A young pastor recently asked me to help him with his sermon prep skills. We met at Panera Bread, across the street from my office.
The more we talked about his 60–70 hour work week, the more I realized that sermon prep was not the pressing issue in his life, and our conversation shifted to priorities.
To help make my point, I wrote four words on the back of my Panera Bread receipt: Christian, husband, father, pastor.
I then pointed to the receipt and said, “This is WHO YOU ARE. What you DO flows from who you ARE.”
Then I scribbled this on the receipt:
Because of who you are, this is what YOU have to do:
1. follow Jesus
2. be a good husband
3. be a father to your three sons
4. lead the church
Pointing to the list, I explained to my friend that no one can do the first three, except him. If he does not do them, no one does.
No one can follow Jesus for him.
No one can love his wife for him.
No one can father his sons for him.
This stuff can’t be delegated.
Number 4 is totally different. Number 4 can be delegated and staffed. In fact, the more number 4 is delegated, the more successful the pastor (and the church) will be.
The first three demand a one-man-show. The last one demands a team.
Not sure if I helped my friend, but I think I helped me. I always need to remind myself who I am and what my priorities should be.
————–
– Also on this topic – from the archives – something I wrote at least 10 years ago for Evangelicals Today mag – “Succeeding at Church, Failing at Home”
– Now playing on my accidental missionary site: “If I Had Millions, I’d Be Generous”