Traditionally, certain monks have taken a vow of silence as an act of dedication to the Lord. They set aside a certain amount of time to keep their mouths shut so they could learn to listen to God. It was believed that thirty, sixty, ninety days, and even a year of silence might help them in their walk of faith.

Often, these experiments in discipline result in worship of a person’s willpower more than God. People thought, “If they can be silent for that long, they must truly be a spiritual person.” And if thirty days were a sign of a mature faith, then a year could only be achieved by the most spiritual people on earth.

As a result of all the ways this can be distorted, it is now a fringe activity done by a handful of people. And yet, I would like to suggest to you that a vow of silence might not be an entirely bad thing. I don’t mean total silence; rather, what if you committed yourself to keeping your mouth shut whenever you feel like you need to correct people?

Imagine a new believer is talking about a passage of scripture they read and how they felt the comfort of the Lord in the words. Meanwhile, you know that they are using the passage a little out of context. Could you vow to keep your mouth shut and let this person grow in their faith rather than trying to instruct them at the moment?

Or picture a conversation in which you hear a fellow believer mention a passage of scripture you have studied in detail. Could you keep your mouth shut and not ramble on about all you know?

Possibly, there will be a time when you are having a religious conversation with people of varying backgrounds. Could you keep your mouth shut instead of trying to convince everyone of your theological perspective?

One true sign of spiritual maturity is knowing your scriptures and what they mean. I also think another sign is letting people talk and not feeling like you have to make everyone see it from your viewpoint.

What would happen if you vowed to listen more than you speak?

What is it like to be a pastor?

This question haunts my days. While I have done it for a long time, I am never entirely sure if I am doing it correctly. Some parts of my job are spelled out in scripture; those things I can do with confidence.

There are also so many gray areas. Should I start this program? Should I visit that person? Should I confront this now or wait? Should we spend money here or there or not at all? Am I doing enough to help people know Jesus? Am I doing too much and killing myself as a workaholic?

This list of questions and ways to second guess ministry are limitless. And if you happen to be an overthinker like me, it can cause you to lose sleep and teeter on the edge of emotional instability.

Faith is not only about trusting God as your Savior; it is also about trusting him as your Lord. That means that you live every day trying to please him. AND that you trust him to take care of all the details. I place my faith in Jesus, knowing that my efforts to serve him will accomplish his will by his power and design.

I know some of my decisions are incorrect, and I often fail in what I should be doing. But I have faith that God will use my work for his glory.

Faith is essential for those who serve the Lord, whether paid or volunteer. We need faith that we have a Savior and that he is using our lives to accomplish far more than we ever imagined.

It seems the goal of some preachers is to make their people feel bad every week about something that they are or are not doing.

There are numerous sermons preached where the goal is to confront sin or the absence of righteousness and leave people feeling bad about themselves. And if the preacher has not made everyone a little bit sad, then they have not done their job.

Some take it one step further. If you do not preach on sin and are consistently making people feel bad, then you are “sugarcoating the gospel” or “watering down the message of Jesus.”

I would argue that scripture comes to us in a variety of ways, and preaching should, too. Some of the Bible contains poetry, proverbs, and promises. Some of the scriptures are history, prophecy, and a little mystery. Some of the messages are gospel, grace, and goodness. There are words of encouragement, enlightenment, and education.

Repentance and confession are a massive part of the call for believers, but it is not the only message. Not every sermon needs to make people feel bad about themselves. A feel-good sermon can be equally Biblical and practically required.

This Sunday, I will stand up and share a message of the love of God and the love of one another. I do not desire for people to feel bad about themselves; in fact, I want people to know the love that God and his people have for them.

Be careful about judging the quality of a sermon by its condemnation of sin or apathy. Those are not the only criteria for a good sermon.

The pastor said that he and his wife had two children. Together, they determined that their goal was to have Godly, well-adjusted children by the time each kid turned 35 years old.

He continued by saying they knew their children would have struggles in their teens, search for a career in their twenties, and build a family in their thirties. They also knew their faith would need to mature with them as they search for their own faith community.

What this enabled them to do was stay encouraged when their children were walking through difficult seasons. When having doubts about faith in their late teens, they remembered each one had time to figure this out. When they wanted to change majors in college, they rest assured that there was plenty of time to settle into a career. When their heart was broken over a lost relationship, they were not anxious about their future as they were still learning to love.

This single goal helped them to cope, coach, and encourage their offspring toward the life God desired. He stated that research shows that who you are at 35 is what you will basically remain for the rest of your life.

How would your parenting be different if you focused on age 35 and not 18 or 22 or 25?

As Christians, our most significant act of discipleship is the one we do with our children. This is a lifelong journey that does not end when they go to college or move out of the house.

“I love your sermons. I don’t mind being late each Sunday as long as I can hear the sermon.”

“I am so glad we put the sermons online. That way, I don’t have to miss Church.”

“You are a great preacher. Don’t ever leave because I like coming to Church here.”

These are all statements I have heard this year. I know that all of these are meant to be compliments, and I appreciate the sentiment of kindness directed at me.

But you need to know how I hear it. Here is what I heard in each of these conversations. “I am an immature disciple who likes the Pastor more than Jesus.”

Before you get upset, please hear me out. Pastors like me want to see you connected to Jesus and not to us. We want to see people love to worship the Lord and not hear us preach. Our desire is for people to connect to God and one another every Sunday, even if we are not the ones preaching. All of these statements tell me that you are building your faith on me, and know this: I WILL disappoint you sometime.

My dream as a pastor is to have people who love to come to Church out of a commitment to Jesus and nothing else.

If you think of the Church only in terms of the pastor, then we have failed to do our job.

While I enjoy attending, I do understand conferences are designed with one major flaw. They provide education with no accountability. You can learn volumes and then do nothing with it. There is no one to say, “You know better than that.” As a result, most of the things I have learned over the years are grand theories and ideas kept in various binders and notebooks.

That is the genius of God in the local Church. While it might not always inspire you like a conference, it is a place where people can hold you accountable for what you have learned. Fellow believers can come alongside you to help you implement God’s word as you are transformed to be like Christ.

Of course, the Church is flawed, too, if you treat it like a weekly conference that is meant only to inspire or educate you.

The questions are similar but not the same.

Do you want it to be right?

Do you want it right away?

Immediate results are not always the best long-term decisions. You need to be clear on what type of choices you are making because the future will be here sooner than you think.

I was talking to Caleb, a local minister with a similar background to mine. We talked about ministry, marriage, and our lives. He told me how he was spending most of his free time remodeling the bathroom in their house. We exchanged stories of plumbing nightmares, extended budgets, and unhappy spouses. 

Then he paused and said something like this: “I love it, though. It is good to see a project start and then finish. It is the opposite of ministry.”

I knew exactly what he meant. One of the strains of doing ministry is that you never see a finished product with people. No one shows up a mess, comes to Jesus, develops as a complete disciple, and the person is finished.

Transforming people takes years of teaching, preaching, and discipling. It happens over time through pain, joy, and everything in between. It involves making mistakes, continually struggling with sin, and living in the light of grace. Some people will quit, others will move away, and some will become your biggest advocates.

Ministry for God, both paid and unpaid, is a nonstop job that only ends at the grave. There are many days when I do not know if I am doing any good. The results can be impossible to see. Were my efforts a waste of time, or will something amazing happen? Even when I know the seed gets planted, it will take years for the tree to produce fruit, and I might never see it happen.

Working for Jesus can be frustrating for results-oriented people like me. Faith is not only about believing in God; it is also about trusting that he will take my efforts and use them to bring his work to completion.

I was completely loaded with gear and had over a mile to walk with all the weight. I was pushing myself as I took one small step at a time. When I was about to give up, I stopped to rest and looked back to where I had started this journey. I was more than halfway. I had come a lot farther than I imagined. At that moment, I was encouraged by my progress, and it gave me the strength to keep pushing forward.

Biblically, there are instructions never to look back. Lot’s wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Jesus told his followers that anyone who puts his hand on the plow and looks back is not worthy of his kingdom. Those are examples of looking back with longing. A desire to return to the place we had left. That is not my encouragement today.

I am telling you to look back so that you can gain strength for the journey ahead. Sometimes, it is good to look back, not with a desire to return, but rather to see how far you have come. Take a moment to pause and remember what your life was like when you first came to Jesus. Think through all the changes you have made and how your life looks different today.

Some days, as a Christian, you can be weighed down by the road that lies ahead and forget how far you have come since you started. Occasionally, it is good to recall the path God has led you down and the person you are today.

Keep pressing on; you have come so far. Don’t give up.

Twenty-five years ago, I heard Church consultant Lyle Schaller talk about visiting Churches in an attempt to help them face the future. He said the very first thing I tell everyone is, “All of you are going to move, quit, or die. We cannot count on any of you to be here in the future.”

Although statistics vary based on the location of the Church, the average rate of attrition is around 20% for the local community of believers in the US. That means every year, a Church of 100 people loses around 20 people who are attending today. Reasons for this also vary, but Lyle’s categories are still valid: people move, quit the group, or go to meet Jesus.

Since this is true, for a Church to maintain its current size and ministry, it needs to be adding 20% growth of new people each year. Obviously, some of those people will be moving into your area as others move out. There is also a group who will quit one Church and then join another. So, some of the new people will simply come from a reshuffling of the deck. The rest must come from new converts, or the Church will begin to shrink.

For a Church of 100 people to grow each year, it will need to add at least 25 new people for minimal growth. As the numbers increase, the amount of people coming and going gets staggering.

When I heard Lyle say this, I thought to myself, “Not my Church. Everyone will love what I am going to build, and they will never want to leave.” Sadly, I was wrong. I could not control job changes, retirement, and death. I also had no control over people losing their faith and those choosing to join another Church because they had something more appealing. Slowly, I had to accept the fact that he was correct.

Whenever I hear someone say they are not interested in their Church growing or they wish their Church would stay the same because they love it so much, I know they are dreaming like I used to do. Churches are continually changing, and those who refuse to share their faith with nonbelievers are slowly dying because attrition rates are a real thing.