One Pastor's Perspective

When I think back over my time in ministry, I do have regrets. I know perhaps I shouldn’t, but I do. I am not perfect and have definitely made mistakes. And, yes, there are many things I would change. And most of those things revolve around my family.

Ministry is probably harder on a family than on the minister his/her self. They prepare us in seminary to be tough and to be prepared for anything. So when difficulty is aimed at you, you are able to maintain some resilience and keep moving forward. But who prepares your family? Who prepares a spouse who knows you well enough to know how it hurts even when you try to put on that resilient face? Who prepares children who don’t understand the nuances of church politics and the nature of people, but they hear the things said about their parent? (I think there is a special place in heaven for pastor’s kids and spouses …)

But, minister, there are things you can do to help this situation. SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY!! MAKE THEM A PRIORITY!!! My greatest regrets are the times in their lives when I left to go and do church things. Some of those were absolutely necessary. In hindsight, some of them weren’t. But every time I stepped away, I missed out on important things in their lives. And they honestly are more important to me than anything other than God Himself.

Find those ways, as best you are able, to put them first. You will not regret it. At the end of your life, they will (hopefully) will be the ones surrounding you when you are stepping into that final journey. When you step away from a church, that pulpit will be filled the following Sunday. But when you take those final step away from their presence, you will be irreplaceable. Right?????

Today, you have a choice to make. Today and everyday. Will you migrate to positive thoughts, or negatives?

One of the toxic traits of “introvertism” is that some of us over think life. We analyze too much. We try to be at least seven steps ahead of what is current. It is a natural result of spending too much time alone in our heads. But there are choices that we (and extroverts and everyone in between) can make that will impact our lives and the lives of those around us for good or for bad. Will we look for positives or negatives?

We meet new people. We interact with those we know. Will we look for positives in them or negatives? I will guarantee if you look for NEGATIVES, you will find them. Those negatives will influence how you speak, think, act, and do. (By the way, if anyone looks at ME or you, they will find negatives if they look hard enough. None of us is perfect!!!!)

Likewise, if we look for positives, we will find them. The positives might show us the potential of others. And they, too, will influence how we “do life.” And the same rules also apply to situations!!!

Sometimes life can grind us down to a point where we only look for the negatives. If you are there, you eventually won’t even see the positives. And that is a dark place.

So, what will it be?? Positives or negatives? And what kind of impact do you think either of these will have on your quality of life and on your physical, mental, and emotional health?

Something to think about …..

In every way, our world (at least in the US) changed dramatically in early 2020. I not going to write the “C” word, but it changed how we do almost everything we do. It changed our outlook, our habits, our vantage points in life. We are still reeling from the change. But, should we really blame the pandemic?

Anyone who really knows me knows that I am a data geek. That goes all the way back to a lifetime ago when I was a computer programmer and software / hardware developer. We are talking the mid 1980’s, you know, back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth and a cellphone could also be used as a doorstop. My love for data and research has led me to be an avid reader of the likes of Barna, Rainer, and Nieuwhof. When the three of these sources intersect, I very much sit up and take notice.

I think Carey Nieuwhof has says this best when he says that the pandemic didn’t CAUSE the change in the church. The pandemic accelerated what was already coming! (I do not have a direct reference on this, but have heard him say this many times in the Art of Leadership academy, of which I am a thankful member!! All three of these sources agree with common sense: If we are to continue to BE the church Christ called us to be, we need to seek His face in figuring out how to reach our changing world!! And we probably won’t reach our world by keeping things the same way they’ve been for the past few decades.

The message of the Gospel is unchangeable! Make no mistake about that! We have no right to change the Gospel to meet our expectations and needs! We have no right to change the Gospel by watering it down to make it more appealing to the world! But our methods need to change. One of the greatest sins of the North American church is a holier-than-thou approach. We expect people to clean themselves up to our standards before we will let them into the club… The real joke of this is that NONE of us are capable of cleaning ourselves up enough to be deserving of salvation in Jesus Christ. So, why would we expect that of anyone else?

Love God with all of our hearts. Love each other as much as we love ourselves. Love our enemies. Pray for those who persecute us. Those are the very words of Christ. And, just before He ascended to Heaven after the resurrection He told us to GO, MAKE DISCIPLES, BAPTIZE THEM, TEACH THEM, and that He would help us do that every step of the way.

So these changes cause us discomfort? So we are not too crazy about reaching our to our enemies? Have no fear … Jesus promised that He would be with us always and He would help us. Trust Him.

Today begins a new chapter for David Wike. My grandson said something to me last night that inspired me to write more. So I am taking my blog in a new direction.

While anyone is welcome to read this, I am writing to pastors. To ministers. To anyone serving in a local church or ministry setting. I will, to the best of my ability, be honest about ministry. This blog could bore you to tears… (In that case, why are you reading it??) This blog could make you mad. Or it might help.

In the coming days and weeks, you might see a post or two. Probably won’t be a daily thing, but you never know. The topics will center around ministry stuff and challenges that ministers face. I hope and pray it helps someone.

Last night after our mid-week Bible study at Ebenezer, my grandson asked me “Papa, have you been speechin’?” I took a deep breath and answered, “Yes, I guess I have.” He then added “I’m too little to speech … But when I get bigger I will.”

Another deep breath … And a smile. And a spark.