41 PRINCIPLES ON BEING APPOINTED/ELECTED TO
PASTOR AN EXISTING CHURCH (PART 5 OF 5):
33. If the bishop appointed you, have the decency to
show up to his meetings and conventions. Be a blessing to your leader, not an
antagonist. Do not have the attitude with your leader that, “This is my church
now and I could care less what you say.” Just like you were willing to mow his
grass and everything else, while you were campaigning for the church, keep that
same humble attitude.
34. Do not belittle the people’s faith. They are not
always fighting you. For example, they may not be at the level to see the
vision of building a community center, when there are only 20 members. Start
small. Build their faith. Lead them, not drive them. You may have to, for
example, start off with a project to install an industrial stove first. That
will build their morale. Then go up from there.
35. There is probably a group of preachers in your
congregation (or in your denomination) that thought that they should have
become the pastor of the church. Do not preach against them nor lash out at
them. That makes you appear intimidated. They may criticize EVERYTHING you do.
Study the story of Nehemiah and you “stay on the wall.”
36. Do not fight with a dead man. When people die,
they become bigger than life. The members may constantly reflect on the good
times they had with a legendary former pastor. If you do something right, they
will say, “that’s not as good as what Elder McGillicuddy did.” If you do
something wrong, they will say, “Elder McGillicuddy never would have done it
that way.” Do not fight with Elder McGillicuddy. Do not insult his memory from
the pulpit. Go with the flow. Learn to live with it. Tell the people how Elder
McGillicuddy “was a visionary and he laid the foundation, so that we can be
where we are today.” This will endear you to them.
37. The former pastor’s widow may give you grief and
the blues. Do not lash out. Do not be insulting. NEVER EVER say things like,
“You’re not the First Lady anymore, you don’t run this.” Widows carry great
influence and people will sympathize with them, before they do with you. If you
have to make sure the widow gets a stipend and you have to work a job outside
the church, then so be it. Do so, until the church can get on its feet enough
to support you. Yes, you should have a backbone. I get that. But the Word also
refers to the treatment of widows. Show your leadership skills and win the
widow over.
38. If you were just appointed/elected and you are
driving an economy car; do not go out next week and buy a luxury car (because
you have a bigger salary now). Yes, you have earned your money and can do with
it as you please. However, you will be sending a statement that your priorities
are material. And you will send a red flag that you are “new money,” and do not
know how to manage prosperity.
39. Be patient. Win the people over. Preach the
Word. Eventually (if you do things right) you will win the confidence of the
saints over and be able to accomplish any project that God places on your
heart. Impatience will make you cater to the cooperative members and neglect
the troublesome members. That is wrong. A leader has to lead everyone; not just
those who always cooperate.
40. You may have a lot of preacher friends that you
have fellowshipped with down through the years. Be careful bringing in a lot of
guest speakers at the start of your pastorate. Your friends’ styles of ministry
may not fit the flavor of that house. God will hold you accountable for what
you let loose on the saints. This is a church, not a source for you to pay back
favors to your preaching buddies.
41. Be watchful when a lot of friends and family
join your ministry. Yes, they love you; but they may still see you as “Pookie.”
They may see you as more of a friend than their leader. It’s very hard for
business and friendship to mix. This can be especially challenging, if you
become pastor of the church you grew up in. You have to patiently and lovingly
work through this. Study about Moses and how he had to deal with his siblings
Miriam and Aaron. Do not go to war with your family/friends. That will break
the church up.
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