Wow. I spoke with another friend and megachurch pastor who was removed from his church last month. As a leadership coach and pastor to pastors, it breaks my heart and causes me to lose sleep every time.
What happened? Nothing really. Life. The gravitational pull. Pressure. Pride. That's what happened.
At the end of the day, the ministry model so common in our day tends to lend itself for this to happen. One thing is sure ... this is us, except by the grace of God. This is us, if we're not careful. This is some of us if we keep going the way we're going. To finish well, we will need to fight against the gravitational pull, and beat our bodies into submission.
This is our call: "But I bring and keep my body under subjection, lest when preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27).
The No. 1 mistake I see pastors make is living in isolation. We don't mean to, but we just get busy, over-committed, overextended, exhausted and sometimes even numb. After a long week of ministry, many of us just want to go home and binge on Netflix or self-medicate in some other way.
What's missing in the lives of many megachurch pastors I know is genuine friendship, camaraderie, koinonia and intimacy. We are missing relationships that are for us and with us, not just behind us or under us.
Jesus is our greatest example. Why did He pick the 12 apostles? Mark 3:14 tells us: " He ordained twelve to be with Him, and to be sent out to preach ..."
Even Jesus knew He needed people with Him and for Him. What do pastors really need? If there was one value I would list above all others it's this: friends. Not acquaintances, but really great friends that we respect and admire and who understand us. We need friends who are dealing with what we're dealing with and understand the pressure. We need friends who have walked where we will walk and have the scars to prove it, friends who will challenge us and hold us accountable. There is great pressure in the pastorate, but it doesn't have to break us.
Ecclesiastes 4:12b says, "A threefold cord is not quickly broken." Pastors, let us not break. Let us not give up. Let us finish well and finish together. Let us stick together and do life together. Let us run the race in such a way that we don't disqualify ourselves and pray for revival together. Let us see God pour out His Spirit in our lives and in our churches.
I am all for the Great Commission but not at the expense of the Great Commandment. Pastors, let us not just love God; let us also love each other. Let us stop criticizing, critiquing and isolating ourselves from each other. If you haven't yet, it is time to get some friends and mentors. Success is found in many counselors.
If I can help, let me know.
Shawn Lovejoy is the Founder & CEO of CourageToLead.com, a coaching ministry for leaders. He was formerly pastor at Mountain Lake Church and Directional Leader for churchplanters.com and the Velocity Conference. Shawn is the author of Be Mean About The Vision: Preserving and Protecting What Matters. You can read more from Shawn and other authors on pastoring, church planting, multiplication, and other topics at NewChurches.com.
For the original article, visit edstetzer.com.
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