The question took me by surprise.
Had it come from a young pastor, I might have known how to respond. But the minister sitting across the chrome and formica table in the small-town cafe was no rookie.
“What should I be doing in my church?” he asked again.
Conventional wisdom would have pointed him to preaching, prayer, and pastoral care. But he was already doing those things. His struggle was deeper: not how to perform ministry skills, but in what direction to point them.
“I’m not a visionary, not a type-A personality,” he explained. “I don’t have grand ambitions or the inner drive to stretch people to accomplish great things. I’m a pastor. I enjoy talking with people about God, Scripture, life, death, their families, and their character.”
From my conversations with members of his church, I knew this pastor was well-liked.
“He’s real,” said one.
“We can tell he loves us,” said another.
Jerry’s frustration?
“I feel like I should be doing something more. But what? Where should I be putting my efforts?”
We talked about what made his church unique.
We reviewed how other churches selected their emphases-how one pastor, for instance, upon coming to a new and troubled church, spent the first year focusing on healing strained relationships, the next year developing the infrastructure (primarily small groups and the youth program), and in year three focusing on outreach.
We talked about what Jerry felt he should do to keep himself spiritually vital week after week.
I came away with a new appreciation for Jerry and for pastors who aren’t naturally given to vision or structure or goal setting.
I also came away determined that this issue of LEADERSHIP, while dealing with “Priorities and Pacing,” not add to Jerry’s burden but offer realistic and practical help.
I await Jerry’s honest evaluation, and yours, as we continue to help one another minister more faithfully and effectively.
* * *
With this issue, we welcome two new associate editors to LEADERSHIP.
Richard Doebler arrives from Crossroads Community Church, a church he planted six years ago in Plymouth, Minnesota. Before that, he spent seven years pastoring People’s Church in Dalhart, Texas.
While Rich has arrived, his wife, Sharon, and their three children, Nathan, Micah, and Jennie, had to remain in the Twin Cities until their house is sold. Despite his periodic trips home, Rich wondered how his absence would affect the children. When Sharon reported that the kids were doing fine and didn’t seem to miss him, Rich was a bit miffed, and said so.
The next time he called home, he asked Micah, 7, if he missed his daddy.
Micah, apparently aware of his dad’s need for reassurance, replied, “Oh, yes. I miss you so much I’m skipping a TV show right now just to talk to you.”
Also joining the editorial staff is Craig Brian Larson (who, because his father is Craig O. Larson, goes by Craig Brian in print and goes by Brian among his friends).
After graduating from Illinois State University on a gymnastics scholarship, Brian pastored, for eight and a half years, a home-missions congregation, Central Assembly of God in Chicago. Then three and a half years ago he moved to Arlington Assembly of God in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Brian is no stranger to readers of LEADERSHIP, having written numerous articles, all well-received, including “Gaining Respect the Old-Fashioned Way” (Spring 1988) and “The Pastor as Survivalist” (Winter 1990). And he’s the author of Running the Midnight Marathon (Revell, 1991).
He and his wife, Nancy, have four children: Aaron, Benjamin, Mark, and Brian. No word yet on what name little Brian, age 2, will go by when he begins to publish articles.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy the writing and appreciate the editing of both of these men.
* * *
The research department at Christianity Today, Inc., LEADERSHIP’s parent company, keeps us current on the demographics of our readers.
Did you know, for instance, that 70 percent of our readers have a graduate degree, and that since 1982 our readers’ median age has remained 39 years old? (This is one place where you can remain 39 year after year.)
We also discovered that the average subscriber has been getting the journal for almost five years and spends more than two hours reading each issue. Eleven percent of our readers have gotten the journal from its inception in 1980.
From such a loyal group of readers, we frequently get requests to index our articles and reviews.
I’m happy to announce that we now have available the complete eleven-year cumulative index. For those who want to know every article we’ve published on sermon applications or how to track down that piece by Eugene Peterson that lodged in the soul, send $5 to:
LEADERSHIP Index
465 Gundersen Drive
Carol Stream, IL 60188
Of course, this probably won’t be of interest to the 11 percent of our subscribers who admit to just skimming the cartoons. But for the remaining 89 percent of you who read other parts, too, we’ll be happy to send an index.
Marshall Shelley is editor Of LEADERSHIP.
Copyright © 1991 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
