Tag: Jesus

  • Letter #37 (Talents)

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

        (This one is a spiritual exercise as much as it is a letter.)

         Another indicator in determining your priorities is where you invest your talents (skills, abilities, God-given spiritual gifts).  You haven’t just learned knowledge that you can utilize.  You also have innate, natural abilities that come to you from your genetic makeup.  And the Holy Spirit has gifted you with one or more spiritual gifts as described in the New Testament letters.  All these combine to create a long list of talents you possess.

         Here are the questions you know are coming—How are you using your talents?  Where do you invest your knowledge and skills?  Have you shared your spiritual gifts with others to their benefit?

         Take a quick inventory.  What skills do you possess?  What specialized knowledge?  What spiritual gifts?

         Well, what are they?  I challenge you to make a list of what your talents are.  Go ahead.  Make an honest list.  Take a few minutes and write them down.

         Now that you have the list, what talents would you like to add to the list?  Write those down, too.

         How many of these talents are being used to bring glory to Jesus?  How many of them are strengthening the body of Christ?  How many of them are “the better gifts” that are designed to encourage and build up other disciples?

         At this point, it would be good for you to talk to the Holy Spirit and ask to be given the gifts He has available for you because scripture says He will give them out according to His will and His choice.  Then ask Him to help you develop any new gift He decides to give you and any new skill/knowledge He opens the door for you to acquire.

         Look at that list!  You are talented!  You have skills!  You have knowledge!  You have spiritual gifts!

         Use your talents to benefit the Kingdom of God.  If you are using some of them for other reasons than benefitting God’s Kingdom, ask yourself what those reasons are.  Then pray about the reasons that may not be helping others to get closer to God.  Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance if you believe you need to redirect some of your talents.  Ask God to show you how to use your talents best for your own growth, for our family’s future and for the advancement of the body of Christ.

         Remember, you will invest your talents into your priorities.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #26–Frustration

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         Let’s talk about frustration for a bit.  We’ve all felt frustration.  When someone is a pastor, that feeling can appear from nowhere and last much longer than we would like to admit. 

         A carpenter can work on building a structure, and, at the end of the week, he can look on what he has accomplished because he can see visible results.  The frame is completed.  The roof is covered.  The windows are installed.  The walls are insulated.  He easily can review his progress, because the results of his labor are evident.

         Those obvious results of labor that can exist for a carpenter are not going to be so obvious for the pastor.  The pastor may teach on generosity for a month and not see an increase in giving of time, talents or treasure for six months.  The shepherd may steadily encourage his congregation to daily read their Bibles and not hear anyone mention having a regular devotion for the entire year.  The pastor may pray for someone to draw close to God’s forgiveness and not see anything happen for months, even years.

         Example: I once met a couple who started attending our worship services and discovered they were living together but not married.  I began praying that their relationship would be influenced by the Holy Spirit and that they would realize that marriage was God’s established institution and that their relationship should line up with God’s intended plan for one man and one woman.  After praying for them for over three years, they contacted me and asked me if I would lead a marriage ceremony for them.  I joyfully performed that ceremony and thanked God for that answer to prayer.  I admit that I had been frustrated that it took so long for them to ask to be married.

         The result of all that not seeing regular evidences of the ministry’s effects on the lives of the congregation can lead to frustration.  And when that frustration appears, it can have devastating effects on the pastor.  We all want to see that what we are doing is bringing positive changes into the lives of those to whom we are ministering.  But the reality is that our evidences many times do not come quickly.  In fact, we begin to wonder if they will come at all.  And we become frustrated and might begin to question our calling.

           How do we deal with frustration?  How do we battle that nagging thought that we are not accomplishing what we hope and pray about accomplishing for the cause of Christ?

         First, remember the source of the frustration.  God does not lead you into doubting His call on your life.  The Holy Spirit will not put thoughts of quitting into your head because of lack of obvious results.  Frustration does not come from the one who wants to see all come to repentance and to be forgiven.  It comes from the enemy of your calling, your very soul.  The next time you feel frustrated at what seems to be no results in what you are doing, remember that doubt, that fear, that worry does not come from good.  Frustration is from the evil one who is fighting your ministry. 

         Second, remember who made you, who called you, who empowered you and who promised you success if you will just trust in Him.  Jesus is the one who assured you that there will be a harvest if the seeds are planted.  Jesus is the one who put you where you are.  The Holy Spirit is your guide, comforter, teacher and source of energy.

         After remembering those two things and talking to yourself about what they mean to your ministry, go read Psalm 22.  Then read it again, slowly.  Can you see the frustration David experienced?  Can you sense his doubt and fear?  Now, do you see what David did in the middle of his frustration?  Do you understand how he dealt with it?

         Psalm 22 describes someone who is at a very low point.  It describes someone who is mocked, persecuted and at the mercy of enemies.  But that someone remembers what God has done in the past.  Then he prays for deliverance.  The next thing he does is state that he will proclaim God’s name to others.  He praises the Lord and declares future generations, even those not born yet, will hear about the wonders the Lord has performed.

         In the midst of his frustration, David turned to God and refocused on God’s power, protection, provision, promises and presence.  In the midst of your frustration, I encourage you to do the same. 

         Remember just how powerful God is and how the Father has placed all authority in heaven and on earth in the name of Jesus. 

         Remember every time God has protected you, not just form physical injury, but also from spiritual attack. 

         Remember every time you saw God provide for your own family and the families of those you shepherd. 

         Remember Jesus’ promises to those who place their trust in Him. 

         And remember how fulfilling, how empowering, how motivating it is to be in the Holy Spirit’s presence as you praise and worship your Lord and King.

         When you focus on all these memories, you will have found the key to dealing with and overcoming frustration that David found in Psalm 22.  Frustration may come, but you can defeat it.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #23–Changing Others–1

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         This letter will begin a mini-series on the topic of changing others. 

         The very first thing you need to understand is that YOU cannot change anyone.  You can lead them, advise them and make suggestions to them, but you cannot make the decisions that must be made in order for a change to occur in anyone, especially not in a whole congregation of people.  Only the Holy Spirit can bring in the changes that will help your people become more like Jesus.  Remember who is in control and who is building the church Jesus established so long ago.

         That being said–

         When it comes to changing others, after we start working on changing ourselves, there are numerous issues that must be addressed before any changes in a congregation can occur.  Do the people see a need for change?  Are they willing to make any changes?  Are they completely controlled by their routines and comfort zones?  How open-minded are they when it comes to temporary changes as opposed to permanent changes?  I could go on, but you get the idea.

         Then there are the unseen taboos that exist that are never mentioned until the pastor (that would be you) suggests a change, even if the change is for a few days.  Example: I once wanted to cover a painting, which was located on the back wall of the platform, with a large drape for a couple of weeks during a special sermon series.  When I mentioned the idea to the people, I was immediately reprimanded for wanting to cover a painting that had been donated by one of the “founding fathers” of the church.  The period of a few days was immaterial.  I wanted to cover a “sacred cow” in the minds of some of the people.  Sacred cows fall under the list of taboos.

         Back to the matter of changing others–Any time a pastor is faced with the understanding that a change needs to be made, there are some questions that need to be asked.  Is the change necessary for the spiritual development of the congregation, or is this a change motivated by the latest trends in congregational structure and operation that are being instituted in other locations?  Example: About fifteen or twenty years ago, a local pastor set up a week-long revival at his church and felt led by the Holy Spirit to invite different speakers for each night of the revival.  The revival was a glowing success.  The next pastor down the road decided to do the same and held a revival with different speakers.  The next pastor farther down the road did just like the others were doing and had several speakers at his annual revival.

         As I watched what was happening, I realized the first pastor had followed the direction of the Holy Spirit and had been rewarded with a great outreach to his community.  It appeared to me that the others had looked at what he had done and decided that God was now moving by having revivals with several speakers.  I’m not judging the others for their decisions.  I am merely stating a pattern that I saw developing during each repetition of the original revival.  Many churches still follow that pattern in our area years later.

         Getting back to the question, again—do you feel that the change will help your congregation grow spiritually?  If the answer is “no,” then ask yourself why you want to make the change.  Remember, your motivations will have a definite impact on your congregation and its future.  If the answer is “yes,” ask yourself what would be the best way to make the change.  Remember, as their pastor, you should always seek what is best for the congregation as the Holy Spirit directs your steps.

         Here are some suggestions when you believe a change will help your congregation grow in their relationships with Jesus:

         Pray, pray and then pray some more before introducing the idea of any change to the structure or operation of the church.  Then ask the congregation to pray with you as you seek the Lord’s guidance about the future.

         Informally bring up the change in conversations with various members of the congregation beginning with your leaders.  Ask them “How do you feel about….” types of questions and really listen to their answers.

         Be patient.  If you’re going to move the piano, do it one inch at a time.  Changes that are lasting should occur in small increments whenever possible.  People need time to adjust themselves to new things, no matter how small the changes are.

         Never make a change for the sake of change.  Always have a definite goal in mind, and be sure the goal will benefit your people in the long run.

         As led by the Holy Spirit, minister to your people about the control routines and comfort zones have over everyone’s lives and how to overcome that control through God’s help and direction.  Remember to use examples from your own life and from scripture when you do this.  Don’t try to point out their routines and comfort zones to them.  Rely on the Holy Spirit to do that.

         There is much more to discuss on this topic of changing others through God’s guidance.  We’ll address other things in the next letter.  You already have enough in this one to ponder and pray about as you lead your people into necessary changes.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #13–Not Alone

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         You are not alone.  The devil will do everything he can to make you think you are.  However, whether you remember it or not, you are not alone.

              The enemy of Christ’s kingdom will use any method he can to try to isolate you physically or mentally and convince you that you don’t have any help in pastoring your small congregation.  He will try to make you think being God’s pastor has put you into the position of having no friends, no trusted confidants and no allies in the war against evil.  He will cause people to betray your trust or even desert you in a crisis.  He will do his best to convince you that nobody is responding to your sermons, nobody likes you anymore, nobody takes you seriously and nobody is willing to stick around during the hard times when nothing seems to be going the way you had hoped it would.

         Any time you begin to feel alone in your calling, get alone with your heavenly Father.  Ask Him to renew your calling.  Ask God to revive your spirit with His power.  Ask for wisdom, fresh anointing and a new vision.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you just how many are working beside you to accomplish God’s will in your life.  Ask Him to remind you of who “The Boss” is.

         Remember the great cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 12:1?  There have been millions who have gone before you who have served God.  You’re not the only one in town who is serving him today.  Remember how God had to remind the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19:18 that he wasn’t alone?  You’re not the only one who has had betrayals, troubles, threats or persecutions.  Wake up to these realities and pray until you have defeated Satan’s attempt to put you into a pity-party.

         Probably the most important thing you can do when you begin to feel alone is to remind yourself that Jesus has called you into His service.  He knows what you can do for His kingdom, and Jesus is depending on you to do it.  Remind yourself that Romans 8:26-27 states the Holy Spirit intercedes for YOU.  Remind yourself that Jesus Himself is at the right hand of God making intercession for YOU. (Romans 8:34)  Remind yourself that in John 17:20 Jesus prayed for all those who would believe in Him because of the message His disciples would spread, and that includes YOU.  Simply put, remind yourself that Jesus is on your side, and “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31)

         There are millions of fellow disciples of Jesus around the world and in your own community today fighting the same battles you are.  You are not alone.

         Jesus and the Holy Spirit are on your side and are interceding for you.  You are not alone.

    You are not alone.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #7–K.I.S.S. Revisited

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         In the first installment for K.I.S.S., I suggested you include the members of your congregation as ministry partners in order to simplify your life.  I pray you are encouraging your membership as they develop the gifts and talents resident in your congregation in order to accomplish that aspect of keeping ministry simple.

         Allow me to make a second recommendation toward achieving a more simple life for yourself and your congregation.  When preparing sermons or Bible lessons, focus on Jesus.  Focus on who Jesus is, what he has accomplished, what he taught his original disciples, and what he promised to do for, in and through them.  Focus on the gospel message and how to live out the teachings of Christ.  You will find that centering your message on the good news that there is forgiveness through faith in Jesus will simplify your ministry.

         Satan will try to get you sidetracked from this central message.  Remember he is the source of confusion, division and strife.  Satan will try to get you involved in arguments over controversial doctrinal points.  He will attempt to bring factional “us versus them” thinking into your congregation, and, if he can, he will use you to create unintended factions within your attenders through what seems to be innocent questions.

         Always remember Satan is a deceiver, a manipulator and a thief, and he wants nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy the works you and your congregation are doing for the kingdom of God.  In order to achieve his insidious purposes, he works through people to bring up “What do you think about…” kinds of questions.  He uses, “I heard…,” “I’m confused about…,” or “My friend/uncle/brother/neighbor/etc. says….”

         It’s during these seemingly innocent times that your spiritual enemy is working to complicate your life and ministry by getting you to “major on the minors” in life.  To combat these deceptions, I encourage you to always use scriptures in answering any question that might be a controversial subject.  My normal response to any doctrinal issue that arises is, “Let’s see what the Bible says about this.”  Always remember that the Bible holds the truth about any situation that arises in life.  What I think about a situation does not matter when it comes to what the Bible actually says.  Taken in its proper context, scripture always has the correct answer to any question, even the ones the devil tries to use to complicate ministry.

         When those controversial subjects arise, and they will arise eventually, attempt to steer the conversation back to the simplicity of the gospel.  If that fails, allow the Holy Spirit the opportunity to speak through scriptures to those who are posing the questions.  Remember Paul’s advice to his protégé Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20 to “…avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.” KJV (“Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge.” NLT)

         Allow me to give an example of this concept for maintaining simplicity in ministry.  A missionary we know operates in a country where the population is over 99% non-Christian.  He never compares Christianity to that national faith, nor does he debate the ideology of the other faith’s founder to that of Jesus.  He only talks about Jesus and his teachings.  His ministry is very successful, reaching over 9 million people monthly through various media avenues.  That success is influenced by the fact that he keeps his ministry focused on Jesus only.

         Focus on the simplicity of the good news about Jesus as much as is possible in every facet of your ministry.  If some divisive topic rears its head, go to scripture for guidance and rely on the Holy Spirit to deal with those topics as only he can by moving in the hearts and minds of those involved.  Remember:  KISS.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #4 (K.I.S.S.)

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

                K.I.S.S. (Not the rock band.) Keep.  It.  Simple.  Stupid.  It’s been said so much that it has become a cliché.  But it’s still a great rule of thumb for ministry.  The gospel is the simple and uncomplicated news that anyone can be restored to a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus because Jesus is the Messiah.  The enemy of your ministry will do anything he can to prevent you from staying on track with that simple, uncomplicated message.

                As pastors of a small part of God’s flock, we feel responsible for any and all activities, programs, outreaches, hospital visits, encouraging phonecalls, discipleship training, prayer meetings, youth outings, special songs on Sundays, or any other “good works” that occur in, for or through our congregations.  As the shepherd of that local flock, you definitely are the leader of the flock and should be aware of what’s going on in, for and through the flock.  But you have not been called to do all the good works yourself.

                Each sheep in your flock has been given gifts, talents and strengths by the Holy Spirit.  Part of your job is to help the sheep discover the attributes God has placed in their lives and to use them to fulfill the work of the whole body in the local church.  The body won’t achieve its calling from God if the only part working is the heart.  You do not have to do everything by yourself.

                Satan tries to get you to become so busy directing all the activities of the congregation that you lose focus of what your job as pastor really is.  He tries to complicate your life with so many meetings, reports, trips, and responsibilities that you forget to focus on the good news you are to keep before them as they mature as disciples.

                The truth of the matter is that you are to help your people become mature disciples so they can take their place in ministry within the local church body beside you as the whole congregation moves forward for the kingdom of God.  The truth of the matter is that you cannot do it all by yourself, and I, personally, believe you will overload and undermine your ministry if you try to do everything alone.  Sometimes we small church pastors become so distracted in our ministry that we fail to realize this.

                We become overwhelmed by ministry because, without recognizing what is happening, we have allowed the devil to complicate what we do for God’s kingdom.  I’ll say it again—you do not have to do everything by yourself.  One effective way to uncomplicate your ministry is by including your congregation in ministry.  And teach them to keep their own ministry uncomplicated, too.

                The gospel is simple.  Ministry does not have to be so complicated that we lose sight of that simplicity. 

    K.I.S.S.  (More to come about this topic later.)

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor