What should an ordinary pastor glean from how the President”™s office was organized and functioned?
The pastorate is not a political machine like the White House, so many issues are simply inappropriate and unnecessary. But I can find a number of helpful points to consider when thinking through how a pastor should think about how to make the best use of his time.
- A pastor can”™t run ministry on his own, but needs key and capable people to rely upon. The biblical principle of eldership indicates that no one man should be directing the affairs of the church. Qualified and capable men who can collectively oversee the church”™s ministry are needed. Ephesians 4:11-16 is a great picture of every part of the body doing its share, with pastors assuming one key role ““ that of equipping others to carry out the ministry.
- We need some regular (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual) time to think, write, plan, pray, and rest. Otherwise, a pastor”™s time will be reactive rather than proactive; he will lose focus on what is most important for the whole of the church because he is caught up in putting out immediate fires, and he will mentally and emotionally wear himself out from trying to keep up with every conceivable issue beyond his control.
- Trust and focus are key commodities in how we work with staff around us.
- Written plans culled and vetted by key staff as opposed to spur-of-the-moment conversations with innumerable personalities provides a more proactive, and thoughtful approach to advancing ministry objectives. Ministry needs to be thought through. What are the biblical parameters and implications of our actions ““ how will people be affected ““ how will Christ be exalted?
- We should spend tremendous time on fewer things. Mere busyness does not mean or guarantee effectiveness. Biblical priorities should dominate the daily schedule.
- Communication is always an essential issue and with more means of media at our fingertips, more thought needs to be given to what and how we are communicating.
- We should aim for achieving key ministry objectives that are most helpful to the church and advancing the gospel, not merely creating a buzz of activity.
- Pastors should zealously prepare not only for preaching, but for meetings and ministry events.
- Rather than reacting to appointments and in-box minutiae, pastors would do well to proactively use their time.
These seem obvious and there is much more that could be said about how an ordinary pastor makes wise use of his time. My notes here are a simple reflection inspired from the Nixon lecture. I can attest that unless intentionally pursued, the urgent will drown out the essential. The pastorate is a different animal from the presidency, yet, effectively using our time in leading an organization of people has a number of fundamental similarities regardless of the venue.
