10 things I’ve learned in my first 15 years of Pastoring (part 1)

In February of 2020 I will have pastored for 15 years. All 15 at the same church. It has been a blessing and we have seen many, many great things happen. We have also had our challenges. As I look back on the last 15 years there are a number of lessons that I have learned. In this post and the next I will share 10 of those lessons:

1. Keep the Main thing the Main thing

When I first became Pastor I was privileged to have lunch with a well known, established pastor who had a church that was one of the largest on the east coast. He gave me a piece of advice that has really stuck with me: “The Main Thing is to keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing”. For his church it was Evangelism. Their church made evangelism the core of everything they did. The Gospel, our stand on the Word of God and Evangelism of the lost must be the Main things!

2. The battles have changed

The things we battled just 15 years ago in the ministry have changed dramatically. When I first became a pastor we were concerned about holding true to our Bible version. We were worried about rebellious attitudes in our youth. We used to debate whether the tithe should be on the gross or the net. Fifteen years later, those things are still issues, but they seem lost in the midst of the decay of the family. Now we are worried about our youth committing suicide or having a drug overdose. Now we are battling the ever increasing demand of peoples time through their work or hobbies that keep them from faithful church attendance. Now we are worried about keeping our congregation safe from an active shooter. Things have changed.

3. Communicate with your missionaries

I have learned the importance of keeping good communication with our missionaries. The ability to do this has clearly been enhanced through technology, but so few churches really communicate with their missionaries. We expect them to communicate with us – but seldom do our missionaries know what is going on with us.

4. KidMin rules.

Children’s ministries (often referred to in church as KidMin) is essential to building and growing a church. Having the right people in place. Having the right programs and curriculum. Having the right facilities. All of these are essential. We run our church nursery like a professional day care facility and the parents love it.

5. Don’t take things to heart – good or bad

I’ve learned to grow thicker skin. I cannot take things to heart whether good or bad. I have so often found that the people that make the most over the top compliments end up getting upset and leaving. I had a man tell me a number of years ago that I preached like Charles Spurgeon. Seriously. Like he was around to hear Spurgeon! I am no Charles Spurgeon. Not even close. He left our church a few months later. React the same with criticism. Look at the source. Evaluate their concerns. Make corrections if necessary and move on.

• I will share lessons 6 – 10 in my next post.

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