A letter to prospective Pastors

[Johnf]

What is wrong with being spiritual AND professional!?

Thank you.

 

[Revmitchell]

Amen! Part of every pastor's responsibilities is to have a Timothy he is teaching how to be a good pastor.

Every pastor, if the church is large enough to support him, should have a man on staff who he is preparing to take over the pastorate when the pastor retires or plans to move on.

This is not always possible in the event of a sudden death of the pastor or some other unforeseen circumstance.

And when a church in the area experiences a sudden unforeseen circumstance, that pastor should be prepared to offer that young trainee, if ready, to the church without a pastor. He should then be prepared to start the discipling process all over again with another young man.

This nonsense of a pastor leaving and a pulpit committee taking a year, or even more, to find a suitable pastor is just idiotic, and says more about the church's failure to prepare for a transition of leadership than it does those available for service.

Paul had his Timothy. Barnabas had his John Mark. Moses had his Joshua. All were ready, able, and available to take over the ministry is necessary.

And we should do no less. I pastored the same church for 27 years. The present pastor was with me for 15 years and when I retired he stepped into the senior pastor's position with no trouble at all. He knew the people and the people knew him.

Yea I currently have three men I am discipling. My niche is church revitalization. My goal is to have one of them ready to step up when this church is at the point that it is healthy and can function without me. Then I will likely move on to another church in need. The pastor behind me will also be discipling another pastor. This puts the church and the incoming pastor in a better position. None of this idiotic waiting 3 to 5 years to trust the new pastor garbage. Either God called him or he didn't. Trust God or get the man God actually calls.

 

[JonC]

You are aiming too high with your first arrow. Look for an associate/assistant position where you can work under and learn from an experienced man. I was 37 years old when I was called to my first Senior Pastorate, but I had 10 years of experience in subordinate positions.

Thank you for the suggestion. I agree. In fact, that was and remains my intention.Sometimes I get anxious because of my age (I think that this may be too late in life as pastors get younger and younger....makes me feel older and older ). I wish we had associate pastors because I believe that would be more suited to my abilities and experience. I know that I am in need of being mentored.

The role of pastor extends far beyond giving sermons behind a pulpit. I love preaching, but I am not what you would call a 'people person' (not that I don't care, just that I have never felt the need to socialize, so I have to extend more of an effort than others....like my wife).

So my struggle is being content and faithful where God has me at this moment. I enjoy the opportunities to preach, and perhaps my role will never extend beyond pulpit supply and teaching (which is alright as I am still meeting a need).

Thanks again for the suggestion.

 

[TCassidy]

What is wrong with being spiritual AND professional!?

Because acting in an appropriate manner (which is what is meant by "professional") is a far cry from being a Professional in our approach to ministry. We don't apply the rules of business to our churches. We apply the rules of ministry. We see ministry as a calling, not a profession.

That is one of the reasons I urged our congregation not to nominate businessmen as deacons. Running a church and running a business are entirely different things. A ministry is run according to the bible and the rule of faith. A business is run according to the law and the rule of profit.

 

[JonShaff]

Thank you for the suggestion. I agree. In fact, that was and remains my intention.Sometimes I get anxious because of my age (I think that this may be too late in life as pastors get younger and younger....makes me feel older and older ). I wish we had associate pastors because I believe that would be more suited to my abilities and experience. I know that I am in need of being mentored.

The role of pastor extends far beyond giving sermons behind a pulpit. I love preaching, but I am not what you would call a 'people person' (not that I don't care, just that I have never felt the need to socialize, so I have to extend more of an effort than others....like my wife).

So my struggle is being content and faithful where God has me at this moment. I enjoy the opportunities to preach, and perhaps my role will never extend beyond pulpit supply and teaching (which is alright as I am still meeting a need).

Thanks again for the suggestion.

Remember, Moses was 80 when God Called him

God spent 40 years training him up with sheep before he handed him his first congregation

 

[TCassidy]

And the first thing he did was search out his Joshua.

 

[JonShaff]

And the first thing he did was search out his Joshua.

And Maybe he learned a thing or two from his father in law? i dunno....

 

[TCassidy]

And Maybe he learned a thing or two from his father in law? i dunno....

??? Non-sequitur ???

 

[JonShaff]

??? Non-sequitur ???

Just saying someone poured into moses as well

 

[JonC]

I think that sometimes people come up with what they want to do and then they seek God to bless their efforts when they should simply be faithful where God has them and seek to please Him. Unfortunately, I’m often one of them.

I recognized Gods call years ago, and have been involved in the ministry of a couple of churches. The struggle, for me, is to be content where I’m at and just wait on God. It may very well be that I simply continue to preach and the role of pastor is not something God has in mind for me. If I knew for certain, that would suit me just fine. I guess my problem is trying to discern exactly in what capacity.