Don't live on autopilot

In yesterday's post I quoted a statement I discovered in a book I am reading. The statement reminded us to not waste our lives living below our potential and outside our calling. That reminded me of another quote from another book I recently completed, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. The statement is

We spend much of our day on autopilot - not giving much thought to what we're doing with our time...It's difficult to prevent the trivial from creeping into every corner of your schedule if you don't face, without flinching, your current balance between deep and shallow work, and then adopt the habit of pausing before action and asking, "What makes the most sense right now?"

The strategy the author suggests may sound extreme. He recommends that you schedule every minute of your day, and that you do that every day. While I certainly agree with his emphasis on intentional living, I have two problems with this solution. One, no schedule is going to be accurate. Some things are going to take longer than you anticipated, and some things will go quicker. When that happens the author recommends revising the schedule. I would think we would spend too much time revising schedules!

The second problem I have is that interruptions are going to occur, especially for those of us in ministry. People are going to call and need to speak to us. Interruptions are part of ministry, and there is no way to plan for them. That's why they are called interruptions.

I am a big believer in scheduling our time, but I do so around tasks. There are certain times of each day when I need to accomplish certain tasks. For instance, on Monday morning I go into the church office and prepare my preaching outline for the following Sunday and prepare the PowerPoint presentation that will be used. That presentation is then sent to our office manager so she has the entire week to get it ready for our computer system. On Thursday mornings I go into the church office and prepare my Sunday evening Bible study.

In a couple of weeks I have a large auction scheduled, and I've identified days in my schedule when I need to complete the various tasks associated with conducting an auction. I know what dates I will send in my newspaper ads, the date I will mail out flyers to my regular buyers, when I will begin preparing the items for auction, etc. I don't try to schedule every minute, but I do schedule the various tasks I need to complete for all that I do. Incidentally, the author also recognizes the value of block scheduling for those who are not comfortable with trying to schedule every minute.

Living our lives according to a schedule eliminates the possibility of living on autopilot and ensures we will get done what we need to accomplish. This is critically important for anyone involved in bivocational ministry, but it's also important for anyone who wants to fulfill God's calling on their lives.

Don't forsake your calling

This week I came across a powerful statement that I had to highlight in the book I was reading. I normally read with a highlighter in one hand, but the significance of this is that, although I am over half done reading this book, this is the first thing I've marked.

 The statement is this: "We all exchange each day of life for something, and it is a prostitution of life to exchange it for something unworthy of our potential and our calling."

How many people do you know drifting through life living far below their potential? How often have you felt you were doing the same thing? I know I've felt that way at times. When leaders drift, the organizations they lead drift as well. When pastors drift so do their churches.

Each of us have been given gifts to be used in serving others. Each of us have a calling on our lives. So often we think of a calling as something that just applies to ministers and missionaries, but the truth is that every person has a God-given calling. As God told Jeremiah, even before Jeremiah was born God had a purpose for his life. The same is true for you and me.

Every day we get to make choices. Among those choices is whether or not we are going to live into that God-given purpose or drift along doing something far less.

I've retired twice now, and my wife likes to point out that neither of them really took. The problem is that I see too much that I can still do and enjoy doing. I know the gifts God has given me, and when I see opportunities to use those gifts I have to do so.

I enjoy playing golf, and in fact I am playing golf later this week with a couple of friends. I enjoy fishing and have owned a couple of bass boats in the past.  I dearly love sitting on the beach and watching the waves. But, the thought of doing nothing but playing golf and fishing and sitting on the beach makes me tremble. It may sound wonderful, but that is not God's calling on my life.

We each have a set number of days on this earth. Only God knows that number. You may be like me and have more years behind you than before you. Or, you may be a young person really just getting started out in life. Determine to live every day to your full potential and in a way that honors God. The best way to honor God with your life is to fulfill the calling He has for you.

A leader's demeanor

There has been much in the news about President Trump's latest tweet showing him wrestling someone with a CNN image over his face. This video came from a WestleMania match several years ago when Trump attacked WWE owner Vince McMahon ringside. Of course, it was all staged as part of a script that led to McMahon's head being shaved. In today's tweet the CNN logo was placed over McMahon's face. CNN and other news agencies attacked the tweet as inciting violence against news reporters.

While I believe the tweet was unfortunate, as is most of his tweets, I certainly did not feel the need to run out and attack a journalist after watching it. Once again, the news media overreacted as did many others in the nation. There are people calling for the President to be evaluated for mental health issues and many others calling for his impeachment. There are some people who cannot accept the fact that he won the election and will not rest until he is out of office. My guess is that they will spend the next four years, and possibly eight years, being miserable.

The reason I said it was unfortunate is because it was another stupid tweet from the President of the United States. If he had hired someone to run one of his companies, and everyday that individual spent time putting silly and/or offensive things on social media he or she would be fired.

President Trump needs to understand that the major media will never accept his presidency. He was not supposed to win. They all backed Hillary Clinton who was supposed to win in a landslide, especially over Donald Trump. They ridiculed his candidacy even as he defeated one opponent after another. Trump will never have the support of the media. He needs to ignore them and get on with leading the nation.

I realize it's not easy for the Donald to take criticism, but he's now the President of the United States. Criticism goes with the territory. It goes with being a leader. Leaders cannot take the time to respond to every critic and negative comment. The best way to respond to a critic is not to respond to his or her comments but to lead in such a way that they are proven wrong.

What is true for the current president is also true for those of us in church leadership. We are going to be criticized at times. Pastors are often people-pleasers, but the reality is that we are not going to please everyone. Leaders have to make tough decisions which are not always going to be popular. Those decisions will sometimes lead to criticism. Sometimes it's important that we investigate the criticism to see if there is some truth in it that we can use to make better decisions in the future, but other times we just need to ignore the critic and continue doing the work God has called us to do.

The demeanor of the leader is also important, and that is the second reason I found today's tweet unfortunate. It's time President Trump starting acting presidential. Many of his tweets and comments are anything but presidential but come across as childish and immature. He did not become a successful businessman by acting this way, and he will not enjoy a successful term of office acting this way either.

As pastors, our demeanor is also important if we want people to take us serious. Anyone who knows me will tell you I enjoy joking around. I really do not take myself very seriously, but I do take my calling as a pastor seriously. For any leader to be successful it's important to treat people with respect and dignity. This is especially true for those who have offended us or criticized us. Failing to do that only gives our critics more ammunition to use against us.

Leaders never lose by taking the high road and conducting themselves with integrity and grace.

Transitioning from fully-funded ministry to bivocational ministry

I'm working on a new book. Part of it will address the challenges a pastor faces when transitioning from being a fully-funded pastor to a bivocational pastor. I believe we will see more pastors being asked to make that transition. As I've watched others make the change I've noticed many struggled and some were not very successful.

If you've made the change, what were the challenges you had to overcome? How did the change impact you emotionally? How did it affect your family? What jobs outside the church did you pursue? Anything you can tell me about the transition will be helpful, and I believe will be even more helpful to those who have to make that change in their own ministries.

I will use some of the stories I receive in the book, but your personal information will remain confidential. I look forward to hearing from you.

Should you preach your old sermons again in the same church?

A few years ago when I was serving as a Resource Minister in our Region I was asked to fill the pulpit in one of my churches for a couple of weeks. I used to joke that I really only needed five sermons as a Resource Minister since I was usually in a different church every week. Since I would be in a different place the people there would not have heard the sermon I did the previous week in a different church.

On the second Sunday I was scheduled to preach in that church I decided to preach one of my favorite sermons even though I had preached it in that church seven years earlier. Few people remember a sermon more than a few weeks at the most so I wasn't worried. After the second service in that church a teen came up and asked, "Didn't you preach that message here before?" Busted! All I could do was smile and admit that I had.

There's nothing wrong with preaching a sermon over again in the same church. After all, the church sings the same hymns and songs over again. If a sermon is worth preaching once it's probably worth preaching again. Sometimes.

When I began my current ministry as the Transitional Pastor in a church I was convinced that sermon preparation would be the least of my concerns. After all, I had been a pastor for twenty years and had a file drawer full of sermons I had preached in my previous church. However, as I've gone through them I've discovered some problems with most of those sermons.

One, many of them are outdated with illustrations that have no relevance to our culture today. Two, most of them no longer reflect my preaching style today. Three, the majority of them lack the scholarship I now want in my messages. Fourth, few of them are pertinent to the church I'm currently serving. They were addressed to another church for another time. Almost none of them are suitable to preach in my current church.

Occasionally, I'm able to use one for inspiration and can sometimes use bits and pieces from it as I prepare a new sermon on the same topic. That's what I would suggest you do with your old sermons. A sermon that is not culturally relevant is of little value and will lack the impact on the congregation that you want.

There's nothing wrong with preaching a sermon over, but before you do check it over and make sure it will still communicate the message you want today's audience to hear.

Is your church ready for a new pastor?

In yesterday's post I focused on one reason it may take longer than expected to find a new pastor. Today I want to address a new question: Is your church ready for a new pastor? I believe one reason it may take longer for a church to call a new pastor is that they are not really ready to have a new pastor.

Calling an interim pastor should be one of the first steps a church takes when beginning the search for a new pastor. Surprisingly, some churches do not want an interim pastor. They are content to have people fill in each Sunday while the search team quickly looks for someone to come as pastor. These churches often mistakenly believe that it will be a quick process. It isn't unless they are willing to call the first person who comes down the road wearing a cross around his neck.

A good interim pastor can take the pressure off the search team to hurry through the process. He or she will provide quality ministry during this interim time especially if he or she has been trained in the work of interim ministry.

There are certain tasks the church should address during this time of transition which an interim pastor can lead. Certainly, if there is unresolved conflict in a church that needs to be addressed before calling a new pastor. It is very unfair to ask someone new to come into a church that has such conflict.

Another task the interim pastor can address is any changes in church structure that should occur. Some churches have very outdated systems in place that need to be changed but are seen as sacred cows by some in the congregation. The interim can help lead changes in those systems. If people become upset, they will be upset at the interim rather than the new pastor if he or she tries to lead such changes.

Churches that have had long-term pastors and are now seeking a new pastor need to call an intentional interim pastor. I often encouraged such churches to not even begin looking for a pastor for at least a year. Since it often takes a year or more to find a pastor the interim will be serving there for 2-3 years. This gives the church time to transition away from the leadership of the previous long-term pastor and be better prepared for the new pastor. Failing to do this often results in the new pastor being an unintentional interim pastor who will leave within a couple of years because the church was not ready for new leadership.

I am a believer that God knows the person He has prepared to serve as the pastor of a church. The process of seeking that person provides the opportunity for the church to be prepared to receive that individual. It helps ensure the church is actually ready for new pastoral leadership. Only when the church is ready will God reveal the right person.

The challenge of seeking a pastor

I apologize for not posting more often in recent weeks. Since last September I've been serving as the Transitional Pastor of a church. That responsibility plus my auction business has kept me rather busy and has limited the amount of time I can devote to social media and writing.

I'm certainly not complaining as I've enjoyed the work of Transitional Pastor. The church I'm serving has a lot of exciting ministries, a fantastic staff, and some amazing lay leaders. This has been a great opportunity to help prepare this church for their next pastor.

A few weeks ago the Pastor Search Team was ready to recommend an individual to the church to serve as Senior Pastor, but he decided he felt called to remain in his present ministry. This means the search will continue, and while the Team was disappointed, they accepted the decision as God's will and are moving forward.

This highlights the challenge many churches have today finding their next pastor. It is not unusual for a church to spend 18-24 months searching for a pastor. When I served as a Resource Minister in our Region I often cautioned search teams to not get in a hurry and to expect the process to take longer than many expect. It's far more important to get the right individual than it is to take the first person who expresses an interest in the position.

Why does it take so long for a good pastor search process? For one thing, at least in our denomination, there are not a large number of candidates seeking to move. Once a search team identifies several potential candidates that number is reduced even more as they compare the gifts and skills of the candidate to the needs of the church. It's possible that out of 15-20 possible candidates there may only be 2-3 who appear to be a good match for the church. Further interviews and reference checks may even reduce the number further.

For smaller churches the number of possible candidates may be even smaller. Studies have found that many pastors are unwilling to serve smaller congregations so the pool of available pastors is even smaller for these churches. Many of these churches are now seeking bivocational pastor, because these pastors are often found in or near the church's community those churches may find an even smaller number of candidates. People are not apt to be willing to move across country to serve in a bivocational church.

Every Sunday we ask the church I'm serving to be in constant prayer for our Pastor Search Team. Prayer is absolutely vital if the church is to identify the person God has prepared to serve a church.

So is patience. Some churches cannot stand to not have a pastor and will rush their search team to quickly find someone they can call to be their pastor. This often proves to be a mistake. Calling a pastor will impact the life of the church for years, and even decades to come, and is not something that should be rushed or entered into lightly.

If your church is currently seeking a pastor, pray for your search team. Encourage them. Respect their need to maintain confidentially. Prepare yourself for the next pastor. Oh, yea, pray and then pray some more.