Role models for ministers

In my reading last night the author shared some of the role models, or mentors, a number of well-known ministers had that shaped them and their ministries. He then concluded that every minister must have a role model or mentor who inspires and instructs them. That made me begin thinking of the persons who have shaped my life and ministry. Most of these people I never met, but I have drank deeply from their writings.

Charles Swindoll has influenced my preaching. I have several of his books in my library, and I have listened to numerous sermons he gave while pastor at First Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton, CA. He shared stories and used humor to illustrate his messages, and I have followed his example. He is an excellent communicator whose example has helped me be a better speaker.

I have an entire section of leadership books in my library by a number of different authors, but no one has taught me more about leadership that John Maxwell. His books fill an entire shelf. There is no better book on leadership than The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership which was my introduction to Maxwell. He has taught me more about leadership than anyone else I know, and this has had an enormous impact on my ministry.

Another large section of my library is naturally dedicated to ministry and books on pastoring. The person who has most impacted me in this area of my life is Gary McIntosh. I am constantly going to his book What Every Pastor Should Know for insights on different aspects of church ministry. I appreciate his practical approach to ministry and his love and commitment to the church. I had the opportunity to meet Gary at a conference in which we were both speaking. During a time when we had no obligations we spent time talking about the church. His insights were so helpful and continue to be so.

William Lane Craig has been a mentor to me in the area of apologetics and theology. As a judicatory minister for 14 years I spent a lot of time driving to my various churches. I would download podcasts on my I-Pod to listen to while on the road. One of the podcasts I followed was Craig's. I will admit that he is sometimes over my head, but that helped stretch my thinking on the topics he would address. He also helped me understand how important it is that I can defend my Christian beliefs, and how important it is as a pastor that I help those I serve be able to defend their beliefs.

The Cathedral Quartet, a Southern Gospel quartet, has inspired me to be faithful in ministry. Glen Payne and George Younce were the founding members of this group who performed from 1964-1999. I was in attendance at the National Quartet Convention when Glen Payne called from a hospital to thank the people for their support over the years. A few weeks later he passed away. That night I felt God telling me that was the kind of faithfulness to my ministry that He wanted me to have. At the convention the next year a print of these two gentlemen was offered for sale. I have a copy of it hanging in from of my desk to remind me to be faithful to the calling God has given me.

Others who have mentored me through their writings, lives and sermons would include Tim Keller, John MacArthur, Jr., Billy Graham, Thom Rainer, Ed Stetzer, Jerry Falwell, Elmer Towns and others. I may disagree with some of them on some points, but they have greatly impacted my ministry.

Upon whose shoulders do you stand? Have you thought about the persons who have mentored you in your journey? Here's one more question: Who are you mentoring?

Finding a good coach

 A few years ago a UMC district asked a number of their experienced pastors to serve as coaches for their bivocational pastors. I was asked to lead a training session to address both coaching and bivocational ministry to these new coaches. I was very impressed with the district's leadership to providing this opportunity to their bivocational pastors and with the coaches willingness to add another responsibility to their busy schedules.

The business world has long known the value of providing coaches to their senior leadership. In fact, some top companies offer coaching as a perk to attract the best leaders to their organizations. The church world has been slower to see the value of coaching for pastors and denominational leaders. This is very unfortunate. I have seen first-hand the value of having a coach.

I had a ministry coach for a year who helped me through a time of confusion in my life and ministry. At the time I was uncertain whether to remain in my current ministry or go in a different direction. I was also considering pursuing my DMin and was uncertain whether this was where God was leading me. Having a wise coach helped add clarity to my choices. I remained in my current ministry and earned my DMin. I am thankful for doing both.

My DMin project and thesis focused on the effect of coaching on bivocational ministers. For the project I coached six bivocational ministers across the US and Canada for three months and wrote about the experience. In my thesis I included statements from each minister about how the coaching experience impacted their lives and ministries. That thesis has been downloaded over 3,300 times. I also wrote a book that detailed that coaching experience titled The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide.

Too many people look at the cost of having a coach rather than the impact it can have on one's life and ministry. It's true that Executive Coaches can cost as much as $750.00 an hour, but ministry coaches charge much less than that. Instead of viewing the cost of having a coach as an expense, it's better to see it as an investment in your future.

If having a coach seems too much, at least allow some experienced pastors mentor you through their books and podcasts. John Maxwell, Charles Swindoll, William Lane Craig, Gary McIntosh and many others have influenced my ministry in many ways through their books and podcasts. Find good people whose books and podcasts speak to you and learn as much as you can from them. Both your personal life and ministry will benefit.

The loss of a mentor

Many bivocational pastors feel they receive little to no support from their denomination or judicatory leaders. That was never my experience. My first Area Minister was very supportive. We talked about issues in the church, he preached several times in our church, and was always available to me. My second Area Minister was Riley Walker who was just as supportive and became an important mentor to me. Riley passed away this past weekend.

Riley and I talked often, and I got to know his heart for ministry and for life. He was a very gracious individual, but he was also not afraid to confront problems head-on. No one ever had to wonder what he thought because he would tell them, and that was one of the things I appreciated about him.

After I had been pastor of my church for a number of years I knew it was about time for me to leave. I felt God was leading me away, but I wasn't sure to where. I called Riley and asked if we could talk about that. He came down to play a round of golf and to discuss my future in the ministry. He suggested there were six different options for me including one I had never considered: serving as an Area Minister. At that time I did not have a seminary degree which I believed was a prerequisite for that role. Riley assured me that things were changing, and in some of our regions a seminary degree might not be required.

About a year or so later Riley accepted the call to serve as the Executive Minister in another region, and our Executive Minister called to ask if I would serve as the interim Area Minister. After my wife and I spent a weekend praying and discussing it, I agreed. I continued to pastor my church and served as the interim Area Minister in the same area Riley had left. Several months later I was offered the position full-time.

When I picked up Riley's files and papers I asked him what he thought my greatest asset would be in this new role. He quickly responded that it would be that I had never pastored a large church. He explained that the majority of the churches in my area were small, many of them bivocational, and I would have access to those churches that he did not have as a former pastor of a large church. I then asked him what my greatest challenge would be, and his answer was the same, that I had never pastored a large church! Some would question whether I had the experience to serve in this role. He turned out to be right on both counts.

For 14 years I served as an Area Minister. It was a great time of ministry, but it would never have happened without Riley's encouragement and the faith and confidence my Executive Minister, Larry Mason, had in me. I owe both men much, and although I did not see Riley very often in recent years I will miss him.

Riley was a mentor not only to me, but to many others as well. What a wonderful legacy! It's one that each of us in church leadership should strive to achieve. I would ask who are you mentoring today? What young leader can you come alongside to encourage and to pass on your experiences and life lessons to? I meet many bivocational, and fully-funded, pastors who want and need a mentor to help them navigate the challenges of ministry. I pray that I have been that mentor to some, and I encourage you to serve as a mentor to others as well.

What do younger pastors need?

At a denominational gathering one day we were discussing the problems younger pastors face when they begin their ministries. I don't think there is little argument that many pastors were not prepared for pastoral ministry by their seminaries. While a seminary education is a good thing, in most cases, many of them do not adequately prepare someone for the challenges of pastoral ministry. While they may have a basic knowledge of biblical languages and understand the history of their denomination, few pastors leave seminary trained in how to lead a meeting or how to deal with church bullies. Few have a good understanding of how to manage their time or how to set priorities and goals.

So many new pastors find themselves in trouble soon after beginning their pastorate, and we were trying to determine how we could best help them. One suggestion was to help them find mentors.

We wanted to match our new pastors with one of our more seasoned ones. Finding a good mentor can be a rewarding experience  regardless of what one is doing at the time. A mentor is one who has walked where you are going and is willing to share his or her life's lessons learned along the way.

On the surface, it sounds easy to match a mentor to a young leader, but in practice, it's not that easy. We found some new pastors were not interested. They either did not feel they had the time or they did not believe having a mentor would be a positive thing for them.

This is a very short-sighted approach. No, you won't have the time. You make the time. This is an investment in your future as a ministry leader, and like nearly all investments, there is an initial cost involved.

To believe you will not benefit from having a mentor is not just short-sighted; it is arrogance magnified many times over. These senior pastors have experienced many things throughout their ministries. Some good and some not so good. Why not learn from their experiences rather that have to go through them yourself?

When I began my pastoral ministry in the early 1980s I soon found myself in the church office of one of the senior pastors in our association. As we talked about pastoral ministry he related how he had ignored his family while serving the church. I won't go into details, but that failure on his part was now coming back to haunt him.

I left that meeting with this pastor determined to not make the same mistake. My family would be a priority even if it cost me my ministry. The church I was serving had many pastors in its long history, and if the Lord tarried, would have many more after I left. I was the only husband my wife had, and I was the only father my children knew. I would not neglect them in an effort to climb the "ministerial ladder of success." Today, thirty-five years later, I'm convinced that I made the right decision, and that decision was prompted in part because of that meeting with a more experienced pastor.

Find someone to mentor you. Take them out to lunch and pick their brain for an hour or so. Take plenty of notes. If they suggest something, make every effort to do it. A mentor is giving up part of his or her life to invest in you, and they want to see you taking this relationship seriously. If you'll do this, you will learn some things about ministry you'll never hear in seminary. You will be exceedingly glad you did.