walking with people in the realities of their lives, including celebrations, struggles, and crisis. Each of these people only has whatever event they are dealing with at a given time, but we run the gamut as we come alongside, relate to, and care for people in a broad range of life situations. You might disciple someone, counsel a struggling couple, visit someone with a terminal illness, attend a birthday party or graduation, and prepare for a funeral all in one day. What a roller coaster!

• The Basic Nature of our Work – In earlier posts, I have dealt with issues of ministry relationships, difficult people, and disappointments common to our work. These can be significant sources of emotional strain, as can the pace of our work, the expectations of self and others, and what we have been taught about doing ministry and measures of success.

• An Unhealthy Approach to Life and Ministry – For some pastors and other ministers, our mental models of ministry, our values and priorities, our motives, the real and imagined demands of our work, and other factors lead us to adopt an unhealthy approach to life and ministry.

The Challenges of Emotional Difficulty – As I think about what the Bible says concerning the Christian life, it addresses emotions and factors related to them. Repentance, surrender, sanctification, growth, and the work of the Holy Spirit are to develop in us kindness, humility, joy, compassion, gentleness, love, tender-heartedness, patience, self-control, peace, peacefulness, and peacableness among other qualities. There also should be an elimination of things like bitterness, anger, wrath, malice, anxiety, worry, un-Godly fear, short-temper, as well as condemning, harsh, and bitter sprits toward others, and more. As you think about your own tendencies, internal wiring, and experience-produced reactions to people and situations, it may be that some of these issues are more difficult for you than others. My point is not to condemn us for feeling some of these negative things or having to strive for the positive ones but to point out the need to partner with the Lord to line our emotional self up with the council of Scripture. In my own observations of ministry contexts, some emotional responses I have seen produce negative results are fear, anxiety, anger, resentment, envy, and defensiveness. Making an overall comment concerning emotional well-being in ministers, a friend in ministry put it this way: “For most people in the ministry, it seems our challenge is to slow down and look in the mirror long enough to identify our own emotional need, and then call it what it is. We are so busy with other people's lives and the never-ending ministry ‘stuff,’ that we don't know there is a need until we implode with an affair or an addiction, or we explode with anger that hurts those around us, or we quit (resign or commit suicide).”

Some Suggestions for Cultivating Emotional Well-Being – Clearly, a blog post is not a full treatment of the subject, and I encourage you to get professional help when you need it and before you reach a crisis point. However, let me also make some basic suggestions.

• Cultivate Self-Awareness – In order to be emotionally healthy, we need self-awareness, so we need to cultivate it, and we may need the help of trusted others who can help us see things we don’t see about our self and our emotional responses.

• Utilize Healthy Boundaries – Create space for rest, refreshing, spiritual nourishment, and the elements of life that make for healthy balance and emotional well-being. This includes managing expectations, evaluating motives, and setting Biblical and responsible priorities.

• Do Not Ignore Red Flags – What is going on? Are you becoming numb? Are you impatient, easily angered, over or under emotional? Are you straying into sinful and risky / irresponsible behavior or thought patterns? Pay attention to indicators and deal with your well-being sooner than later.

• Be Honest – One thing I love about the Psalms is that they teach us it is OK to be honest with our self and God as we express our emotions. Use these Scriptures to help you express yourself to God, but also let them remind you it is OK to feel and to express those feelings, so long as you do not dwell in destructive emotions or allow them to lead you to sin.

• Address Right Being as Well as Right Doing – Sometimes, we get so focused on doing the right things in ministry that we neglect the foundation of our own being, and this creates problems.

• Cultivate Deep Spiritual Connection With the Lord – We will deal more with this topic in our post on spiritual self-care, but emotional and spiritual well-being are intricately linked.

1. How emotionally fragile or stable are you?

2. Who can help you take an honest look at your emotional well-being and the responses to situations and people that might help you evaluate your well-being?

3. How often do you find yourself reacting to people and situations in a manner that does not honor the Lord or further the Kingdom?

4. How emotionally resilient are you?

5. Are you beginning to become numb, withdraw from others emotionally, or have inappropriate emotional responses to situations and people?

6. Are you beginning to engage in un-Biblical, risky, or sinful actions or thought patterns, and what is behind this?

7. What steps can you take this week to begin addressing your emotional well-being?

Intellectual Self-Care in the Ministry

How are you doing mentally or intellectually? As we began examining the issue of taking care of ourselves, we mentioned intellectual self-care, and I want to explore that topic with you in this post. The objective is not to give a full treatment of mental and intellectual issues or psychological or counseling advice but, rather, to look at some pertinent issues surrounding intellectual self-care.

Understand Yourself – When I think about intellectual well-being, one piece of that puzzle is understanding yourself. Certainly, we keep Christ as the focus rather than self, and certainly, we don’t want to limit what God can do in and through us, but we benefit from understanding ourselves. Here are some aspects of doing that.

• Personality Type – How do you tend to relate to self, others, and your world? You can gain these insights through any of several common measures, including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Birkman Assessment, and the DISC Profile.

• Learning Style – Do you learn and process information best by hearing it, seeing it, or physically moving while learning or thinking? Knowing your learning style can help you set up your learning or problem-solving environment for success and use optimal strategies.

• Strengths – Here, I am referring to the Gallup Strengths-Finder. You can take the instrument and will receive a report on your strengths and how your strengths interact with the strengths of others.

• Spiritual Gifts – What has God gifted you to do by the work of His Holy Spirit?

• Talents, Abilities, and Passions – What are you good at and passionate about?

Study and Learning – Proverbs extols the value of wisdom and understanding and encourages you and me to search after it diligently. Here are some suggestions.

• Study in Your Field and Continue to Learn – Understand your context and calling, and study well in order to carry out your responsibility. Also, consider that we may need to focus more on emerging information than our predecessors due to the increased diversity and rapidly changing nature of today’s milieu.

• Be a Faithful Student of the Word – In today’s ministry context, one temptation is to depart from the Scriptures as the primary subject of preaching and teaching. Do not do this. The Bible must be our authoritative guide for faith, life, and church. Another tendency can be to assume the Bible does not give us counsel on doing church and ministry, trading Biblical insight for worldly philosophies and business strategies. All truth is God’s truth, but keep the Bible foundational and central.

• Pursue Continuing Education in Related Areas – When you discover knowledge or can get training in an area that will augment your ability to do what God has called you to do, I recommend getting it.

• Study Something for Enrichment – What would you like to learn that is not part of your ministry work? What is of interest to you…art, carpentry, music, cooking, finance, history, etc.?

• Have a Broad Base of Curiosity and Interest – As ministers, we serve a wide variety of people with myriad interests, occupations, and backgrounds. It is easy enough to have someone talk about something they like or do for a living, but having an interest in that, expressing an interest in that, and having some level of knowledge about it is helpful.

Mental Breaks and Diversion – If you are in a particularly busy season, you may need mental breaks to clear your head. You may need diversion in order to bring your sharpest attention and best creativity to your work and maintain your own well-being. Understand issues of focus and distraction, breaks, peak work time for you, and diversion. Although I would not suggest the following as a long-term approach, here is a strategy for times when the workload is extremely high. When I was working on my doctorate, I would devote blocks of time to different courses or to class work and church work alternately. Switching topics every couple of hours served as a mental break without sacrificing work time. Please use caution here. I believe my dissertation actually took longer than it needed to because of my lack of breaks.

Personal Issues – Do you have issues with addiction, anger, defensiveness, insecurity personally or professionally, or any other thought-life tendency that is un-Biblical and counterproductive? As an example, consider the issue of insecurity. Personal and professional insecurity issues will cause you to be defensive, keep you from learning from others, and cause you to make your work about you instead of Jesus. All of this is destructive. Get help, pray for healing, work with Jesus to find your grounding, identity, and security in Him so you can be gracious, humble, confident, consistent, and loving. In a similar vein, identify and think through the problems caused by any personal issues you have. Then, formulate an action plan for dealing with them, and get help as needed.

1. How well do you understand yourself? What help could you get in gaining a better understanding, and who could help you do this?

2. How well do you understand how your makeup affects your approach to and effectiveness in ministry? Again, what help could you get for improving your understanding?

3. As we looked at study and learning, which issue(s) stood out to you as needing work? Which do you feel you have a good grasp of?

4. How tired or refreshed do you feel mentally, and how might you use appropriate breaks and diversion to take care of yourself? Where might you find good ideas for how to do this?

5. What personal issues do you need to deal with? What is your plan for addressing these, and when will you start?

(Photo Credit: Jeep Calvert Photography)

Physical Self-Care in the Ministry

How is your health? Are you happy with your appearance, your strength and stamina, your energy level, the way things are working all-around? This post is not about health advice or trying to stir shame or guilt over what you may already know you need to do. Instead, I want to offer some perspective and encouragement as you think about and address this important area of your life.

I suspect you have some ideas about what needs attention in this area. So, what are the obstacles to your specific goals, and what are the general barriers to self-care for you? Do any of these sound familiar?

• Time and Schedule – Many of us work long, unpredictable hours, so juggling life and its schedule hinders exercise, good sleep, and the ability to eat right.

• Our Commitment to the Ministry – Our mindset about ministry may lead us to believe taking time for healthy practices is somehow un-Godly.

• The Role of Food in our Work – Eating is part of our job and church culture. When we eat and what we eat may seem a bit beyond our control, and convenience also plays a part in potentially unhealthy habits.

• Sedentary Work – From sitting at our desk in study and prayer to sitting during visits and meetings, all the being still we do can make it hard to burn off that Baptist eating.

• Lack of Desire – Sometimes, we simply want the enjoyment of an unhealthy practice more than we want the benefits of healthy ones. What is the long-term result of that unhealthy practice?

• Lack of Awareness and Priority – Do you tend to ignore your body’s needs until it screams loudly enough to get your attention? How can you cultivate health awareness in your life? What might you do to build better self-care into your life?

• Discouragement and Distraction – We have set unrealistic goals in the past or simply failed in some attempts at physical self-care, so we hesitate to try again. Or, we don’t have a good plan, and we get sidetracked from our efforts.

• Fear – Is there some health concern you suspect you may need to address, but you are afraid of what you will find if you have it checked?

• Deeper Issues – I would suggest that, for some, unhealthy behaviors and neglect of their physical well-being may point to deeper issues that need attention. These may be issues of self-worth, relational issues in the marriage, discouragement, etc. that contribute to unhealthy choices.

What might motivate you to attend to your health more faithfully? I am not talking about reasons for guilt, just good motivators. Here are some I think of:

• The enjoyment of feeling good – I like having energy and being well, and I want to feel good and function well for a long time. Have you felt poorly for some time? How might life and ministry change if you felt better?

• The Issue of Witness and Opportunity – Our culture is incredibly vain, and Scripture says God looks on the heart, but I want to suggest that how we care for ourselves can influence how others receive us and our message. I want to be sensitive at this point, because some of us have health issues that affect our appearance – mine is eye problems and crooked teeth even after braces two times! Some of us have to overcome insecurities in this area, and I do not want to undercut you. I am simply suggesting we put our best self forward.

• Getting the Most Out of Life and Putting the Most Into Life – What do you want to get out of life and put into life for you, your family, and the Lord and for how long? How might physical well-being affect your ability to do that well for as long as possible?

• Stewardship and Worship – I believe our bodies are entrusted to us by God to be used for His honor in all we do. How might functioning at your best make your life and ministry more God-honoring as an expression of good stewardship?

• A Holistic Theology – Part of Greek philosophy that created problems in the Early Church was body-sprit dualism leading to the idea that the body was irrelevant. However, Hebrew thought was holistic. How might a holistic, integrated view of your humanness encourage you with self-care?

As you think about physical self-care, be sure to think through all the areas of your health and all the things that contribute to or detract from it. You may ask the Lord to help you see unaddressed areas and gain a deeper sense of stewardship and encouragement. You may need others to help you evaluate and plan. Let me pose some questions for you in addition to those earlier in this article.

1. What aspects of your health and physical well-being could use attention because you know they need improvement for you to be your best for God?

2. What aspects of your physical well-being, if unaddressed, will produce results you do not want?

3. What obstacles prevent giving attention to your physical well-being? Which of those I listed stood out or needs exploration? What would you add?

4. What would help you overcome these obstacles?

5. What assumptions get in the way of adequate physical self-care in your life?

6. What do you want to be able to say about your health 90 days from now that you cannot say today?

7. What is one thing you can do this week to move you closer to that goal?

8. How might thinking creatively about exercise, time use, and other factors help you implement healthy practices?

9. Who might help you think through these things?

*If you would like personal coaching as you think through these things, I am available to do that, and you can find my contact information on the “Contact” page of this website.

(Photo: Jeep Calvert Photography)

Taking Care of Yourself in the Ministry

Pastor, how are you doing – no, really – how are you in each area of your life? If you were to brainstorm the subject, what are the various aspects of self-care? How would you rate your well-being and level of functioning physically, intellectually, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually? Of these areas, which stands out to you? Some time ago, as I wrote about balance in our lives and work (a better expression would be allotment of effort and attention), I mentioned self-care. In the next several posts, I want to deal with this subject more fully.

What comes to mind when I mention self-care? What is your automatic reaction, and what are the ways in which you tend to think about the subject? Let' me explore some possibilities with you as we work together on this issue.

• Self-Care is “Soft” – I suspect this is more of an issue with older ministers, but you may think, “Only sissies think about and need to attend to such things. Just keep going.”

• Self-Care is Theologically or Biblically Inappropriate – Some may feel the Bible calls us to serve selflessly in such a way that attending to self is antithetical to Scripture and the sacrifice of Kingdom ministry.

• I Know What Needs Attention and I Don’t Want More Guilt – If this is you, I hope to encourage you rather than shaming you into action.

• Some Things Need Attention, and I Would Like to Deal With Them – I suspect many of us would respond this way. We may face some barrier, need a better plan, or feel we simply cannot make those areas a priority right now.

I conceptualize the issue of self-care in several ways I believe are consistent with Scripture and the realities of daily life. Let me share some of those with you.

• Stewardship – For me, everything is a matter of stewardship. God created and owns all that is, and He has entrusted it to us for our use according to His guidance with accountability to Him. How I handle my physical, intellectual, emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being is a matter of stewardship.

• Worship – Romans 12:1-2 tells us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices as worship to God. Further, Malachi 1 tells us to offer God the best sacrifice we can. So, if we are offering ourselves and our service to God as worship, we need to be at our best so we give Him our best.

• Continuation and Quality – We want to be able to serve God and others with quality for as long as God intends. If we do not care for ourselves and maintain our well-being, both the longevity and the quality of our ministry will suffer.

• Appropriate Attention – As we think about self-care, we need to avoid the extreme of neglecting it on one hand or allowing the focus on self-care or a specific part of it to dominate our attention on the other. Ministry is work, and we have to avoid half-stepping in the name of self-care while simultaneously guarding against failure because we do not take care of our well-being.

Although I have attempted not to borrow from others’ work here, I have been exposed to this combination of self-care elements in this order training through Tarrant Baptist Association in Ft. Worth, TX – material they adapted from Tom Paterson’s book Living the Life You Were Meant to Live. I also have been exposed to several of these aspects of self-care in material used for ministry student coursework by Dr. Vicki Vaughn while teaching at Howard Payne University. So, let me ask, what are the main areas of self-care? Are you more aware of some than others? Let me suggest five, and for each of these, ask yourself what self-care involves in your life and where your current trajectory in that area will lead you.

• Physical – This area includes the totality of our bodily function and well-being.

• Intellectual – From overall mental acuity and study for our vocation to non-vocational interests, this is the mental aspect of our being.

• Emotional – Are you aware of your emotions, and do you have a Biblical and appropriate emotional response to people and situations?

• Relational – How are your relationships with family members, church members, and friends? Do you have a sense of well-being in this aspect of your life?

• Spiritual – As ministers, we may assume ministry work nourishes us spiritually, but we can become empty if we do not replenish our souls.

I think about self-care like I think about the truck I drive. It needs regular care and preventative maintenance. From time to time, something breaks or wears out, and it needs special attention. I want to enjoy driving it for a long time, so there are things I need to do along the way – some in response to the truck’s indicators but most before a warning light ever comes on.

1. As you think about self-care, what areas in your life could use attention because you know it needs work for you to be your best for God?

2. What aspects of your life, if unaddressed, will produce results you do not want?

3. What obstacles prevent giving attention to your well-being?

4. What would help you overcome these obstacles?

5. What assumptions get in the way of adequate self-care in your life?

6. In each of these areas, what is one thing you want to be able to say 90 days from now that you cannot say today?

*If you would like personal coaching as you think through these things, I am available to do that, and you can find my contact information on the “Contact” page of this website.

Doing Our Whole Job, Not Just Part of It

As a pastor, what is your job? What are your various responsibilities, and do you and the church agree on those? How do you know, and do the answers to these questions vary depending on the church? Further, what do we do with the tendency to do only the parts of our job we enjoy and neglect the others? These are very real issues you and I face in the ministry.

Understanding Your Job and its Components – It is important to understand what all comprises our job as pastors, and several factors inform that understanding.

• Previous church experience – As you enter a pastorate, you bring with you earlier experiences of pastoral roles, and there may be differences in your experience-based expectations and your new church’s expectations. This issue may be particularly salient if your experience has been in a large, staff or pastor-led church and you go to a small church.

• Scripture and History – The Biblical language suggests teaching / preaching, pastoral care, and administration all are part of your job – a shepherd is responsible for every aspect of the flock’s life, and you are responsible for the various aspects of the church. There also are historical and denominational precedents for your work and the specifics of how you carry it out.

• Your Written Job Description and Legal Requirements – Familiarize yourself with your church’s governing documents and your job description. These specify what you are expected to do. Additionally, the law tends to hold you responsible for church matters whether or not that responsibility is spelled out and whether or not the church wants your involvement in certain areas.

• Church Culture and Your Unwritten Job Description – Every church has an organizational culture, and you have an unwritten job description (maybe several). There are expectations rooted in the church’s history, denomination, size, geographical location, etc. There are things you will be expected to do in one congregation and resented for doing in another. Learn your church’s culture and your role in it. I am not suggesting you follow church expectations when they do not align with Scripture, but I am suggesting you work to understand those expectations and graciously move toward an agreed-upon role where you believe Scripture and church culture oppose one another.

Tendencies Relative to Your Work – Pastor, what is your favorite part of the job? What do you love most and find most rewarding? What is your least favorite aspect of the work? Of those things you like to do, what makes them you enjoyable for you? Of those parts you don’t like, what leads to your distaste for them? Your strengths, your personality, your passions, and your church culture all can affect how you tend to do your job. Let’s look at the broad categories I laid out earlier.

• Preaching and Teaching – The ministry of the Word if crucial. To what extent do you enjoy it, and why or why not? Do you avoid it, give it less than adequate attention, or hide in it in to avoid aspects of your work you don’t enjoy? In short, as important as it is, it is not your whole responsibility.

• Shepherding / People Work – If you are more of a people person and less of a scholar, you may spend so much time with members and / or lost people that you shortchange preaching and teaching. On the other hand, if you are less comfortable with people; if people don’t want you to help them grow in Christ; if you have difficult people or dislike confrontation; or if you don’t see the Kingdom benefit of pastoral care, you may not spend enough time with people – those within the church or those in your community. Looking more closely at people work, we may lean toward certain aspects of shepherding while neglecting others, and we have to attend to each aspect wisely.

• Administration – From visioning, strategic planning, and evaluating progress to making sure all the pieces of the organization work together effectively, administration is important in the church. As with the other categories we have addressed, your tendencies may lead you to spend too much or too little time on administration. Further, you and I must give appropriate attention to the various aspects of administrative work, not favoring or neglecting certain responsibilities to the detriment of the church.

Relationships Between the Parts – Why is each aspect of your work important? Teaching and preaching the Word is central to our work. It is a sacred trust; the Bible is our guide for faith and practice; and familiarity with the Word allows you to lead with it as your authority. The truth of Scripture must inform all you do and the entire life of your church. People work is crucial because it builds trust; because discipleship happens in relationships; and because it creates leadership capital and relationship context for ministry in times of crisis. Administration is important because any system works better when it is well-ordered; God is a God of order; and attention to how the church functions builds leadership capital.

Although you may disagree with your church about the relative importance of each category of pastoral work and, more specifically, about elements within each category, each area is important. Additionally, the various aspects of your work require differing amounts of attention from church to church and from season to season within a given church. However, in order to be a good steward of the flock, we have to understand our role, attend to all aspects of it, and avoid the tendency to neglect what we do not enjoy in favor of what we like to do when that is detrimental to the church and the Kingdom.

Dealing With Ministry Disappointments

What have been some of your disappointments, and how have they affected you? What happens when we are disappointed in the ministry context? There are three broad areas of disappointment in ministry – with self, with other people, and with what we feel God has or has not done in some instance. First, there is disappointment with self. There are times we are needlessly disappointed but, there also are times when we need to be disappointed in ourselves. In some way, we have not honored the Lord and given ourselves fully in good stewardship of the work. Then, disappointment is right and can be constructive, as we have the opportunity to evaluate, learn, and move forward better. In addition to disappointment with ourselves, other people will disappoint us, and the ways in which they may do so are numerous. Finally, we may feel disappointed by God. I am not saying God actually lets us down, but we may have times when we feel God has not kept up His end of things. We may feel He has not blessed our obedience or supported our effort when we followed His leading and Word, or we may feel disheartened when He does not intervene in a situation the way we want Him to.

Disappointment has to do with unfulfilled expectations, so it seems to me we set ourselves up for disappointment in one or more ways. Here are some.

• Being Overly Idealistic – Although I never want to lose my sense of what ought to be as we seek the Kingdom, we have to live in the real world of human limitations and inconsistencies and all that entails. We need to have aspirations and expectations, but wise realism helps us hold the tension without being crushed by disappointment.

• Being a Rule-Follower Without Realizing Others are Not – I tend to be a rule-follower, and I also have expected others, particularly Christians, to follow the rules of law, polity, and Biblical principles consistently and without question because I tried to. The fact is, we will be disappointed if we expect everyone to have an unquestioning obedience to rules that may be in place.

• Naiveté – There are bad people, inconsistent people, dishonest people, bent people, and victimizers in the world and in the church. When we have lived a somewhat sheltered life, we may not be aware of the darkness in our world, and we may believe church people are different. True, church people should be different, but getting saved and joining a church (and certainly attending a church) does not automatically clean people up and transform them, and failing to realize this sets us up for disappointment.

• Faulty Expectations – Sometimes our expectations are faulty because they are unreasonable (un-tempered by wisdom), while other times they are un-Biblical. Either way, when our expectations are wrong, we will be disappointed with self, church members, lost people, and even God. Allow me to elaborate on this last one. It seems to me, people sometimes expect God to do things God is not necessarily in the business of doing. Let the Bible determine what you expect.

Now that we have considered some sources of disappointment in ministry and some things that can make it more likely, allow me to mention two possible, negative responses and a third, more constructive one.

• Stop Having Expectations – One of my college roommates used to say, “Don’t expect anything from anybody, then you won’t be disappointed.” At times, I have adopted this approach, but t is not productive. In fact, even though expecting nothing of people might alleviate some disappointment, I believe we will be more disappointed in the end. When we have no expectations, I believe we isolate ourselves, refuse to trust, refuse to partner with people, and refuse to risk on others and on God. So, I believe we will get some years down the road and be highly disappointed because we did not venture into territory we might otherwise have entered if we had allowed ourselves to have wise expectations.

• Become Jaded – We may become so disappointed in self, people, or even God that we become hard, calloused, and cold. We might drop out of the ministry, drop out of church, or worse. Or, we might stay in the ministry but start simply going through the motions, adopt a sarcastic spirit, or take some other destructive course of action.

• Find a way to Grow – You may say, “You don’t understand. I have been hurt deeply. I am confused and frustrated. I am in a season of spiritual dryness and tiredness from numerous disappointments.” I promise you, from a heart of caring and Kingdom concern, I do know. And, even after many disappointments, I would still lovingly and gently suggest the following responses to disappointment. First, grow in wisdom and skill. Every disappointment is an opportunity to evaluate and learn how better to understand life, self, others, ministry, and God. It is a chance to refine your skills and ability as well. Second, grow in your theology and understanding of God’s Word. When you are disappointed, go back to Scripture and dig. I have found the sting of some disappointments alleviated as I understood more of the Bible and allowed it to modify my expectations. Finally, grow in grace and love. When you disappoint yourself or others let you down or seem to do so, allow these times to enrich your appreciation for God’s grace and love, and grow in your ability to extend that grace and love to others wisely and redemptively. You may even have to allow the Lord love and extend grace through you when you are not able.

Avoiding More Ministry Pitfalls

In my last post, I suggested ministry is like driving down a dirt road or unpaved driveway, having to watch out for potholes. We explored some of the pitfalls in ministry in that post, and I want to look at a few more here.

Failing to Care for Self and Family – A person who is not willing to serve sacrificially does not need to be in the ministry, but responsible self-care is a matter of stewardship and a means of maintaining our ability to minister. Similarly, our families are paramount areas of stewardship as the smaller flock we shepherd.

Setting, Accepting, and Striving to Meet Unreasonable Demands – Ministry done well is very demanding, and it deserves our all. However, we and / or our churches sometimes place unrealistic demands on us. Therefore, we have to know how to set, clarify, and manage expectations constructively in order to serve well.

Failing to Set and Maintain Boundaries – We have to maintain healthy boundaries with work, time, and other people, because boundaries guard our well-being, our work, our witness, and those we care about.

Inappropriate Relationships – The most common type of inappropriate relationships I hear about among pastors are sexual relationships. However, there are other types of inappropriate relationships. There include inappropriate emotional relationships, as well as friendships and business relationships that compromise your integrity, the church’s wellbeing, and the work of the Kingdom.

Allowing Personal Weakness to Undermine You – Each of us has weaknesses, and we do well to know those, address them, and make sure they don’t undermine us, our work, and our witness. Weaknesses include addictive tendencies, insecurity, immaturity, impatience, impulsiveness, fear, tentativeness, inappropriate anger, being easily offended or short-tempered, etc. Any weakness can present an opening for temptation; become an opportunity to hurt self, others, and the Kingdom; and lead us to lose credibility and influence.

Failing to Hold the Natural and the Supernatural – The Lord expects us to acquire and apply wisdom, knowledge, and skill in the ministry, but there is a supernatural aspect to Kingdom work. Some neglect the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in favor of human effort alone, while others fail to develop and apply potentially helpful insights. Serving in God’s power can work hand-in-hand with learning and practical wisdom, and we need to hold these aspects of Kingdom work in a right relationship to each other.

Failing to Communicate Adequately – People may hear what they expect or want to hear; get information from those they know, rather than those who have the correct information; and sometimes don’t listen to pastors very well. People forget; people are bombarded with information; people may not listen when you speak and may not read what you write. We have a lot of communication barriers to overcome, so we have to communicate clearly, consistently, often, and in multiple ways.

Not Using or Misusing the Bible in Ministry – Biblical truths ought to guide our work and churches. But, for various reasons, we may fail to rely on the Word in appropriate ways. On the other hand, some misuse the Bible in ministry by taking things out of context, neglecting the whole council of Scripture, proof-texting, etc. We need to work through all of these issues of understanding and proper application of the Bible in ministry and church, faithfully following the counsel of Scripture.

Losing People’s Respect – Not only does the Bible lay out certain expectations for you, but your church members have their own expectations as well. Some are written, and many are unwritten. When you fail to meet those expectations, particularly expectations of punctuality, professionalism, integrity, sincerity, honesty, and doing the job well, you lose their respect and forfeit your influence, if not your job.

Misunderstanding Your Position – Where do you get your understanding of your position? Where does your church get its understanding of your position? Was your earlier church experience in a church of a different size, denomination, or governance or leadership structure than your current church? You have to navigate the intersection of the Bible as you and the church understand it, your expectations and the church’s expectations, and written and unwritten policies dictated by church culture.

Becoming Jaded – Ministry can be very rewarding, but it also can be very hurtful, tiring, lonely, and discouraging. You will encounter God’s people acting as you never thought they could, and you may wonder why God does not do some things you want Him to do. Some lose their faith; some quit the ministry outright or simply resign themselves to going through the motions; some stay in the ministry but become jaded. There is sarcasm, a negative spirit, resignation, and a hardness about them. I believe we have to guard against this, nurturing our walk with the Lord and our love for the people.

As I mentioned before, local church ministry includes pitfalls along the way, and we need to know what these are and how to avoid and handle them in order to glorify God and advance His Kingdom. May the Lord give you wisdom and direction as you navigate your service to Him and His church.