Bible
Key Verse: Verse 1 – “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:”
Key Words: The elders which are among you
Now,
this is a subject I know about since I am a pastor, and believe me, I’ve made
my share of mistakes. But there are
those mistakes that a pastor makes that can lead to discord in the
congregation. Let me just name a few of
them; and I think you will get the point.
The
first mistake is operating the church as a dictator. The pastor is the “under-shepherd;” Christ is
the Chief Shepherd. A shepherd does not
dictate. They lovingly lead and the
sheep follow. A dictator says, “It’s my
way or the highway.”
The
second mistake the pastor makes is ignoring his family. The pastor should always set aside time for
his family. Not just vacation time,
daily family time is also needed. Don’t
forget to do things with your wife. She
is the pastor’s biggest fan; don’t ignore her.
The pastor should let the congregation know how much he loves his
family, but especially his wife.
Third,
it’s never wise for the pastor’s wife to operate as the “associate”
pastor. Her primary role is their
family. I have known some pastors who
were unsuccessful because they let their wife in on too many of the “little”
details of church business. The chief
advisor to the pastor in church matters should be his staff and the church
deacons. The best thing a pastor can do
is protect his wife from all the little inner workings of the church and staff.
Fourth,
follow up, follow up, follow up. It’s
not the pastor’s job to do everything; but it is his job to see that everything
is done. He should assign an area of
responsibility and let those who are assigned get the job done. If they fail to get the job done; well,
that’s another story.
Fifth,
pray about everything!! Some pastors
pray about nothing.
Sixth,
the pastor should never make decisions on hearsay. Make sure you get all the facts.
Seventh, every pastor faces criticism. You can be like President Trump and attack back; or you can take the high road and leave your critics in the hands of God. Live your life so when people hear “bad” things about you, the congregation (as a whole) will not believe them. Some pastors feel as though they have to fire back at the critics. Not wise!!
✞ Live for Christ and remember, you face criticism as well.
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