Priorities in My Pastoral Ministry

I've been thinking about the things that I prioritize in my pastoral ministry. Here's what I came up with in no particular order:

1. The Message of Full Salvation. The need for heart purity and the remedy found in the baptism of the Holy Spirit will ever be a message that I emphasize in my teaching and preaching. The salvific work of God in this life does not end with justification! God's will and plan for you is to experience, before Heaven, the entire sanctification Jesus provided for in His death and resurrection! I will preach it, live it, and shout it!

2. Pastoral Care. Whatever the attendance of the church is, I believe pastoral care is important. It will always be a priority of mine. In the era of mega church emphasis and a corporate mentality in the church, I will continue to visit the sick, the prisons, and people at home. I admittedly cannot visit everyone under my care and will no doubt miss a surgery or wedding or celebration, but I plan on being with people like Jesus did.

3. High Personal Standards. I want to operate with conviction about the life God called me to live in holiness. Those called to service as leaders in the church should have high standards of ethics and morals Monday through Saturday and not only on Sunday. While some may gravitate toward the hipster preacher, I am committed to living a life pleasing to the Savior. The trust that the congregation I serve places in me is an honor and a gift that I will never take lightly. 

4. Biblical Fidelity. I've ministered in a number of contexts and appreciated the local community culture as well as the local church's culture. These things are a gift from God. The difficulty of Christians in every era of human history and geographical location is to discern the holy way without being led away by worldly influences. Faithfulness to God's plan for every area of life is the only way to maintain that fidelity. The Holy Spirit always leads us back to the revealed will of God through the Bible. In my personal life, my preaching, my church life, and ministry I will be faithful to God's Word regardless of the cost.

5. Newness of Life. The greatest joy of pastoral ministry is walking with individuals into a relationship with the Creator and witnessing, first hand, the change that takes place in their lives. Transformation happens in a moment of time and discipleship is a lifetime process. God brings real change in the lives of those who yield to His leading in their lives. The new birth and water baptism of individuals, the complete consecration and fire baptism, as well as other spiritual breakthroughs throughout the journey of individuals is the reward of diligent ministry. I will not settle for no fruit. 

What are some of your priorities in ministry?

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Signs of Maturity

 What does maturity look like in real life? Here are 7 signs of maturity I have noticed:

1. Receive criticism well. How you respond to criticism is an important aspect of maturity. Criticism is not all bad. It is often difficult for us each to see areas of personal growth, but criticism (even from those who do not intend to help us), can assist in helping us become self-aware in areas in which we can improve. Those who insulate themselves from critique are suffering from self-inflicted harm leading to arrested development and indicating their lack of maturity.

2. Responsibility before recreation. Certainly rest, relaxation, and even creation is an important component to a holy life, but these things have become foundational for many people. Negating responsibility or work to focus on entertainment is a plague for the immature. Maturity leads us to fulfill our obligations, responsibilities, and complete tasks assigned before participating in entertainment. Procrastination is a red flag of immaturity.

3. Long term over short term focused. Focusing on long term goals and fulfillment rather than short term urges and satisfaction is a sign of maturity. A greater level of fulfillment is realized by the mature who work diligently and often over a long period of time to accomplish a long-term goal. The immature constantly fluctuate as they seek quick, easy, and temporary fulfillment by gratifying the desires of the present moment and context. The problem is that they never see something through to completion that will take more than a week to bring fulfillment. Delayed gratification is a sign of maturity.

4. Respond instead of react. In a moment of difficult conversation, it is easy to react in emotional anger or angst. Maturity leads us to respond in ways that are appropriate rather than being dictated to by shifting emptions. This is not to say that maturity lacks emotions or their exhibition. Rather, maturity is not dictated to by emotions. Being reactionary is very often volatile.

5. Doings things you don't enjoy. Immaturity can lead to a type of hedonism that avoids perceived negative emotions, activities that are not enjoyable or immediately gratifying, and socially uncomfortable situations. Maturity mandates appropriate action even under uncomfortable settings. Eating things you don't like, doing chores that are not enjoyable, approaching social situations that are emotionally charged or even costly are difficult, but necessary in light of maturity. 

6. Action more than talk. While setting goals and determining future goals is important, immaturity keeps those goals from being realized be keeping them in the realm of conversation only. The reason why many people are frustrated by committee meeting is often because no action is actually taken or implemented. Maturity leads us to actively accomplish the tasks and goals at hand rather than simply talk about them. Anyone can dream, but maturity does.

7. Being a self-starter. Maturity does not wait until it is forced to move forward to take action. The mature are self-starters who see the need or the obstacle or the problem and began to work toward the solution. They take upon themselves the responsibility to make sure that action is taken. Immaturity waits to be forced or mandated to take action. The immature act only in an emergency or in the face of immediate problem.

What might you add to a list of "signs of maturity"?

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