Advice for a new pastor

I'm a church planter, and only once interim pastored someone else's church for just a year, a branch work. So I can't give you much advice except for this. Others have said something similar, but I have always thought if I took over a pastorate I would try not to change anything for a year or more, until I got to know the people, the reasons for the existence of whatever I wanted to change, the culture I was pastorring in, etc.

Two excellent books I've read lately are: Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, by Kent and Barbara Hughes, and Well-Intentioned Dragons: Ministering to Problem People in the Church, by Marshall Shelley.

May God richly bless you and use you in your new challenge.

 

The first and greatest commandment:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

And the second:
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

If these 2 relationships are right, Things go a lot smoother.

 

When you run into difficult people, try and find them a job to do in the church. It will either:
-ignite a passion that is actually useful for something;
-it gets a job done that you didn't want to do yourself anyway;
-keep them busy and out of your way; or
-run them off (preferably to a Jehovah's Witness church) to wreck another fellowship.

 

Read "Seven Churches NOT in the Book of Revelation" by Gene Mims. If I'd read that book before I became a pastor (it had not been published yet), I'd probably be pastoring the same church, instead of fired from there and blackballed from the ministry.

 

Tim,
Stay focused, you have been called by the church, but ultimately called of God. Focus on the objectives of the church according to the WORD, and not according to the words of the people!! Above all, spread the great gospel message brother.

 

Don't sacrifice your family on the altar of ministry.

Never borrow money from a church member.

Pay your bills on time.

Stay out of credit card debt.

Develop your own preaching style. Don't try to emulate your favorite pastor's style.

Watch out for those annoying pulpit habits.

Don't make the women mad!

 

Forgot these:

When you prepare a sermon out of anger, don't preach it.

When your entire church seems to be falling apart, RUN! Just kidding...make that "trust God and keep your eyes on Jesus."

Finish well.

 

Greetings Brothers an Sisters. I am new here and I was just reading all of the GREAT advice. I to am a new pastor and I am waiting for God to lead me to my first pastorate. My family and I have moved here to Indiana about 2 1/2 years ago. I have a couple of resumes that I sent out and now I'm waiting. I pray that the will of the Lord Jesus is done.

 

I'll keep all these things in mind when I become an IFB woman preacher. Just kidding.

Seriously, there is a lot of really good advice in the above posts that has given me a lot to think about. It is good, sound, practical advice that can go from the pulpit all the way to kid's ministries to just dealing with people in general.

Lots of intelligent, good thinking people on this board---and no MRCoon, I didn't mean you!

 

I would have to modify this:

When you prepare a sermon out of anger, sleep on it, pray about it, use discernment, and if the Holy Spirit is still saying, "preach it!", then preach it. Otherwise, pack it away. (Sometimes, there is a place for righteous anger.)

 

Thanks for identifying me by name...I would have spent so much time trying to figure out if you were talking to me. Now I can sleep better at night!

 

I would only add one thing to all of the advice you have recieved. Find a good mentor who is a man of God that you know and admire.Someone who is wise that you know you will listen to.

 

Mr Coon,

I'm glad you have such a great sense of humor. Your posts are fun and intelligent at the same time. I have learned much from you.

 

Above is a really interesting post.
You may be formally appointed as pastor, but your people identifying you as THEIR pastor is something else, and can be a process for some, and may never happen for others.

The second point is sadly true for many new pastor's.

 

Above is a really interesting post.
You may be formally appointed as pastor, but your people identifying you as THEIR pastor is something else, and can be a process for some, and may never happen for others.

The second point is sadly true for many new pastor's. </font>[/QUOTE]The exception to this is when you start your own church, especially when most of your church people are those you've won to Christ rather than disaffected members from other churches who start every new church in town and leave it after a year. When you start a church with those God has used you to win, you are their only pastor from the start!