Reflections on Twenty Years in Ministry

This past August marked twenty years of me serving in pastoral ministry. Over the years, God has taught me many lessons. Here are some of them in no particular order:

• I have made more mistakes than I can count. The ministry is all of His grace, not my works.
• It is a miracle that I am still in the ministry. God alone has sustained me.
• If you do not know that you are called by God, you will never make it.
• All my plans failed. Every single one. The only things that succeeded were those found in the Word and bathed in prayer.
• Nothing good has ever happened that I did not first earnestly pray for.
• Fasting works. I hate fasting.
• God’s grace is beyond my comprehension.
• Jesus radically changes people.
• All human problems are solved by the Gospel.
• God’s Word is so profoundly true that it still blows me away.
• To follow Jesus is to be lied about, betrayed, and crucified. Expect it.
• People vote with their wallets and feet more than any other way.
• Once frightened, it takes a long time for sheep to settle down.
• Most people value worshiping in peace over anything else.
• Don’t be surprised when sinners sin.
• The closer you get to Jesus the more sinful you see yourself to be.
• The more righteous you see yourself to be the farther away from Jesus you actually are.
• Churches are comprised of sheep, wolves, and goats. To this day I have a hard time telling them apart.
• The fruit of the Spirit matters more than theology, conviction, or practice.
• My most important ministry is to my family. If I fail here, I cannot succeed elsewhere.
• You never forget the sheep that go astray. I still pray for them to this day and long for their return.
• Arguing theology is most often a mark of how immature you are not how mature you are.
• People are the best!
• People are the worst!
• People love you more than they show it.
• People hate you more than they show it.
• If I neglect time alone with the Lord, everyone can tell. My relationship with God affects my congregation.
• People care more about feeling loved than they do your theology or preaching.
• Humility is the key to the Christian life.
• True friends are rare. If you find them, keep them.
• The character of your wife makes or breaks you in the ministry. I have a good wife.
• If you have a happy home, you can be sustained through misery at church.
• Children are blessings. Welcome them as Jesus did.
• Selfishness is the bane of the Christian life.
• Pride hurts more people than you realize.
• You need other pastors in your life more than you realize.
• Church people are very good hypocrites. It is hard to see their true colors.
• Good deacons are worth their weight in gold.
• A good secretary who keeps things confidential is worth every penny.
• Private discipleship is more important than public ministry.
• How you say something is more important than what you say.
• The problem in many churches is the pastor.
• How many men I raise up to send out is more important than how many I gather to listen to me preach.
• I drive the bus that runs me over. (Thanks, Dale!)
• My life is the loudest sermon I preach.
• Take vacation days. Jesus will take care of His church while I am gone.
• God has better plans for my church than I do.
• Bitterness will kill your soul. Forgive as Jesus forgave you.
• My church is better than yours. Seriously, I have the best people in my congregation.
• After twenty years, I still do not have a clue as to what I am doing!
• Being a pastor is the hardest thing I have ever done.
• My wife has a harder job than I do.
• It is worth it.