Seven Ministry Mistakes

A former pastor reflects on what he wishes he'd done differently.

My wife and I were recently in a conversation about our years together. We will celebrate 33 years of marriage this year, and we dated for almost six years. The simple math was a surprise—we have been dating or married for nearly four decades!

It was a good conversation, but I had moments of regret: times that I was too busy for my family, times I gave in to my tendency to want to win an argument with my wife rather than resolve the problem, times I failed to slow down and enjoy life.

Mistakes in Ministry

I then reflected on my years when I served as senior pastor of four churches. I have often said that I wanted to write a book entitled Mistakes I Made in Ministry. Then I realized it would have to be a multi-volume series!

There are no "do-overs" in life and ministry. But there are always opportunities to learn, correct, and improve. So here are seven of the key mistakes I made as a senior pastor. Obviously, the list is not exhaustive. Seven just seemed to be a good, biblical number. ...

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