The Making of a Pastor

Two Indispensable Requirements for Pastoral Ministry

There are a number of things I could list in a blog post with this title. I don’t want to suggest that the two requirements I’m about to mention are the only two requirements. Surely, there are many other things we can and should say about effective pastoral ministry. But in my experience, ministry won’t go well, and pastors won’t go far, without at least these two requirements:

We must like studying the Bible.
And we must like our people.

The word “like” may feel a bit squishy, but I use it intentionally. We all know that we should love the Word of God and love people. That’s a given. But if that’s all I said, we’d nod together in tedious agreement: “Yes, good reminder, Kevin. The Bible is important, and the church is important. We must be people of the book and shepherds after God’s own heart.”

True, true. But with “like” I’m trying to say something a little different than all that. Read More

How One Pastor Learned to Let Go of His Do-It-All-Myself Compulsion

During my early pastoral years, I [Carl] ministered as if the world’s salvation depended on me being available for everyone’s needs. Through my preaching, church-staff supervision, church-school administration and being on call for 24-hour hospital visitation, I conveyed the idea that I was glad to take care of any situation just as soon as I could get there.

If someone had asked why my ministry was so dependent on my own ability, I would have responded with a blank stare. I was grateful to be needed! I had a church full of people who viewed me as their shepherd—interpreted as primary caregiver. What greater sign of effectiveness could I want? Read More