I wish someone had told me .........

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

I can't change my surroundings, BUT, I canchange my attitude.

I don't have to say something until I have something to say.

Sometimes, God's leading doesn't make sense.

 

Be as wise as a Serpent but as gentle as a Dove!

 

Be careful not to jump too soon or too late into a situation.

People are people.

Preach the Word and let the chips fall where they may, because the chips belong to God.

Don't quickly try to get rid of difficult people so you can get on with your ministry----those people are your ministry.

Don't spend all your time working for the next place you want to be---enjoy the privilege of being used of God right where He has you.

Finally, remember that your success in the ministry is not determined by numbers, how many baptisms you have, or how much you can brag at pastor's conferences about what your church is doing------success in the ministry is determined by whether or not you are obedient to God....period.

God bless you---what a great God we serve---Thank you Lord for allowing us to be involved in Your work.

Bro Tony

 

Wow...excellent!

 

Don't try to be the Holy Spirit.

I have an acquaintance right now who is in trouble at this church - he has been there less than 12 months.

The problem? He doesn't give people time to change - he demands it.

The point? Preach the word and let the H.S. change people in His Time not Yours.

 

A well known preacher had finished his discourse one evening and Horatio Bonar came to him and said,"You love to preach, don't you?" The answer was "Yes".Bonar replied, "Do you love the people you preach to?" Regarding change: Only move the piano 1 inch every week!
Blessings to all you younger men. May you stand strong in the face of growing opposition.

 

Remember your responsibility with your family.

 

The Lord sends you to different places to learn not just to teach.

He want to work in and on You as much as He does the people you are called to pastor.

You personal relationship with the Lord is more important than any thing or anyone else.

Many the Lord Bless each of you,
Tom

 

WONDERFUL TOPIC!!!!! I am going to print these and put them on ther board by my little desk in the corner.

One my mentor reminded me of, based on Luke 10:38-42 ... "Don't get so busy serving Him that you forget to take personal time with Him."

 

I love how you measure success Brother Tony.

 

Another attractive way of saying that is, don't get so busy in the work of the Lord that you neglect the Lord of the work.

Something else I heard when young, but only really believed later, is "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Then there's the old favorite, "Never resign on Monday."

 

1. Read John Drescher's book If I Were Starting My Ministry All Over Again..... . ISBN # 0687010012. Buy it RIGHT NOW. It's at Amazon and so forth.

2. Read. Most pastors don't. It shows

3. Take time off regularly and don't let ANYTHING short of a catastrophe interrupt it.

4. Do not neglect your family. God created the family before He created the church.

5. Success = faithfulness. No other definition is acceptable.

6. Get all the preparation and education you can before you start ministry, because once you start, it's extraordinarily difficult to get it.

7. Learn about ministerial taxes and compensation issues before you ever start ministry. Failing to do this and assuming my church knew about this stuff cost me thousands of dollars to the IRS.

8. Protect your soul. Feed it regularly.

9. Guard your sermon study time with your life.

10. Start a catalog system for your library. Use the modified Dewey for churches, or something..just use something. I laughed at this advice when a friend did this with a few books. I now have over one thousand books in my library and can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is not finding something or buying something you already have.

11. Preaching is the most important task in ministry. Treat it like it is.

12. Train others to be servant-leaders and then trust them. You don't want to have to go to every bed=baby nursery committee meeting, do you?

13. Have an emergency fund of at LEAST six months living expenses in a money market account. You'll be fired. You will resign without another field. You'll need this.

14. Do not get jealous of other men who have bigger churches or bigger salaries. There are men who are jealous of yours. What's the point?

15. Learn your people before you try to lead them and love them. Be loving as you learn them, and you'll learn how to love and lead as you should.

16. Get everything/put everything in writing with your church. Have them spell out EXACTLY what your vacation policy, sick time, financial package, etc. is. Put your wedding/funeral/vacation policy in writing and have it adopted by the church or at least have them visibly aware.

17. Always be proactive, never reactive.

18. Learn from criticism when it's valid, ignore the criticism that's invalid...and be wise enough to know the difference

19. Lead. But only if you know how

20. Know the difference between non-negotiable doctrines and areas where disagreement is okay. Martyn Lloyd Jones gives a great list in his book "What is an Evangelical?" I may post that sometime.

 

Don't get to far out in front of everyone. If you're so far in front of them that they barely see you, are you really leading anyone?

My last pastor told me that to encourage me to take "baby steps" with the congregation when appropriate. Even baby-steps can be progress.

 

Lots of great advice here. It is refreshing to read encouraging stuff. Maybe this thread can become permanent at the top?

 

This is the kind of stuff I need as King James said "encouraging stuff."

 

Good advice, gentlemen. As a "young'in" in the ministry, I do not have much to add. But I can add one situation we just dealt with a while back. No matter what it seems like, it is probably best that when you take a church, your predecessor does not stay as a member of the church. At least have him go somewhere else for a while and then come back after you are established. We recently had a church in the area where the former pastor seemed like a great guy and stayed in the church while a new guy came in. Next thing you know, there was a huge conflict that started over moving some pews out of the auditorium. It would have been better to just give some time and space than to get the church in a mess over pews.

 

As one whose ministry is in the process of change, I enjoy seeing posts that are positive or encouraging for my ministry. Thanks for the list of things. Keep it around for a while it is good.