February of 2020 marks 15 years that I have been a pastor and all 15 have been with the Cedar Hill Baptist Church of Dillsburg, PA. These have been the best years of my life but there are things I wish I had done differently and things I wish just were different. Here is my top 5 list:
- Caring too much what people think – making everyone happy. I am a non-confrontational person. I genuinely want people to be happy. I think I go out of my way to accommodate or pacify people. However – I am not here to please man but to please God. I have learned this the hard way over the last six months and I believe God has taught me that it matters not what man thinks and it is not my job to make people happy.
- That we don’t see more become believers. We have seen our church grow steadily over 15 years but I am saddened that the majority of that growth is from people moving into our area or from people moving to our church from another church. They are usually established Christians. I am glad we can be a home to them and it really makes my job easier, but I believe our fist calling is the Great Commission and we should be busy reaching the lost and disciplining them in the faith. We see too little of that.
- It doesn’t get easier for family. I grew up in a Pastor’s family. It is all that I have ever known. My own children are now grown, but it really doesn’t get easier for the Pastor’s family. The invasion of privacy and the invasion on your personal time is something that continues to be an obstacle from time to time.
- I struggle at delegating. I find it is usually easier to just do things myself. I am learning (and still struggling) with delegating to others. It is my job as pastor or equip and train. It is not my job to just do it myself.
- The Devil is strong – families still fall apart. No matter the messages preached, lessons taught and time spent – families and marriages continue to fall apart. Satan is attacking them and too often he is winning victories. I wish I had a better answer for hurting spouses and a better defense against the wiles of the Devil.
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