I don’t know why I wanted to write this today. But I did. I spent almost 7 years of my early adult life working for an oil company, first offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and then at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in the early years of the oil boom there. But for the past 28 years, pastoring a church is what I have committed my life to.
I have probably had thousands of conversations with people (and so have you), but if you’re like me, there are some things you just never get around to saying out loud. It’s not that you don’t want to . . . it’s just that you don’t. Yet saying them could help you, and maybe even help scores of great people who are working so hard at your church. They might even make things . . . better.
Here are 5 things I think most pastors wish they could tell their congregations:
1. I’m trying to step off the pedestal people keep putting me on.
I’m not better than anyone else. Really. I have never believed I’m better than anyone else. And I promise you if we got to hang out more, it wouldn't take long for you to see I don’t belong on a pedestal either.
I’m not in ministry because I've got this all figured out, or because it was an ambition of mine. I honestly feel I was called into it. Believe it or not, I tried to resist the call. But people kept affirming what I couldn't stop sensing - that God was calling me to serve in the local church. So I obeyed.
It gives me a lot of comfort that the heroes in the scripture were flawed people. Peter barely got it right. Paul had his critics. Noah was a flawed leader. So was Moses. But reading their stories gives me hope for my story. And - you know what - it gives me hope for your story and for the church. God doesn't use perfect people. His grace flows best through broken people. God belongs on the pedestal. So why don’t we keep Him there and keep ourselves below it?
2. I also have doubts.
I realize you might think my faith is rock solid. And, in the end, it actually is quite strong. But I have days when I’m not sure my prayers make it past the ceiling. I have days when I read the scriptures and it seems like just another book. And I have days where I wonder where God is in the middle of this. Just like you.
But I’ll tell you why I can’t let my faith go or shake it - because God’s faithfulness keeps overshadowing my doubts. God has been consistently patient, kind, gracious and giving toward me. And He has been toward you too. And the days where the prayers seem empty and the scriptures seem cold are inevitably followed by the days in which God’s presence is almost palpable and the scriptures read me.
So don’t let your doubts do you in. Persist through them. I have and I do, and all I keep finding is the faithfulness of Christ. You will too.
3. I don’t always know what to do.
I don’t have all the answers. I don’t always know what to do. I know you know that. But there’s something in all of us that wants our leaders to know what’s next.
I've become committed to telling you when I don’t know, and I hope you can accept that. You also need to know I’m doing my best to surround myself with incredibly wise people. Together, we are far smarter and wiser than any of us is alone.
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for a generation. No one understood why Jesus was so determined to go to the cross. And the birth of the early church in the first century probably made many peoples’ heads spin. But God was in all of it.
I’m sure as we pursue Christ the best we can, we’ll figure out where He is in the middle of all this.
4. I so appreciate it when you cut my family some slack.
It’s fine for you to put me under a microscope. I get that. I got called into this and I’m accountable. But this church is a place where my family is living and doing real life. It’s a place where my 2 daughters and 4 grandchildren are asking their own questions, and where my wife comes to worship and to serve on her good days and bad days.
When you treat them as people who are on their own faith journey and hold them up to no greater standards than you do any other family, you give my family an incredible gift. We are pursuing Christ together, and when you give us grace, you actually make that journey richer. (Thank you Cornerstone for doing this so, so well.)
5. I’m more grateful for you than you realize.
I realize how demanding life is and how busy you are. I know you worked late on that project this past week . . . and still came to the event at the church. I realize you haven’t had 8 hours sleep in about three years and your kids are driving you crazy . . . and you took time to seek God today.
I realize your family argued on the car ride to church and still walked through the door anyway (Sunday mornings aren't always angels singing and church bells ringing at our home either). I realize the school trip cost more than you thought, and you’d really like to get to Disney this year, but you’re giving faithfully. I know that you serve in a number of organizations in the community, but you still throw your weight behind the mission at this church we’re in together.
Thank you! Really. The church is the most blessed organization in the world. We have an eternal mission that will make far more sense when we stand before Christ than it does most days now. I think only then will we see how important what we’re doing now really is.
We rely on the good will and the hard work of dozens, even hundreds of people to be the church. And I want you to know how incredible grateful I am for you. I truly am.
Pastor Greg
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Monday, January 4, 2016
2016 Resolutions and Goals
New Year's resolutions often get a bad rap - but I believe they are completely misunderstood. Because most people make resolutions at the start of the year, we automatically associate them with new beginnings. But, in reality, resolutions are about ending points (destinations) not beginnings (starting lines). If you start with the wrong mindset, you are doomed to fail. But change your perspective, and you will realize that you do not have to be perfect to accomplish important goals.
Personally, I need targets. It makes no sense to me that people prefer to aim at a blank wall, then go draw a target around wherever they hit that wall, and subsequently call it a bulls-eye. That is a sure sign of the fear of failure (or the fear of accountability). Don't be afraid to set some specific goals and make some personal resolutions. They will serve you well by establishing both direction and a specific destination for your life. If you are looking for a god read for the new year, pick up "The Principle of the Path" by Andy Stanley. This one simple principle will not only impact your own life - it will change the life of everyone you teach it to if they will apply it.
Here are some of my own resolutions / goals for 2016:
1. I need to lose 45-50 pounds. If you know me well, you might wonder what is different from previous years? Great question, but the answer is dynamic (meaning it creates change). In previous years I have "wanted" to lose weight - this year it has become a "need" I am now dealing with the impact of age, not just of my body in general, but the age of previous injuries. I am living with a new "normal," and I can accept that and change my lifestyle and goals, or continue, (like many people choose to do), to live in denial or self-deception. When something moves from a "want" to a "need" in your mind and heart you view it completely differently.
Specifically, I want to lose 25-30 pounds by Easter Sunday (March 27th), but not for the obvious reasons most of you would expect. Losing that amount of weight will allow me to be able to wear my original gold wedding band again, something I am currently unable to do. That is my primary motivation, though very few people will even know or be able to understand.
By July 1st I want to have lost down to my first goal weight of 185 pounds. At that weight my lifestyle changes - different sizes of clothes, less chronic pain, better sleep, more energy and a healthier self-esteem. I'm not so much concerned with what other people think about my weight and health, but (1) I owe it to my family, and (2) I believe God is pleased when I demonstrate the daily personal discipline of taking care of his temple.
2. I want to get certified to scuba dive. It is something I have always been intrigued by and wanted to explore, but my personality almost always leads me to put everyone else's wants and needs ahead of my own, and that's not wise or sustainable. I love the water, and there is another part of God's creation that, up until now, I have only experienced through someone else's perspective. I have no unrealistic dreams of ever being a deep water or highly skilled elite diver - I just want to learn to do it safely and to an extent I can enjoy explore things I have not enjoyed before. * Accomplishing goal #1 will certainly help me accomplish #2. Goals often are interconnected that way.
3. During 2016 I plan to complete writing my first book. This is an assignment I believe God gave me 15 years ago that I have been unfaithful to. I'm not aiming to write a New York Times best-seller. Instead, I hope to write a book that can really help others. Consequently, I may even give it away once it is completed (technology makes that possible now via e-books, etc. I don't know something that no one else knows - I am just hoping to communicate some truths from my own perspective and in a way that connects with some fellow servants in an effective way that adds value to their lives.
These are some of my more public commitments. My other goals are relational and spiritual, and therefore more private. But I am convinced that if I pursue them passionately, others will recognize that there is something inside that is motivating, encouraging and empowering me. These three that I share are all resolutions you can see and know if I have stay committed to accomplishing them. How about you? Are you willing to put some of your challenges in writing and allow others to hold you accountable? Remember - this is about destinations, not starting lines.
Personally, I need targets. It makes no sense to me that people prefer to aim at a blank wall, then go draw a target around wherever they hit that wall, and subsequently call it a bulls-eye. That is a sure sign of the fear of failure (or the fear of accountability). Don't be afraid to set some specific goals and make some personal resolutions. They will serve you well by establishing both direction and a specific destination for your life. If you are looking for a god read for the new year, pick up "The Principle of the Path" by Andy Stanley. This one simple principle will not only impact your own life - it will change the life of everyone you teach it to if they will apply it.
Here are some of my own resolutions / goals for 2016:
1. I need to lose 45-50 pounds. If you know me well, you might wonder what is different from previous years? Great question, but the answer is dynamic (meaning it creates change). In previous years I have "wanted" to lose weight - this year it has become a "need" I am now dealing with the impact of age, not just of my body in general, but the age of previous injuries. I am living with a new "normal," and I can accept that and change my lifestyle and goals, or continue, (like many people choose to do), to live in denial or self-deception. When something moves from a "want" to a "need" in your mind and heart you view it completely differently.
Specifically, I want to lose 25-30 pounds by Easter Sunday (March 27th), but not for the obvious reasons most of you would expect. Losing that amount of weight will allow me to be able to wear my original gold wedding band again, something I am currently unable to do. That is my primary motivation, though very few people will even know or be able to understand.
By July 1st I want to have lost down to my first goal weight of 185 pounds. At that weight my lifestyle changes - different sizes of clothes, less chronic pain, better sleep, more energy and a healthier self-esteem. I'm not so much concerned with what other people think about my weight and health, but (1) I owe it to my family, and (2) I believe God is pleased when I demonstrate the daily personal discipline of taking care of his temple.
2. I want to get certified to scuba dive. It is something I have always been intrigued by and wanted to explore, but my personality almost always leads me to put everyone else's wants and needs ahead of my own, and that's not wise or sustainable. I love the water, and there is another part of God's creation that, up until now, I have only experienced through someone else's perspective. I have no unrealistic dreams of ever being a deep water or highly skilled elite diver - I just want to learn to do it safely and to an extent I can enjoy explore things I have not enjoyed before. * Accomplishing goal #1 will certainly help me accomplish #2. Goals often are interconnected that way.
3. During 2016 I plan to complete writing my first book. This is an assignment I believe God gave me 15 years ago that I have been unfaithful to. I'm not aiming to write a New York Times best-seller. Instead, I hope to write a book that can really help others. Consequently, I may even give it away once it is completed (technology makes that possible now via e-books, etc. I don't know something that no one else knows - I am just hoping to communicate some truths from my own perspective and in a way that connects with some fellow servants in an effective way that adds value to their lives.
These are some of my more public commitments. My other goals are relational and spiritual, and therefore more private. But I am convinced that if I pursue them passionately, others will recognize that there is something inside that is motivating, encouraging and empowering me. These three that I share are all resolutions you can see and know if I have stay committed to accomplishing them. How about you? Are you willing to put some of your challenges in writing and allow others to hold you accountable? Remember - this is about destinations, not starting lines.
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