“…the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28).

After pastoring three churches for nearly nine years, I joined the staff of a large Southern Baptist church in our state and suddenly found myself attending Sunday services without having to preach.

Now, I loved to preach, don’t get me wrong. But for almost a decade, I hardly knew what it was like to attend church the way normal people do.

I recall sitting on the platform during the early part of the service feeling as light as a bird, carrying none of the burden I had grown accustomed to when I was pastoring.  I would sing the hymns and enjoy the worship, and then at the appointed time in the service, get up and make my announcement or extend the welcome or offer a prayer.  When I finished, I walked off the platform and joined my family in a pew.  It was a wonderful feeling.

One day something occurred to me. Before long, I will be re-entering the pastorate.  I’ll be the person bringing the sermon each Sunday.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could be as free and light-hearted, as burden-free, as I feel now?

Not going to happen.

I knew that.  But I longed for it, nevertheless.

Continue reading “The light-hearted pastor is an oxymoron” »

“Be thou humble, preacher.”  (Stated and repeated and reinforced one way or the other in a hundred scriptures such as Isaiah 57:15, Micah 6:8, and I Peter 5:7.)

It’s a personality type, I suppose.  If Mr. Hotshot were not a preacher, but were a bus driver or school principal or insurance agent, he would still be full of himself and cocky.  But as unpleasant as that trait is in any profession, it’s ugliest and deadliest in a man of God.

You’re sitting in his church listening to him preach. He’s not five minutes into the message before you realize Mr. Hotshot is appearing before you in the flesh.  His words and mannerisms give him away.  Listen to him:

— “I told my…I want my…My convictions are…I believe…I insist that my staff….”  All church employees are “my staff” and the new program is “something God told me to do.” It’s all about him.

–Listen to his Bible expositions: “The translators have this wrong.  Any first year Greek student knows this word always means….” and “Scholars say otherwise, but they can be wrong if they want to. What this verse really means is….”

–He alone has the truth.  He alone knows how to lead the church. He wants lots of time in the worship service because what he has to say is more important than things like actual worship and praise.

How the Lord ever got things done before he came along is the mystery of the ages.

Now…

Every disciple of Jesus has to have become humble at some point. It’s how you enter the Kingdom: “as a little child.”  (Matthew 18:3)

It’s not a stretch, therefore to expect those called as role models and examples (I Peter 5:3) to be shining exhibits of the grace of humility.

And some are. Some of the greatest preachers I know, some of the finest pastors and best success stories, are genuinely humble.

Continue reading “Everyone’s least favorite preacher: The cocky kind” »

The prospective pastor walked to the pulpit, took the measure of the congregation, and began. “There is a powerful lot of wondering going on here today.  You are wondering if I can preach. And I am wondering if you know good preaching when you hear it!”

I know a good Flip Wilson story that fits here, but I’ll tack it onto the end of this.

Now…

Not all pastors are asked to deliver a “trial” sermon to the congregation they hope to serve.  Some are appointed by a bishop and some are chosen by elders or a committee. We Southern Baptists usually use the procedure listed below.  Of the six churches I served over 42 years of ministry, only one brought me in without the people having heard me preach.  The other five administered the usual “trial.”

The procedure goes like this….

Continue reading “What to do in a “trial” (candidate) sermon” »

As I write this, a phone call came yesterday from an embattled pastor.  He’s under constant duress from a group of leaders who want him out for whatever reasons–some real and some contrived–and are growing impatient with his inability to find a place to land.  His question to me was whether he should resign. And if so, should he ask for severance, and for how long, and should he couch the terms in words to protect his future job prospects from being endangered.

I wish I could say this is a rarity.  But I receive such calls almost weekly.

Here are some thoughts on the subject….

A pastor may resign any time he chooses. Whether he should or not is between him and the Lord who sent him to that church.

A pastor should resign only when the Lord chooses or if he is forced to do so.

Scripture knows nothing about pastors jumping from one church to another, about pastors climbing the ecclesiastical ladder in order to enhance their resume, or pastors being forced out of a congregation.

Welcome to the church of the 21st century.  We have all those things and more.

Continue reading “When should a pastor resign?” »