Tip #6: Seek Out A Good Debate
The word “debate” likely causes you to think of presidential debates, which are not debates at all. They are more like playground fights for big boys. Don’t seek out a debate like that. In fact, avoid them. “Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but any fool will quarrel” (Proverbs 20:3). I’m talking about debate in the classic, liberal-arts tradition: a robust, thoughtful clash of ideas. It’s a skill that’s been all but lost in our postmodern world, where nobody is right but nobody is wrong either. It’s part of your calling to keep the discipline alive for the next generation.
Tip #5: Do More Pastoral Counseling
If you hang out a shingle and say, “I’m open for counseling,” you’ll immediately get all the needy, self-absorbed people who want to use you as their substitute Messiah and Mediator and who can’t afford to pay a professional counselor. Bad idea. Don’t react; be proactive. I’m talking about doing gospel work. Evangelism. Discipleship. What the Porterbrook Network calls “missional visitation.” It’s being a missionary-pastor. One whose goal is not to be a cheap alternative counselor for Christian consumers, but a gospel pacesetter who takes forward the work of the gospel in the lives and hearts of people you’re called to reach.
Tip #4: Spend Less Time on Sermon Prep
Can a pastor spend 30 hours a week on sermon prep out of a deep, unadulterated, pure-hearted love for God and his word? Certainly. I have no doubt that some men do. I also have no doubt that many men lie to themselves about this. Chances are, you are devoting so much time to your sermon because you crave the approval of your people. Or because you want to live up to your own standard of “hard work.” Or because hours spent in study are quantifiable and give you a feeling of achievement.
Tip #3: Become a Wordsmith
There’s a reason why Will Rogers is funny. There’s a reason why people still listen to MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech. There’s a reason why the works of Lewis and Chesterton are classics while Left Behind is just a book. It has to do with the power of words: words fitly chosen, rightly framed, and provocatively delivered. You will probably never be Lewis or Chesterton or MLK. But you should be a keeper of their tradition.
Tip #2: Listen and Read Widely
In the final analysis, listening and reading widely isn’t just about doing what you do, better. It’s about cultivating wisdom. You are a pastor. People expect you to to be conversant in pastoral things – to have wisdom in matters of the soul. Which surgeon would you rather have: one who can explain exactly what he’s going to do and why he believes it’s better than the new experimental procedure they’re testing at Johns Hopkins, or one who says, “Heck with all that newfangled research - this is how we learned to do it in Fresno?”
Four Great Books on Spiritual Formation
This semester, we're laying out the Bible's teaching on spiritual formation in a series called Re:Formation. For those who wish to go deeper in thinking about these issues or helping articulate them to others, here are the top four books I'd recommend on the subject.
Tip #1: Separate Your Identity from Your Vocation
Pastoring is your vocation, not your identity. You must not confuse the two. If you do, then being a pastor becomes more important than pastoring. And in that case, you are not serving God’s people; you are using them. It’s become about you, not them. You have become Saul, not David; Judas, not John.
Ten Tips for Becoming a Better Pastor
Some of the readers of this blog are pastors or aspiring pastors. In the interest of honing the pastoral craft, I wanted to offer ten tips for becoming a better pastor. Readers should not infer from this any hubris on my part. Like baseball, Christian ministry relies on the wisdom of experience. Even a minor-leaguer pitcher who’s still working out his own kinks can help the local Little-League star learn how to throw a curveball. If he doesn’t, he’s betraying the tradition...
Missional Ecclesiology: Problems and Pitfalls (Part 4)
...If Christians do their job well – making disciples – but elders do not lead the mission and equip the saints, the church as a whole will not have a missional culture. People will grow increasingly frustrated with the church’s lack of clarity and direction. Effective disciplemakers will begin using their gifts outside the church... Furthermore, churches that lack good elder leadership usually tend toward a shallow, gospel-deficient theology that fails to stir people’s affections for God and his glory.On the other hand, if the elders do their job well – defining and directing the mission and working hard to equip God’s people for ministry – but individual Christians and missional communities don’t take responsibility for making disciples, the church will plateau or decline as it reaches its leadership ceiling. With the pastors carrying the entire burden of discipleship, the church’s capacity for growth and multiplication will be severely restricted. New leaders will not be raised up and new churches will not be planted...
Missional Ecclesiology: Problems and Pitfalls (Part 3)
...Elders define the mission by answering the who question: “Of whom we are seeking to make disciples?” Elders direct the mission by answering the how question: “How are we going to make disciples? What specific ministry philosophy, structures, and processes will we use to apply the unchanging truth of Scripture to this particular people group?” By answering these questions, elders create a context for discipleship. They build a structure – a specific local church – within which the work of discipleship can take place. When elders do their job well by creating a healthy local church, Christians can do their job well by making disciples within the context of that church community.