Pastoral Leadership

Abraham Lincoln, in his First Inaugural Address, undoubtedly echoed the sentiments of most Gospel preachers when he said, “I am loath to close.”

One of the most dangerous aspects of success in any work of God is that it would lead to complacency. The truth is, it is easier to rejoice in a victory of the past and simply maintain going forward than it is to take continual faith-filled risks and build.

We started our first building when I was twenty-three years old. There was much I did not know. Thankfully, I received wise counsel. We had our share of issues, but the building projects went fairly well. Here are a few thoughts to consider as you conduct a building program:

As a Baptist pastor of a Baptist church, I believe that each of these distinctives are not only biblical, but they are vital. They are doctrinal. And doctrine matters.

Those who serve as spiritual leaders have the joy of investing themselves in the spiritual growth of others. You prepare messages, lessons, and events, preach sermons, teach classes, and give of yourself in all the ways that contribute toward building others in spiritual growth.

In every work of God, there comes a point when a leader must ask, “Am I content to move forward in maintenance mode, or will I continue to build?” In theory, this question sounds simple. Who wouldn’t want to continue building, especially when you are co-laboring with Christ in building that which He has promised to bless?

So often, when those we lead and love are hurting, we hurt too. We hurt for them, and, in many cases, we also feel the loss they are experiencing. When we are hurting with others, how do we, as spiritual leaders, extend God’s grace to them?

Every pastor longs to see young men and women of the next generation serving the Lord in the ministry. What are the elements involved in that taking place? Why do some churches regularly see God calling teenagers and then those teens being trained and serving in ministry as young adults?

You’ve heard it said: “Use the church to build people, not people to build the church.” Of course, building people and building a church are not mutually exclusive. Both require partnering with Christ, the Master Builder, as He builds His church and His people.

A few weeks ago, I was told that my wife and I needed to take a break and rest. At first, I hesitated, considering how busy things have been at Shawnee in recent months. But after discussing it with Amanda, we agreed that we could use a few days by ourselves.

Over the years, I have learned that the term budgeting has different meanings for different people. I recently read a definition that described a budget as, “An orderly system of living beyond our means.”

What spiritual leader hasn’t drawn encouragement from Nehemiah 2:18? But for that encouragement to be more than an emotional boost, we need specific ways to put it into practice.

Nearly every pastor or church leader knows the burden of carrying the financial responsibilities of a ministry.

The local church does not get to choose whether or not it will have a ministry of counseling. Churches are made up of people, and people will always be encountering situations that require biblical direction and guidance.

I’ve known for some years that the Sunday evening service in Baptist churches has been on the decline. But I read a recent statistic by researcher Thom Rainer stating that only 5 percent of churches have a Sunday evening service. That number startled me.

For the Bible-believing Christian, anything that could be called a true advancement will be in a direction leading to basic, New Testament Christianity. So in a sense, it will be going back.

The best part of most new year’s goals is the first week of January. Adrenaline runs high, and success seems just within reach. And then the second week of January comes. And the adrenaline-based enthusiasm wanes.

Recently, I began thinking of the intangible gifts that staff members give to me on a regular basis, and I came up with a list of ten. (I’m sure there are many times more.)

We all know there are plenty of situations in which good people differ. But why do good people differ? And how can we understand and benefit from these differences?

Our church has been involved in a building project consisting of a 30,000 square foot educational/sports building. We are still in the middle of it, so only God knows how the final chapter will turn out, but here is our story up to this point.