57 random suggestions for new pastors

Love people more than you love books.

Teach the people you have, not the people you wish you had.

Ask questions. lots and lots of questions.

Hang out with other pastors.

Spend time with the children.

Pray more for people than you talk about people.

Knowing things that should make you a better preacher, won’t necessarily make you a better preacher.

If you are not seeking God’s voice, you cannot share God’s Word.

Placating difficult personalities rarely makes things easier.

Neither does just ‘letting them have it’.

You cannot be all things to all people… That’s not what that verse means.

If your prayer meetings are empty, it doesn’t matter how full your services are.

You can’t look after a congregation if you’re not looking after your family.

You can’t look after your family alone.

Preachers on youtube are not the best model for pastoral ministry.

Training is not just for ‘other people’.

Training alone does not prepare you completely.

Let people serve – even if you can do it better than them.

Train people – even if it’s easier to just do it yourself.

Sing worship like your life depends on it. It probably does.

Plan your time around the priorities the Holy Spirit lays on your heart. If you don’t – other people will plan your time around their priorities.

See your job description as something that should be fulfilled by year 5, not day 1.

Leave 10% of your time ‘free’ for growth that will come later. Don’t ever commit to something to simply make up the hours.

Don’t hold grudges.

Take people bowling.

Keep your office tidy.

Take your days off, and disconnect. No email or phone.

Plan Sundays where you are part of the congregation and not leading anything.

Avoiding conflict doesn’t actually avoid conflict.

Avoiding conflict doesn’t actually make life easier.

Avoiding conflict usually creates more conflict.

Treat volunteers professionally, and hold them to agreed standards.

Find a small group of people who serve and dedicate most of your time to them. Then get them to dedicate their time to others.

Love your Bible. Really really love it.

Welcome criticism, but disregard most of it.

Find people you trust to give criticism that you won’t disregard (and not just people who agree with you).

Pray like your life depends on it. It probably does.

Don’t see prayer as a function of ministry, but as an expression of relationship.

Don’t be afraid of getting things wrong. You were never made to be perfect – in fact, God tends to get more glory when you’re not.

Bring Jesus and the Gospel into every debate – see all disagreements in light of a Christ context.

Find a new hobby.

Stay healthy. Eat well, sleep consistently, exercise regularly.

Look after your youth worker. Be involved with what they do – volunteer for ‘their’ ministry.

Bring your administrator doughnuts.

Spend more time with people than you do alone in your office.

Spend time alone in your office.

Read good books about being a pastor by people who have done it for years in small churches, not brand new megachurches – for instance Eugene Peterson’s, The Contemplative Pastor

Help people to pray.

Ask for prayer often.

Love what you do. Or stop doing it.