Ministry Mulligans

By way of Tod Bolsinger's blog, I learned of an excellent article on Christianity Today, entitled "Ministry Mulligans." The author Jack Connell begins,

I used to be a pastor. For nearly two decades, I enjoyed the thrills, spills, chills and can't-quite-pay-the-bills of local church ministry. Now, five years after packing up my office for the final time (including two boxes of Leadership back issues), I still think about those years in the pastorate every single day. No exceptions. It's as though the word pastor is branded on my heart. And as I reflect on those 1,000 weeks in the world's most glorious, dangerous profession, I often think about what I would do differently if I had another shot at it. If I was given a ministry mulligan, here is what I'd do with it.

He goes on to list:

More collaboration, less competition
More pastor, less CEO
More rest, less rush
More friendship, less isolation

Not a bad list at all. As a pastor who has recently gone from a paid position to a volunteer preacher, I would say many of the same things. I might add,

more wisdom, less naivete
more deliberation in choosing leaders, less hurry
more "no," less "yes."

But don't just take my word for it. Read the whole article, and let me know what you think.