If you walked into our church seven years ago, the gray hair in my scruffy beard might have led you to mistake me for a veteran preacher. But despite some wrinkles and a penchant for 70’s rock, I was a rookie. I had served as a lay pastor for several years and knew that leading a church plant would come with fresh challenges. But the new senior role exposed me to many temptations that I did not expect.
Some merely taunted and tempted me. Others I fell for.
Trying Too Much Too Soon
It’s normal to begin with big vision and gospel-sized hopes for your church. But I was tempted to do too much, too quickly. Many weeks I succumbed and found myself overwhelmed, exhausted, and not doing anything particularly well.
“Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city” (Prov. 16:32). Many weeks I set out to take the city but gained little ground.
All the parables with agrarian imagery also challenged me (cf. Mark 4:26–32). I’ve heard more than one wise shepherd suggest that pastoring is like farming; slow, faithful, day-in and day-out work bears the most fruit over time. The great preacher
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
