Advice for Long-Term Ministry

And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a
witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is
revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock
that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for
what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.
1 Peter 5:1–2

There is every temptation for God’s people (especially God’s ministers!) to fall in line, get in step, and follow the cadence of our times . . . and in so doing, we will become unauthentic, boring, predictable, and, well, “religious.” We need to be warned against that! While we cannot be Spurgeons (one was enough), there is much we can learn from this model of clear thinking, passionate preaching, creative writing, and unbending determination. It is nothing short of amazing that a man of his stature and gifts remained at the same church almost four decades . . . especially since he was such a lightning rod, drawing criticism for so long from so many people.

One of the secrets of a long-term pastorate is clear-thinking realism on the part of both the pastor and the congregation. The importance of two-way tolerance is extremely significant. A pastor needs to be very tolerant of the people he is serving. And the people who are being served by the minister need to be very tolerant of him. We need to give each other a lot of wobble room. Congregations need to give each other—and their pastors—room to be themselves. Religion, by the way, resists such freedom.

Please understand, I’m not saying anyone should love a lie; nor am I promoting an unaccountable sinful lifestyle. I’m simply encouraging grace here . . . giving room for others to be who they really are. All of us have quirks. All of us are unique in our own way. It’s important that we adapt to a broad spectrum of personality types.

If we’re going to live together comfortably over a long period of time, we have to accept one another’s idiosyncrasies and styles. This is an appropriate time for me to repeat something: A good sense of humor is essential, especially if you hope to survive many years in church and/or the ministry.