With the clarity of hindsight, abiding feelings
I never looked in the mirror and felt, Hot dogs, we’ve got us a leader. But I did lead when needed, seeking to be guided by our church’s five values, which first captured my own heart. I never gave myself a 10 on about 4000 sermons, but I kept trying. And I was glad when the five values showed up in the exposition of Scripture.
I never liked everyone I loved as pastor, but I worked to shepherd them with daily commitment to these five goals of a church or a person.
I think they are what give worth to 43 years of pastoring and then these last six of teaching and coaching other pastors.
What a profound satisfaction to pastor in His church, and now to try to nudge other church leaders to The Five.
After the ever-present temptations of anger, pride, and lust these powerful triplets chase us all, and are magnified by the reverend title – I was probably challenged most by cynicism. Still am. You know what I mean – we all have been lied to many times; and we have exaggerated even in sermons. We all
have said the right answer when we knew it came from our sense of duty rather than our heart. We all have watched the preacher on TV give promises of success and happiness and wonder, Who is he kidding?
But even cynical tendencies are rebooted by these five values. See if they are yours:
1. Grace: It all starts there. We love because He went first. We serve because He is the King of kindness. And a church can be characterized by God’s kind of grace, not pride in our size or stature. And I can try to be that way today.
2. Worship: Here the arrow points up, in deliberate acts of praise and obedience, so this includes our weekend services but also personal obedience. When I have served and led to glorify the Lord Christ, instead
of to look good or allow show biz, it has felt good.
3. Community: I use that word so the church and you think of Sunday and home ABFs or groups, but also so we consider how we receive and seek to build others, care for the hurting, elevate the little people, and model the washing of feet.
4. Mission: Including personal and local and global evangelism and action love, but also meaning who we are as a church and as a person. Are we here to be the hot church in town, or to go with the latest best-seller’s new way to say it, or to be the body of Christ wherever we are?
5. Integrity: It is about finances and morality and honesty, but also about its literal meaning, “oneness” — that what we say is one with what is really the way life is.
When I stand in front of Christ the Judge – I know that is ahead – I have nothing to say about my own righteousness except, I am with you!
And when I give account of my ministry — I know most of my stumbling and failures — I believe I will be graded on grace, worship, community which includes unity, mission, with integrity.
These five feel good.
Otherwise, it’s just a job.