Note: This is Part 2 in a 6-part introductory series on the foundational principles of StartingWell.net. You can find the previous post here: Part 1
I’m a huge sports fan. I love watching sports. I love talking about sports. In my younger days, I loved playing sports. I love attending sporting events. I love everything about sports.
One of the teams I follow is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team. At the time of this post, new head coach Mark Pope has instilled a renewed energy and passion among the fanbase. Based on the results thus far this season, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future.
However, one thing troubles me about this team. They have gotten off to several slow starts and have found themselves in significant deficits on multiple occasions. While this team has had some remarkable comebacks this season, the effort, intensity, and focus required to catch up are exhausting. At other times, the deficit has been so large that getting back in the game seemed impossible. And many times, it was.
Kentucky’s slow starts serve as a reminder that it’s critical to start well. That’s true when playing a basketball game, and it’s true when pastoring a church.
It’s certainly possible for a pastor to have a long and fruitful ministry at a church if he doesn’t start well. However, the chances significantly increase if he does. If you are a pastor in the early days of serving in a new church or expect to do so soon, here are the four priorities you should focus on to start well.
1. Love well.
Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Although this statement applies to all Christians, it most certainly should be true for those called to pastor God’s people.
However, it’s common for pastors to get so focused on ministry aspirations or turning a plateaued or declining church around that we lose sight of our primary calling to shepherd the flock of God among us.
If you want to start well, strive to avoid this mistake.
It’s okay if you want to lead the church to get out of their comfort zones, start new ministries, or adopt a new mission statement. But you will only effectively do so if you first love them well.
You need to get to know the flock and build relationships. You also need to let them get to know you, flaws and all. If you do so, you will eventually gain their trust, and they will start to follow your leadership.
You need to get to know the flock and build relationships.
But that doesn’t happen on day one. It takes time. And it takes love.
2. Learn well.
You are likely not the first pastor the church has ever had, nor will you be the last. However, some pastors fail to acknowledge this reality and arrive with a preconceived plan without considering the church’s history, culture, community, or current reality.
They could have read it in a book or succeeded with a similar approach in their previous church. Regardless of the source, arriving on day one with a preconceived plan rarely achieves the desired results and can often lead to unnecessary conflict.
A better approach is to take the time necessary to learn well. Learn about the church’s history. Learn about the community. Learn about their hopes, dreams, fears, and frustrations about the church’s future. Learn why the same deacon prays over the offering each week. Learn the story behind the odd piece of furniture in the foyer. Learn everything you can about the church during your first year.
Learning well early in your tenure will help you lead well later, as you will be better equipped to make informed decisions.
3. Listen well.
A quick way to get off to a rough start is to make significant decisions without input from others. Yet, I could share many stories when I have talked with pastors who did just that and suffered the consequences for their poor decisions. Proverbs 11:14 provides a needed reminder here: “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
Proverbs 11:14
As a pastor just getting started in a church, you must take the time to listen well. You should listen well to the still, small voice of the Lord as you spend time with Him in prayer and Bible study. You should listen well to other church leaders and seek their input on implementing changes or casting vision. You should listen to pastors of sister churches who can become trusted friends and advisors. You should listen to discern how the church responds to your leadership. And you should listen to your wife and family for warning signs that you are spending too much time on church matters and not enough on family matters.
4. Lead well.
If you diligently focus on loving well, learning well, and listening well during your first year or two, you will probably not have time to make many significant changes at the beginning. And that’s ok. You will undoubtedly gain the credibility to do so later on.
You may also feel like you’re just spinning your wheels in the early days. Nothing could be further from the truth. You are laying a solid foundation upon which you can build for years to come. You are developing relationships. You are earning the congregation’s trust. You are building leadership capital.
And when the time comes, you will have the ability not just to lead but to lead well.
Pastoral Priorities
These four pastoral priorities are based on the collective wisdom of experienced pastors and ministry consultants who have served the Lord and His church for many years. In addition to my own experience and observation, I have benefited greatly from their wisdom and insight.
I hope you will, too.
To recap, if you want to start well, focus on loving well, learning well, listening well, and leading well. Making these your pastoral priorities will not guarantee the absence of unnecessary conflict, but it will certainly lower its chances.
Note: This is Part 2 in a 6-part introductory series on the foundational principles of StartingWell.net.
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