Some Advice For Pastors (Part 3)

No one is perfect, and the sooner you accept yourself for how you are and who you are, the simpler life will be.
It’s OK to know your weaknesses and work on minimizing them.  But it’s not reasonable to expect you’ll ever be perfect.  Instead, accept that you are more than good enough just as you are.

Celebrate your achievements, and congratulate yourself on what you do well.  Spending more time focusing on your strengths will build your confidence and self-worth, which affects pretty much everything else.

Have you heard the expression, “They don’t read your resume at your funeral”?  It’s true.  We don’t remember people by their achievements.  Even someone well known to us, like Dr. Wade Horton or Dr. Ray Hughes is not remembered by his resume in this generation.

We who started in the early 70's in ministry remember them for their determination, creativity, drive, and intelligence. They are remembered for their traits – the traits that led to their successful resume.

Work out what traits you want people to remember about you, and live your life accordingly.  The best way to do this is to establish your values, or what’s important to you, and live your life in a way that reflects those values,

When you’ve got a task or project that needs doing, ask yourself, “What is the simplest, most straightforward way of achieving the result I need?”  Focus on outcomes rather than standard processes, and you’ll be amazed how much more efficient life can be, especially in trying times.

I once worked with a senior pastor who's wife called to say she was locked out of the parsonage.  The parsonage was a 30-minute drive away, and a member had just arrived for a scheduled meeting. The pastor now had two important people who both wanted the next hour of his time.  What was he going to do?

He calmly picked up his car keys and left the office.  Then, he drove his member to his house while they held their meeting.  Instead of focusing on the conflicting demands, the pastor focused on achieving both outcomes as simply as possible.