Do you ever pause to count the reasons why you do what you do? For me, the role I fill is pastor. It still blows me away when I think about the fact that people call me that. I don't deserve it. I didn't do anything to earn it. But there are some things about it that I love.
I LOVE leading people across the threshold of faith. This past Sunday I referenced Jesus claim from John 10 about being the gate. He also claimes to be the Way (John 14), and the curtain (Hebrews 10). In other words, He is a door that grants us access to something, and according to Jesus that something is super-abundant living. There is nothing that means more to me in ministry than helping someone cross the threshold of the Door and access God.
I LOVE helping people grow. Jesus loves us too much to leave us the same. He didn't just die on the cross to save us from an old life. It starts there. But everyday He extends to us the promise of a new one. It is a life we are constantly discovering. In my view, discipleship is the process of discovering that new life. It is the journey of becoming more like Jesus every week. God uses a variety of life situations to accomplish spiritual growth. We become more like Jesus through trials we experience. We become more like Jesus by refusing temptation. There are many other tools God uses, but I find myself with continual "pastoral" opportunities to counsel people who are experiencing trials and temptations. I love helping people discover how they can make much of Jesus through their personal challenges.
I LOVE watching someone hit their "sweet spot." I consider one of my primary responsibilities as a pastor to be helping people use their God-given gifts for eternity. When someone makes a commitment to invest their talents and their skills into ministry, I am humbled and energized everytime. We are a team at our church. We've got a shot to transform our city for the simple reason that we don't depend on any superstars. We're a group of ordinary men and women, flawed and failure prone, who are discovering the thrill of giving time and talent back to God.
I LOVE seeing the "one another" passages at work. You know the ones. Love one another. Bear with one another. Honor one another above yourselves. The church operates according to different communal rules because our founder, Jesus Christ, turned the idea of community upside down. It's all about thinking of others first and myself last. There's nothing that fires me up more as a pastor than when this works right. One of our dreams as a church is to experience first-hand the miracle of racial reconciliation. Detroit is historically one of the most segregated cities in America. A big part of our dream is to see that label changed by the church, and I love it when I see evidence in our church that our relationships are being affected by our creed.
I LOVE multiplying new life. Those who have been at our church awhile know that my call to ministry was a church planting call. Starting new church is in my DNA. It's something I'll never get away from. Our vision as a church is to fill Metro Detroit with new church plants. Baby churches attract baby Christians. We want to plant churches to change our city. We're currently walking through the miracle of our first baby. In April we'll launch our Royal Oak church plant. It will be an answer to prayer and a fulfillment of our dream.
I LOVE what I do. This list is certainly not exhaustive, but it is helpful in remembering things that are too easily forgotten in the grind of other things. I'm humbled by the opportunity to be called "Pastor," and determined to give it my best today.
Wow, Pastor. Great thoughts. I'm not a senior pastor right now, but I definitely hear your heart. I share in those passions to see the lost one, discipled and matured into what God has called them to do, and to guide them along. God bless, Brother!
~Jeff
Posted by: Jeff | December 15, 2005 at 12:14 PM