Beginning Ministry Suggestion from Tim Keller

I heartily recommend a reading of Tim Keller's advice for those aspiring to ministry: The Country Parson.

In short, he recommends trying to pastor as a solo pastor of a small, rural church.

His rationale includes limitations of experience gained as a mentored member of a pastoral staff in a larger church.

"You can't teach a younger pastor much about things they aren't actually doing. And in a large church they aren't a) bearing the burden of being the main leader, b) leading a board of elders, c) fund-raising and bearing the final responsibility of having enough money to do ministry, d) and doing the gamut of counseling, shepherding, teaching, preaching."

Conversely, when you're the only pastor ...

"In a smaller church as a solo pastor you and only you visit the elderly, do all the weddings and funerals, sit by the bedside of every dying parishioner, do all the marriage counseling, suspend and excommunicate, work with musicians, craft and lead worship, speak at every men's retreat, women's retreat, and youth retreat, write all the Bible studies and often Sunday School curriculum, train all the small group leaders, speak at the nursing home, work with your diaconate as they try to help families out of poverty, evangelize and welcome new visitors to the church, train volunteers to do some (but not all) of all of the above tasks, and deal with the once-a-month relational or financial crisis in the church. No amount of mentoring can teach you what you learn from doing all those things."

I may be rather biased, since my first pastorate was as the solo pastor in what was a rural church at the time. The experience was invaluable, though I found it to be a lonely experience as well.

I wondered at times about the alternative, serving on a larger staff. Yet, I avoided doing my seminary pastoral internship in such a church because I wanted to do more than carry around some associate pastor's clipboard ... uh ... not that there's anything wrong with that.

I'd be curious as to (1) your thoughts on Keller's article and (2) your reflections on your early pastoral experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Allocation of Pastoral Resources

An interesting quote:

Ministers pay far too much attention to people who do not come to services. Those people should, generally, be given exactly that disregard by the pastor that they give to Christ. The Christian leader has something much more important to do than pursue the godless. The leader’s task is to equip saints until they are like Christ.
-Dallas Willard

To what extent should a pastor pursue the AWOL? At what point is it inappropriately neglecting the faithful sheep?

Any "war" stories along these lines?

On a related note ... in your personal experience, have you seen much success in bring church members who have left back to the flock?

Pooped Pastors Dot Com!

Someone recommended this site to me since I am going through the resignation process at my church. It has not been an easy 2 weeks, but something that I feel I must do. At the site, Steve Brown talks about the resignation letter and how to go about it. I've already started the process and it is comforting to know that I'm in line with what he is saying.

But the site has so much more than just that. It is a site entirely for pastors, and to write on the forums, you have to be a credentialed pastor. In other words, no laymen allowed! Steve even says that in the video that I would like to embed, but he doesn't offer that. The site is NOT for laymen, but for pastors who are beat up and tired. Only those who are in the ministry can participate on the forums, and only those who have proved worthy, meaning they not only have the T-shirt, but the bloodies T-shirt, can contribute.

So to you fellow pastors (masculine plural), check out Pooped Pastor Dot Com!

2009 Desiring God Conference for Pastors (Feb 2-4, 2009)

If you've never been before, this is a great year to start attending the Desiring God Conference for Pastors in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The theme for 2009 is Commending Christ: The Pastor, the Church, and the Perishing.

The speakers are:

Mark Dever
Keynote Speaker

Matt Chandler
Pastoral Speaker

Michael Oh
Missions Speaker

John Piper
Biographical Speaker (George Whitefield)

This will be my 4th straight year and it's one of the highlights of my year for sure.

Called to Preach? How do you know?

2 quick hits on being called to preach ...

“There are some preachers who so loudly declare their love of preaching that it is unclear whether it is their own performance and their love of power that has captured them or their desire to minister to the men and women who listen to them.”
-D. A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, 82

Christlikeness Required in Ministry

A great Sinclair Ferguson quote I came across ...

"Either become more like Christ or get out of the Gospel ministry because, if you don't do the former, you will do great damage to the latter."
- Sinclair Ferguson

Great is Thy Effectiveness?

I heartily recommend the following article put forth by the folks who bring you the Leadership Journal.

Great is Thy Effectiveness?
There’s danger in rooting our identity in ministry rather than in Christ.

"Brothers and sisters, you are more than the measurable outcomes of your work."

If you've been in ministry long, I think you'll understand the subtitle, or at least the temptation described. It seems almost automatic that we tie our self-esteem and identity to the church we've been called to shepherd.

Making matters worse is the unnatural and unbiblical pressure for church leadership to "produce" results, for one's measure of worth tends to be interwoven with quantitative growth.

Yet, the vast majority of churches are either plateaued or in decline. If our identity is tied up in how we do, rather than in whom we are, we're doomed to despair.

Do seminaries, book publishers, parishioners, or even fellow pastors really believe success is measured in faithfulness to the task God has assigned?

"Yes, we need to work diligently and serve Christ with our very best—this is our worship to God. But how we define success should look very different in the economy of God’s kingdom from the tangible stats the world celebrates."

Who's to blame? Does the congregation put unrealistic expectations on the clergy, holding them accountable for what is clearly God's responsibility? After we've planted and watered, only He can make it grow. (1 Cor 3:6-7)

"Some might say these leaders have failed to nurture their souls sufficiently. We usually want to blame leaders for their own burn out, but when I see the pervasiveness of this problem I wonder if there isn’t also a systemic factor. Could contemporary church ministry itself be the problem?"

Read the full article.

Conference on Depression in the Clergy (FREE & local for DFW folks)

I got the following email and wanted to share it with my DTS alumni in case you missed it.

My humble suggestion ... don't wait until you get to the point Tommy was.

Follow Barney Fife's advice and nip it in the bud.

"I wanted to let you know of an opportunity for area alumni. Dr. Lee Jagers (ThM 76), Director of Counseling Services at Dallas Seminary, is inviting area alumni to a conference addressing the issue of depression in the clergy. Dr. Jagers is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of CAPS (Christian Association for Psychological Studies) which is sponsoring this event. Tommy Nelson (MABS 82) and Dr. David Nicholson are the featured speakers."

CAPS Conference on Depression in the Clergy

Speakers: Tommy Nelson (MABS '82) & Dr. David Nicholson

Place: Irving Bible Church
2435 Kinwest Pkwy
Irving, TX 75063-3434

Date: Friday, September 26, 2008
Time: 12:00 noon to 3:30 pm, 30-minute networking and snacks midway
Cost: Free to all DTS alumni who are pastors

Register

More Information

[Tommy Nelson] has forgotten more Bible than many people will ever know. He has helped more people in their authentic spiritual growth than any of us will ever realize. But two years ago, he found himself beset by such anxiety and depression that he had to shut down for several months and pull out from the ministry. One of the best known pastors in the North Texas area, he found himself very alone.

He wrestled with many questions which defy easy answers:
• Is the Bible alone sufficient for every human condition?
• Can a person work too much within the will of God?
• Should a spiritual person seek help from psychiatry (for medication) and from a psychologist (for counseling)?

Question: City of God, and City of Man

I would love to know the opinions of DTS-ers on this:

Two candidates for President have closely mixed their religion and politics: Barak Obama and Mike Huckabee. Throughout the campaign, multiple news stories have reported that Obama and Huckabee have been behind pulpits in churches as part of their campaign. (See Obama's pulpit hopping here, and here, and Huckabee's here, here, and in DTS's backyard here)

My question: Is it appropriate for this to occur? I have two selections for you to consider: the story of King Uzziah, who went to perform the tasks of the temple and was told this was only for the ordained: (2 Chron 26:18-19). Also, a Protestant Confession, The Westminster Confession, includes this section : "Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and sacraments."

Is it wrong for churches to allow politicians to use their pulpits? Let me know if I am misreading this...

Lone Star Founders Fraternal

If you are (1) given to Reformed theology and (2) Baptist(ic), particularly Southern Baptist, then the following may be of interest to you, monthly meetings of the Lone Star Founders Fraternal.

In association with Founder Ministries (a group that has been dedicated for 20 years to getting back to the rich theological heritage of the founder of the SBC), local pastors and future pastors meet to discuss topics related to theology and ministry (past meetings can be found on the website).

We typically meet the second Saturday of the month at 9AM at Providence Church in Garland.

The Lone Star Founders Fraternal promotes the fellowship and edification of SBC pastors/elders and future church leaders (e.g., theological students) who seek to glorify God by the preservation and promotion of the doctrines of grace in SBC church life. To the end of fellowship and unity, we request at least general agreement with the "5 Solas" as described in the Cambridge Declaration, but welcome Baptists who can generally affirm any of the following: London Baptist Confessions of 1644/46 or 1689 or the Abstract of Principles (1858).

Our next meeting (4/14 - 9AM) will feature DTS alum James Womack, pastor of Destiny Church in Fort Worth, as we discuss racial reconciliation, church desegregation, ethnic diversity and other related issues.

We have a nice group of pastors and seminary students (including some DTSers), but always have room at the breakfast table for another. If interested, I'd happily add you or someone whom you think might be interested to our email update list.