I Need More Less is More Leadership and Less More is More Leadership. Need I Say More?

This week's book of the week happens to be by Dale Burke, Chuck Swindoll’s successor at Fullerton EV Free, who also used to pastor in Oxford, where I now pastor. But I’m reading it because of the title, and the promise of “Less is More Leadership.” I need that.

See, I’m on staff in a church that wisely grants our staff a “weekend” off every week (Monday AND Tuesday). That’s NOT the rule among pastors, I know, and for all my previous ministry history, I felt like I was doing great when I got ONE day off a week! So how come, even with two days off a week (most weeks), one of which I reserve as a sabbath, how come I still feel like Wednesday morning hits and the next five days are a frantic ride on the back of a tiger who’s just been shot out of a cannon that was packed with rocket fuel? I’ve been asking this question of everyone I can lately, fellow pastors, friends, my shrink, you name it!

On the one hand, I and my fellow staff members accomplish a prodigious amount of work every single week, so I am grateful for that. But, on the other hand, I don’t feel like we’ve hit a rhythm yet, a routine to our week that contributes to peace, creativity, etc. Maybe our problem is partly the timing of a Mon/Tues “weekend.” After all, Sunday is game day, so to speak, for us, and it’s only natural for the whole rest of the week to point to that day.

Also, I know that we’re blessed as a church to have staff members whose tendency is to work too hard. That’s the kinda people we always wanna hire, of course. It’s a blessing, and sure makes for great staff relationships and cooperation. But maybe we’re not doing such a great job of helping each other achieve sanity in our routines and rhythms. Maybe we ALL need to figure out how to lead and still have a life (and Burke's book has been helpful, so much so that we've incorporated the video series into our staff meetings).

I know there are some pastors who don’t feel constantly under the gun...right? I see ‘em at pastors’ conferences all the time. They’ve got it figured out. They’re refreshed, they’re in the zone ministry-wise....so if you’re out there, tell me what I’m doing wrong!

A Preacher's Worst Nightmare

Sometimes the words just don't come out right....

PoopedPastors.com

One of the best pastor blog names out there (next to my own "Desperate Pastor" site, of course) is the Steve Brown-hosted "PoopedPastors.com." I've subscribed to the blog, and registered for the pastor forums they have on the site, which Steve claims is the best feature of the site.

Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl

N. D. Wilson, the managing editor of Credenda/Agenda, has created something unique with his aptly named book, Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl (Wide-Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World).

The preface sets the stage with this disclaimer:

What excuses can I possibly make for this book?

Alcohol was not involved. I do not (to my knowledge) have a diseased brain. I've never used drugs. But that's not entirely true. Spring is a drug to me. So is Christmas. Love, poetry, wind, smells, lightning, children, ants, very small beetles--all drugs in their own way.

With those words (and a new entry in my collection of favorite first-lines, though he only gets half-credit since it's the first line of the preface), Wilson is off and running. And spinning. And leaping. With a sometimes dizzying stream-of-consciousness style and occasional apparent non-sequiturs that require a moment's pause ("Where did THAT come from?").

It is all entertaining, though, if sometimes a little uneven. And it is also thoroughly readable and reasonable, despite nearly back-to-back references to Nietschze, Sartre....and Wired Magazine. Some passages in the book delivered on the "wide-eyed wonder" promise of the subtitle, such as this one:

Tree, I say, and you know what I mean. You see one in your mind, or glance out your window and remember the much-needed pruning. Tree, God says, and there is one. But he doesn't say the word tree; He says the tree itself. He needs no shortcut. He's not merely calling one into existence, though his voice creates. His voice is its existence.

Throughout this book, the author says in his preface, "I was attempting to use [words] as paint, spreading them on a canvas rather than paper. I wanted to write to the body and to the senses as well as the mind. Did I?"

I think so.

Why Be a Pastor?

Something's in the air. I've had a fairly sudden flood of people approach me recently for counsel on starting a new church or entering seminary or becoming a pastor.

I've asked each of them at some point, "Why do you want to do this? Why do you want to plant and pastor a church?" The question is far from academic for me. It's all-important.

The answers I've gotten are all good, conventional enough. Lost people. Need. Passion. Check, check, check. But I sometimes sense (as with many others over the years) that there are many more reasons, sometimes buried deep, sometimes just under the surface, sometimes not.

Most of us who are pastors begin (at least) because we love people. Or because we want to be liked. Or because we want to be approved, either in God's eyes, people's eyes, or both. Or because we love God's Word. We want to preach. We love teaching people, seeing the lights come on in their eyes.

Some of us enter pastoral ministry because our family will be proud. Or our denomination will. Or because we've failed most everywhere else--we haven't been happy in any other jobs, haven't been able to hold any other jobs, whatever. Or because we've participated in churches where our pastors' standards of living were better than ours, and we figured that would be nice. Maybe even easy.

Don't look so horrified. It happens, believe me. Few of us, if any, are self-aware or honest or vulnerable enough to know or admit all the reasons. But chances are, none of them are good enough.

Because, you see, those of us who went into ministry because we love people have discovered over the years that loving people is a sure way to get yourself hurt. And wanting to be liked is a recipe for disaster. And craving approval from anyone but God is a dead end. And preaching is such a small part of what most of us do...and it usually ends up being something we squeeze in because of all the other demands on our time. And the pride of a family or denomination can be unsatisfying compared to the burdens and struggles of a conscientious pastor. And as far as standard of living and easy way of life go...don't make me laugh!

I think I've always known it, but I know it more and more with every passing year of ministry. I think most of us do, which is why no one wants to admit any other reason for entering ministry. The only good reason to be a pastor is because God has called you, unmistakably and unavoidably.

Pastoring is no way to live, unless you've been called. It will depress you, frustrate you, burden you, exhaust you, and possibly even crush you. People can be heartless, unresponsive, stubborn, and fickle. There is always way more work to do, and it's never done. For every sermon you preach, you've got it to do again next week. For every person who says, "Thank you!" there are ten who say, "Why did you....?" or "Why didn't you....?" or "How could you?" If your church is growing, so are your problems (Proverbs 14:4).

That's why I often tell people who express an interest in ministry, "If you can do anything else, do it!" Because as fun as it can be at times, it's also unspeakably hard. It'll break your heart. But if you are called, if you cannot escape, if it burns in your bones (Jeremiah 20:9), if you are compelled to the point that you say, "Woe is me if I do not" (1 Corinthians 9:16), then be a pastor.

That's not just the best reason, in my experience. It's the only one.

A Grandson's Dedication

My son-in-law Kevin took some video (on his iPhone 3GS!) of the dedication a week ago of Miles and Mia Hostetler, Abe Holzworth, and Eden Bishop.

He sent me this clip of my dedication prayer for Miles:



Miles stole the show...I think it was after I prayed for Mia (next) and moved on to pray for Abe and Eden, his parents traded kids and Miles took that opportunity while in his mother's arms to smother her face with kisses. Inexpressibly charming.

Oh, and by the way, the final phrase of my prayer, I think, that got cut off of the video at the end, was "one who is always dancing with you."