Tag: control

  • Letter #21–Rest

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         Rest, ah, rest.  What an elusive term for the small church pastor.  As the one person who is tasked with making sure the congregation moves forward, you are often placed in the position of never getting any rest.  Or at least that seems to be the case.  However, I assure you that rest is possible, and I also assure you that it is necessary if you want to maintain your health—physically, mentally, emotionally and especially, spiritually.

         I know the temptation to not stop.  I completely understand the pressures that come from all sides.  I have already been down that street and have long ago used that t-shirt for a grease rag.

         Your personal rest is probably more important to the health of your congregation than you realize.  If the shepherd is exhausted, the sheep will not be cared for as much as they should be.  The best pasture or safest watering hole may be overlooked.  The wolves might even begin to draw near to the sheepfold because the shepherd is not as alert as possible and may not be completely aware of what’s happening in the surroundings of the flock.

         You know about and have probably taught your people the need for the Sabbath’s rest in their lives.  I admonish you to walk your own talk in this matter.  You must—YOU MUST—get regular rest.  You need it just as much as they do.  Just like your congregants, if you are tired all the time, you will not be at the top of your game as their pastor.  Again–You must get regular rest.

         Now, how can you accomplish that?  First, go back and re-read Letter #1.  Next, make up your mind that you are going to get some regular rest.  (You won’t take action unless you decide to take action.)  Then, with all the love and grace you can muster, tell your congregation which day of the week you have chosen for your day of rest.  Finally, take it!

         Arrange for one or two of your leaders to handle necessary items on your day of rest.  Let the people know who they should call on your day of rest, and place your trust in them to be leaders that day.  I promise you, the church will not disintegrate if you take a day off.  If an emergency arises, deal with it if you absolutely have to, and then go back to your rest.  (Even an ox that had fallen into a ditch was rescued on the Sabbath.) 

         Let your day of rest be a special day when you relax, refresh your own relationship with God and enjoy the simple pleasures of family and friends.  Take a nap or two.  Turn off the screens—all of them—and sit in the yard or on your porch with a glass of tea or a cup of coffee and let the ice melt and the cup get cold as you take in all the majesty of the world God has created. 

         Open your mind to listen to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to you in the silence.  Pick up that book you’ve been meaning to start and start it.  If you’re a fast reader, you might even finish it in one day.  Listen to some good music without answering the phone.  Make some homemade ice cream and gather your family to enjoy your creation. 

         As you enjoy this day of rest, focus on doing things you know will calm your mental, emotional and spiritual self.  Avoid things that make you feel more physically tired at the end of the day than they are worth.  Remember, this is a day to rejuvenate yourself in every area of your life.

         You may be saying to yourself that you don’t see how it is possible you could take a Sabbath’s rest during the week.  You’re wrong in that thought.  My friend, you are not the one who is in ultimate control of this universe.  If your church falls apart because you are not present for one day a week, then the place you call “church” is not being built by Jesus.  I don’t mean to sound hard here, but no one person is completely indispensable to a congregation every day of the week. 

         You can set aside a day, and you need to do so, because you won’t last in ministry if you don’t get the rest you need.  You’ll burn out.  You’ll be consumed by the responsibilities and pressures.  You’ll find yourself resenting the phone calls and texts.  You’ll begin to wonder if you really were called into ministry as you become more and more exhausted from all the activities and questions and crises and problems and meetings—all that everything stuff.

         This letter is a little longer than most, but you need to understand just how important getting a day of rest is to your ministry.  Your enthusiasm will be re-energized.  Your clarity in thought will become focused again.  Your commitment to God’s work will be renewed.  Your emotions will come under control.  Your spirit will be built up by God’s spirit.  Your body will not feel as worn out.  Your whole self will be a better person for the people who follow your guidance as their shepherd.

         “Remember the Sabbath day.”  Rest.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #9–The Boss

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         The first summer job I had as a teenager was loading watermelons for a local farmer.  He was the one who contacted me to come to work, and he was the one who gave me my “job description” in relationship to all the other farmhands he employed.  He was the one who paid me at the end of the day or week, depending on the job we had to complete.  He was the boss.  (Just to let you know how long ago that was, the going rate for teenaged farm labor was $.50/hour, which netted us $5 at the end of a 10-hour day.)

         We all knew who the boss was, and we all knew we were expected to live up to his expectations when it came to handling the melons correctly as they were harvested and loaded for transport from the field to the packing house.  We knew he had the answers to any questions about our work that we might have.  We also knew any correction or discipline that might become necessary in the field would come from him.  After all, he was the boss.     

         When you were called (contacted) by God and given a job to do as a minister in His kingdom, God became your spiritual “boss.”  God is the one who established your job description.  God is the one who placed you in the body of Christ as a pastor.  He is the one to whom you answer and the one from whom you will receive any necessary discipline.  God is the one who will reward you at the end of your time in his “field.”

         Why am I making this comparison?  Simply put, we sometimes forget who the boss is.  Pastors sometimes forget whose expectations we need to meet and who it is that anoints us, equips us, guides us and, yes, even disciplines us as we move forward for His kingdom.  We sometimes forget who it is for whom we are working.

         Pastors are given to the church by God.  Church administrative boards, deacon boards, and congregations did not create the office of pastor.  God created this office, and he did so in order for the members of His church to be guided, strengthened, and motivated to become mature in faith and successful in fulfilling God’s great commission to go out into all the world and make disciples and God’s great commandments to first love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and then to love one another with unconditional love.

         In our modern church environment, pastors are often misled by social constructs and traditions into thinking man is the boss.  We are told to “read the by-laws and go by them.”  We are told the “board” has the last say on all matters.  We are separated from our ministry partners by the titles “clergy” and “laity,” and heaven forbid if we don’t follow the prescribed patterns set by our ancestors.  We’re even sometimes threatened by dismissal if we do not adhere to what has always been done in a particular church setting.  Essentially, we are deceived into believing man and his rules are our boss. 

         There is nothing wrong with traditions, by-laws, titles and patterns within the confines of a congregation.  They help to create stability and purpose in a congregation.  However, if these concepts are not used properly under the spiritual umbrellas that God places within a congregation, they tend to tempt people into trying to become “the boss” in response to those traditions, by-laws, titles and patterns.  (More about spiritual umbrellas in another letter.) 

         When a congregation understands the Biblical role of the pastor in relationship to the congregation, it is less likely to try to become the one to whom the pastor is ultimately accountable.  The expectations of the congregation will reflect the expectations God has already established for the office of pastor.  The pastor can then fulfill his responsibilities to God’s calling without having to worry about whether or not he is keeping the congregation contented because they have expectations that do no line up with God’s expectations as noted in scriptures.  The congregation and the pastor will both know who is in charge of the body of believers called the church.

         This knowledge will empower and liberate the pastor.  A congregation who understands who the pastor’s boss is will allow the pastor to flow in God’s anointing.  They will accept God’s messages that come to them through the pastor and will learn how to apply those messages to their lives.  They will be a blessing to their spiritual leader because they want to obey the boss as much as the leader does.  Such a congregation allows the pastor to bring truth into their lives, and that truth is brought without fear of rejection by those who learn it.

         That type of congregation can exist.  The Pastor will have to teach the congregation who is in control of his ministry and who is in control of the overall ministry of the congregation.  Among other concepts, the pastor will have to help everyone involved understand who the head of the church is, what the pastor’s Biblical job description is, and what the individual disciples of Christ should be doing as they all minister under the auspices of God.  The pastor who leads such a congregation will be a blessing to them, and they will be a blessing to the pastor.

         First, though, the pastor must remember who “the boss” is.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor