There are no "do-overs" in life and ministry. But there are always opportunities to learn, correct, and improve. So here are seven of the key mistakes I made as a senior pastor. Obviously, the list is not exhaustive. Seven just seemed to be a good, biblical number.
Seven for Starters
As I began thinking about the mistakes I made as a pastor, I realized how gracious most church members were to me. And I realized how my family's love for me is a total gift of grace. Here are the seven, but they are really just the beginning of many more.
I would …
- Spend more time in the Word and in prayer. I would follow the biblical pattern of the church leaders in Acts 6:4: "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the preaching ministry" (HCSB).
- Give my family more time. No one remembers the church committee meetings I missed. My family still remembers those times I was too busy for them.
- Spend more time sharing my faith. Paul told the young pastor Timothy to do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5). Those words apply to all pastors today.
- Love the community where I lived more. I would try to live more incarnationally. I would prayerfully seek to see how I could serve the community rather than see it as a population pool of prospects for my church.
- Lead the church to focus more on the nations. I would lead in helping our church grasp that missions is more than just an annual offering.
- Focus less on critics. Most church members have no idea how many criticisms and "suggestions" a pastor gets each week. It can be overwhelming and distracting. Though I would be willing to listen, I would not obsess about every negative comment that was made about me.
- Accept the reality that I can't be omnipresent. So many people and groups want the presence of the pastor. Saying "no" can be difficult, but it can free the pastor to focus on some of the priorities noted above,
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