{"id":32312,"date":"2022-09-10T16:04:38","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/5-pastoral-promises-we-need-to-make\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:04:38","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:04:38","slug":"5-pastoral-promises-we-need-to-make","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/5-pastoral-promises-we-need-to-make\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Pastoral Promises We Need to Make"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Joel Rainey<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019re almost through the first month of the new year, and guess what? I still haven\u2019t fallen off the resolutions wagon.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because I never jumped on. I just don\u2019t do resolutions. In fact, I typically don\u2019t like people who do (can I be that honest?)<\/p>\n

For years, I didn\u2019t go to my local gym from January to February. It was so full of people who\u2019d resolved to get in better shape that it felt like an hour wait to get on the stair climber. And if you were waiting for a lane to swim in, you\u2019d better take a day off!<\/p>\n

So I just bowed out for the first two months, knowing the \u201cresolved\u201d wouldn\u2019t be so resolved by St. Patrick\u2019s Day. I could head back to the stair climber without having to take a number, and the \u201cnot so resolved\u201d could return to their couches.<\/p>\n

Resolutions typically don\u2019t work. They\u2019re only as effective as your knuckles are white and your grip is strong. By April, most of us feel like failures\u2013if not by February or March!<\/p>\n

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Even so, for pastors, there are some resolutions worth making\u2014and keeping! As I write these words, we\u2019re only 25 days into the new year. And some of you hate this year already!<\/p>\n

Most churches \u201cstart slowly\u201d in the new year, meaning those huge crowds at Christmas have disappeared. Even many of your regulars are having a hard time getting themselves out of bed.<\/p>\n

January also tends to be a slow month financially for most churches. Many pastors, as a result, feel like the church was moving ahead wonderfully only to land in a ditch somewhere between December 25 and January 1. And wheels are still spinning!<\/p>\n

Obsessing over such things can wreck your whole year. Instead, let me suggest you make some promises to yourself.<\/p>\n

1. Take Care of Yourself<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Make sure you\u2019re getting adequate diet, rest, and exercise. Commit to going to bed by a decent hour. If you have a TV in your bedroom, get it out of there! Let the bedroom be the one place where \u201cwhite noise\u201d doesn\u2019t invade your mind and soul.<\/p>\n

Commit to physical activity at least three times per week. Whether it\u2019s something as physically taxing as racquetball or something as easy as taking a walk, do something<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Take your Sabbath\u2014whenever that is\u2014and guard it as if your life depends on it. It does!<\/p>\n

Too many of us are overweight, overworked, and overstressed. And too many of us have no one to blame except the guy we see in the mirror every day.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re no good to your people if you\u2019re dead. Make this the year you finally put a stake in the ground when it comes to taking care of yourself.<\/p>\n

2. If you have a family, take care of them<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In recent years, a false binary relationship between church and family has emerged. Many pastors know \u201cmy family comes first\u201d is a phrase used by our members to excuse themselves from having to participate in any meaningful service.<\/p>\n

When this happens, the greatest temptation for a pastor is to fill that gap himself. And while the \u201cbalance of family and church\u201d isn\u2019t as binary as some of our people think it is, there’s a difference between \u201cchurch work\u201d and \u201cthe work of the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

Always give yourself to the latter. But when it comes to the former, don\u2019t let it hurt your relationship with your family.<\/p>\n

There are going to be pastoral emergencies. During those times, we need our families to understand. Dad may not always make it home for dinner. That\u2019s the nature of ministry.<\/p>\n

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See also  Is It \u2018Ministry Failure\u2019 To See a Counselor?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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However, someone needing a key to the building isn\u2019t a \u201cpastoral emergency.\u201d Someone asking a question about Scripture via a Facebook private message can wait.<\/p>\n

The ministry leader who calls frantic that the tech isn\u2019t working properly for his Thursday night class can likely get help from someone in that same class.<\/p>\n

If you have family at home, commit this year to be present with them more often.<\/p>\n

3. Focus on the Faithful<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Paul put it this way to Timothy: \u201cWhat you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also\u201d (2 Timothy 2:2).<\/p>\n

Love and pray for those folks who only show up at Christmas and Easter. Be kind and loving toward those people who, when there\u2019s work to be done, are suddenly and conspicuously absent.<\/p>\n

But at the center of your church is a core of faithful servants of the Lord. As the pastor, you can either spend your time grumbling about the \u201clack of commitment\u201d among the crowd, or you can be thankful for the core God has given you.<\/p>\n

Spend the overwhelming majority of your time doing what Paul commands\u2014develop your people so they can develop others just like them. Commit to focus on the faithful.<\/p>\n

4. Measure the right stuff<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s be honest. The culture of western Christendom doesn\u2019t make this easy.<\/p>\n

The same leaders who tell us repeatedly \u201cit\u2019s not about the numbers,\u201d are the same leaders who constantly feature the \u201cfastest-growing\u201d among us.<\/p>\n

And since we tend to become the very thing we celebrate, that environment can leave every pastor in America obsessed with how many seats were empty last week.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, we can\u2019t focus on making disciples if most of our attention is focused on bringing in a crowd. The pastors who\u2019ve managed by God\u2019s grace to draw those crowds\u2014if they\u2019re spiritually healthy pastors\u2014will tell you it started with years and years of developing disciples.<\/p>\n

Too many pastors fret over an empty seat when they should be rejoicing over the marriage that was healed just last week.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely God is doing amazing things you aren\u2019t noticing if you aren\u2019t looking in the right place. Commit to measure the right stuff.<\/p>\n

5. Above all, please Jesus<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is just another year. 365 days. 8,760 hours. 525,600 minutes. Just a tad more than 31 million seconds.<\/p>\n

For a follower of Jesus, the importance of this short period of time is exclusively connected to how you invest it for eternity.<\/p>\n

When the budget is lagging, when staff and volunteers resign, and when the critics pile on, how we react in those moments should be governed by a moment yet to come.<\/p>\n

I want to hear \u201cwell done\u201d when that moment comes. Commit to, above all, please the One who called you to this task.<\/p>\n

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Joel Rainey<\/h2>\n

@joelrainey<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Joel is the lead pastor of Covenant Church in Shepherdstown, W. Va. He\u2019s husband to Amy, father of three, serves on the adjunct faculty of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary,\u00a0is the author of four books, and blogs at Themelios.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n