What’s a New Pastor to Do?
Someone asked me recently what advice I would give to a new pastor. My first thought was that there is no vice worse than ad-vice. I was ordained in 1996 and I am now six months into serving my second congregation. I have been the recipient and beneficiary of good counsel many times over. So here’s a few
thoughts for the fellow newbies out there.
- Listen. I really think that you should spend your first six months doing a lot of listening. Listen to the stories, the anecdotes, the complaints, the dreams of your folks. Go to their homes. Eat meals with them. Ask them to tell you about themselves and their congregation. Pastors naturally do a lot of talking. It’s not so natural to for us to listen. When you are new, getting to know your people has got to be a top priority. There will be times when you will really need them to listen to you. They’ll return the favor if you invest in listening to them from the start.
- Get out of your office. Most likely you will want to keep certain office hours at the church so that people know when they can find you there. But I have found huge advantages in taking my show on the town. I love to take my books and computer to a local coffee shop and work there. Wear your collar so everyone knows you are a pastor. I go regularly to three or four coffee shops in my town and have gotten to know quite a few of the locals. I see more of my parishoners at Starbucks than I would if I just stayed at the church office all day. Let people know where they can find you, but get out and about.
- Join a service club. I joined Rotary, but you could try the Lions or Kiwanis. The advantages are manifold. First of all, you immediately make a bunch of friends and have a rewarding social circle outside of your congregation. This keeps you grounded. You can network and connect with community leaders in a mutually beneficial way. Plus, these organizations do great work, both locally and around the world.
- Read widely. For the last four to ten years, as a student, you’ve been assigned mountains of things to read, some of it worthwhile. Now that school is over, you can begin your education. Get a library card and walk to the new book shelf and select something there. Then go to the newpapers and find out what the best-sellers are and check out one or two of them. It doesn’t matter what they’re about or whether you think you’ll like them. Read them anyway. Make sure that at all times you are reading a current popular novel. Certainly, you will want to keep current in theology but take the time to read in other areas as well. Read current events, psychology, pop culture, history, sociology and whatnot. Read for several hours every day. It’s work, not leisure. Being well-read will make you a more interesting person. And NEVER underestimate the importance of being interesting.
- Maintain a sense of humor.
- Work hard on your sermons but not too hard. If your sermon sounds like poetry, re-write it. I’m not saying you can’t be poetic, just make sure the average listener will actually know what the blazes you are talking about. You are no longer writing for professors, unless you happen to serve a congregation full of professors. Don’t try to impress. Try to communicate. Many pastors, accustomed to years of classroom work, write for the eyeball, not the ear hole. Next to being faithful to the text of Scripture, being clearly understood is your top priority. Just because your parishoners are tolerant of bad preaching doesn’t mean you should be. Learn from other preachers but never imitate them. Preach like you talk. If people don’t follow your sermon, it literally doesn’t matter what you say.
Not exhaustive. But it’s a start.
