After yesterday’s post about what I am thinking each Sunday morning I began thinking about an old joke. People often comment, “Good thing you only work one day a week” or something like that. Well, what work do I perform each week? As a result of this thinking I decided to blog about what I do each week. It is worth noting that these are unique to me. I am in a smaller Church and I am called upon to do numerous things that I might not do if the Church is bigger.

Here is my to-do list for each week:

1. Pray and Prepare myself – Each week I try to pray, read the bible and meditate. I am a Christian before I am a preacher.

2. Sermon – I still try to spend 7-20 hours a week working on my sermon. I try to have the best sermon I can put together every week. I feel this is my biggest responsibility each week.

3. Sunday Service Plan – Each week I pick out the songs, the opening video, the people who will do the prayer and communion time. I try to plan a cohesive service that will help everyone encounter God.

4. Sunday Service Program – Each week I prepare and print the program. I make sure everything gets printed, folded and stuffed. Then I make sure everything is in Easy Worship for the media on screen for Sunday morning.

5. Sunday School lesson – Each week I teach for about 45 minutes before our worship program. Here at Homer Christian I started teaching just a few kids and lately we have added several adults. It is a time where I teach, but people can ask questions and interact. It is basically a small group every Sunday morning. This takes 1-2 hours to prepare depending on the topic.

6. Visit People – This varies from week to week. I try schedule a couple lunches each week, some people just come by the office, maybe have someone at our house for a visit or possibly go to the hospital. I really would like to do more of this, but time constraints make this tougher to do. I would rather meet with one person for two hours than with 2 people for an hour.

7. Office Work – Each week I do all kinds of secretarial type work. We are not big enough to have a secretary so I handle attendance charts, emails, phone calls, mail, website updates, etc. I buy office supplies, order teaching material and handle all of the duties you might associate with a Church office.

8. Personal Growth – Each week I try to read books, magazines and blogs. I try to learn and grow each year through the teachings of others. I really, really enjoy listening to sermons and lectures. I try to fill every spare minute with learning opportunities.

9. Future Prep and plans – Each week I try to plan future events for the Church for fellowship and growth. I try to plan sermon series for maximum impact. I try to stay a step ahead of everything that is happening or going to happen. This takes many forms but it is vital in every way. I try to make sure nothing happens by accident that I can control.

10. Outreach – Once again this can take many forms. Here in Homer I try to get active in my community. I am the president of Pop Warner football. The last two years I have been coaching 7th grade basketball once football is finished. When those are done I try to be involved in High School basketball as much as I am allowed. Outreach can also be an preparing an advertisement for an event or talking to people I encounter everywhere. I try to leave enough room in my schedule to share my Church (and the gospel) with anyone I meet.

*There are thousands of little things I do each week, but those are the big ones. When that is all done I try to spend as much time with my family as possible. They are my greatest ministry and my greatest source of support and encouragement.

These 10 activities are usually enough to fill more than 40 hours each week. So now you can never say that a preacher only works on Sunday:)

This past Sunday I was sitting in Church and thinking about all of the stuff that happens on Sunday morning. Then yesterday I decided to blog about all of the things I am thinking on Sunday morning.

1. GOD, please show up. I start every Sunday morning with a shower and then I hit my knees in prayer. I believe that every Sunday morning is a waste of time unless God blesses our time together.

2. I hope people show up. There is this fear every Sunday morning that everyone will quit or go on vacation or just sleep in and it will be just me and my family.

3. Is the sound and slide show working well? I am always interested in all the extra pops, crackles and squeaks. I also keep a close eye on what is on the screen – typo’s, misspellings and other issues.

4. What is happening next and who is doing it? With multiple people involved in every program I need to make sure everyone is there and doing their responsibility.

5. What was my sermon outline again? I try to memorize my sermon. I usually don’t need notes, but I take up an extended outline every week. This helps me in case #3 or #4 go wrong and I lose track of my sermon.

6. Is there anything I can say that will help people want to return? With #2 always on my mind I try to address future sermons, events and issues so that the people might return.

7. Who do I need to talk to? Who do I want to talk to? Are there any people I need or want to catch before they leave the Church building today? If so, where are they?

8. Wow. Another Sunday morning has come and gone – and not everything went as planned. This may shock you. I slip into a mild depression at the end of every Sunday morning. I feel like a quarterback after a game and replay every minute.

9. God, Thanks for showing up in some people’s lives. I am amazed every week at the handful of people whose lives were touched, instructed, encouraged, challenged and more – all because of one worship program.

10. What’s for lunch and how long till I can get a nap? I am human just like everyone else. (Not that you thought any different) I don’t eat anything on Sunday morning so that I do not get sick. I used to eat but my nerves did not like it and I would often feel nauseated. Immediately after Church I am thirsty and hungry, I am also tired. I feel like I have run a marathon. I know that once I eat I will want to sleep.

I don’t know if these are true for every preacher, but I know they are true for me. In the first years of ministry I would get violently ill every Sunday morning. Diarrhea was the norm and I usually felt like vomiting. Sorry, it’s true. I have slowing gotten over that, but Sunday’s mornings are still the “Superbowl” for me every week.

Oh, several months a year I look forward to getting home and watching the Packers:)

This week has been rather crazy for me. With all the back to school specials I decided to get a new computer for me to use for work. As most of you know – there is great excitement in getting a new tool slash toy to use. I will not lie, I was as excited as my kids when they get something new.

Well, it arrived on Tuesday and I have spent the rest of the week trying to get everything set up. First, it is an HP laptop and that is the first HP I have ever owned. I few things on the keyboard or different. Next, it has Windows 8. It is very different from the previous versions of windows and I am not sure I like it. Third, all of my old software has to be moved or repurchased.

My new computer has resulted in a long and frustrating week.

All this made me think about the plea of Christianity. In Jesus was have this great promise that we will be new creatures. God will transform the old junk in our lives and make all things new. It sounds like a great promise. We are like me opening a new computer. Then the new becomes a job. We have to rethink the way we do everything. Some habits need to be dumped and other need to be handled differently. After becoming a Christian it can be a frustrating experience.

I am sure that with time I will come to love my new computer. I spent all this money and I kind of have to. But Christianity, will it always be hard or will it get better? I firmly believe it will get better with time and practice.

I really believe the message of Christianity is a wonderful message, sometimes I just need to be remind that change is always hard.

I believe that children should be active in their service of God. As a result I try to get my kids involved in my work as a pastor all the time. A couple of months ago I had my youngest son (10 years old) help label a bunch of CD’s for upcoming programs. He wrote on the master CD the name of the upcoming sermon off of a list I provided him. He looked through the list and wrote on each CD with a black Sharpie marker the title and the date.

As I worked through the stack of CD’s they have been cute to look at his childish handwriting. Then I got to this week’s sermon. It is entitled “I’ve Got a Friend Who … Is Drifting Away From God.” I laughed out loud (literally) when I read what he had written. He wrote “I’ve Got a Friend Who … Is Drinking Away From God.”

So depending on which title I use for my sermon, this week could be fun:)

There is a video store nearby that sells their older movies. I stop in every week to look over their selections. Recently I purchased several and I finally sat down to watch the movie Lincoln. It is a long movie and I have still not finished it. (I kind of know the ending:)

Anyway, there is a funny quote in the movie.

Lincoln is talking to a group of people and it quickly turns into a lecture. Then he pauses and says,

As the preacher said, “I’d write shorter sermons, but once I get started I am just to lazy to stop.”

I love it!!

Well, after three months at home for the summer my children went back to school today. It is a huge transition for most of them. My youngest gets his first male teacher. My third child goes to middle school and it is his first school experience as a believer in Jesus (He was baptized this summer). My second child is starting high school and will be joined together with kids from all over the area for the first time. My oldest is an old pro as a sophomore and he was confident in himself, just ask him:)

Every year I enjoy watching them get ready for school to begin and prepare themselves for the transitions that are coming. I also am reminded of some big lessons by watching them each year.

1. Learning is not as exciting as relationships. The boys were all looking forward to seeing their friends again. None of them said anything about their excitement over the teaching and learning. I think there may be a lesson in their for Churches and especially preachers.

2. Change is exciting to show others. My boys are growing and they wanted others to see that. They wanted to show off their new “styles” for clothing. They wanted to share their stories of adventure and conquest with their friends. They have experienced all kinds of new things causing to grow physically, emotionally and spiritually and they couldn’t wait to share that with their friends. Once again, I am sure there is a lesson there for Churches to learn.

3. Excitement wears off quickly. This first week will be fun. Then it will be a normal daily activity they need to get through. Finally it will be a serious chore to get them motivated to go to school at all. (This is true of all things new, even faith!)

I know those are simple and you probably new each one of them by heart. New things are exciting, but that joy quickly fades. It is interesting that only the first one is lasting. Maybe one of the biggest lessons of school is the power of relationships in our life. They bring joy to our lives and will often keep us going, even when that joy has faded.

Many years ago I heard a camp directory tell this. He said there was a huge amount of minister turnover in his area. Some Churches were getting new preachers every other year, some every 4 years and some every 7 years. Still there were a handful of other congregations where the preachers never seemed to leave. They stayed for numerous years and often retired from them.
This camp director was perplexed by the different tenures of preachers and wanted to know why. First, he went to the group of preachers who were leaving their Churches and asked why they were leaving. He said that the answers were all over the place. Some preachers were leaving for bigger Churches, some to be close to family, and still others had a list of various answers. He tried for well over a year to figure out any common trait in the preachers leaving. Nothing seemed to connect their different stories.
Then one night it hit him. He was approaching this from the wrong direction. He decided to go the preachers that had stayed a long time in congregations and ask why they had stayed. The camp director said that without a doubt there was one common tie with every preacher and every congregation. Everyone one of the preachers who had stayed a long time in a Church said, in one way or another, that they stayed because of the congregational love and support.
Now, that old camp director travels from Church to Church and he said that in every congregation he shares this simple truth; if you want to keep your preacher, then show them the love and support!
It sounds so simple.

For the last couple of days I have been thinking of all the advice I want to give my friend as he begins a new ministry position as preacher in a new Church. But last night I began thinking about how to flip that over. What advice would I give a congregation who was getting a new preacher. Here is what I would want them to know (so far):

1. Attend Every Week – Nothing makes a preacher feel appreciated more that showing up to listen

2. Show the new preacher around – Take the new preacher to the best restaurant. Show him the parks where his kids can play. Take him to school functions and not just to show off your child. His new surrounding will feel like home sooner if he knows the area.

3. Don’t expect too much from their family – A congregation is wise to never pressure the preacher’s spouse of kids. It will build walls very quickly.

4. Be open to new ideas – Your new preacher brings a new set of ideas and experiences. Some of them may not work here, but some will. Stay supportive even when things flop, or you think they will.

5. All help is very appreciated – It doesn’t matter if you help at Church or help get a car fixed. It makes a preacher feel loved and appreciated when you do things for him. If you ignore him and his needs you are also sending a message.

6. It’s okay to have loved a former preacher(s), but don’t rub it in their face – In two of my ministries I felt like the last preacher could do no wrong and I was his second-rate replacement. I was told how they did things and how nice they were and how they …. and on and on. It created a distance between myself and the congregation.

7. Pray for your new preacher – You will never know the struggles they are facing. This move may have had huge financial and emotional set-backs. Most preachers I know will never share those struggles out loud. Your prayers will be the support they need.

8. Invite others to attend – One of the biggest compliments you can give a preacher is to invite your friends to hear him. This is a sign of appreciation that goes deeper than mere words. Besides, your friends need to know Jesus anyway.

Those are my initial thoughts. What would you add to my list?

This week an old friend of mine is leaving a position he has held several years as an associate pastor to become a “preaching pastor” or “senior minister” or whatever it is you call what we do for a living.

While he is doing this he is working on a project for his Doctor of Ministry program. He decided that his thesis would be about “The first 100 days of ministry.” He asked me for my thoughts and resource ideas for his project. His question has had me thinking for two days about him and his ministry. I have been thinking about the advice I have been given through the years. I have been thinking about my ministry experiences. With that in mind, I decided to write a few blog posts about pastors and helpfully you will find this helpful even if you are not a pastor.

My advice for new pastors (and their first 100 days)

1. It will be an incredible and unbelievable adventure. Ministry is unlike any other job simply because you will get to see people at their very best … and at their very worst. In ministry you get to hear stories that make you cry all the time. Sometimes they are tears of job and sometimes they are tears of hurt. Get used to both.

2. Be careful of the people who are the happiest to see you. They probably have an agenda and will be the first to leave. This has been true for me without exception.

3. Anyone who talks bad about their last pastor will eventually talk bad about you. This is true of any place you work. People who talk bad about others will eventually set their sights on you.

4. Those who have been carrying the load the longest will want to drop it on you. In every Church I have come to serve there have been a group of people who were serving selflessly for years. I thought I would have their support and I would be able to launch new ministries without worrying about their area of service. That has rarely been the case. Many who have served for a long time are tired and ready to give the new guy their load – whether he wants it or not.

5. Love your family and take time off. And do not feel guilty about it!! People expect their pastor to be at the office, hospital, funeral home or on call for every one of their times of crisis. In the early years I tried to make everyone happy and be at their beck and call 24/7. Now I just tell people I am busy. My family is my greatest ministry and I need to schedule time for them. Also, if I am worn out and tired all the time from working then I will not be much good to anyone.

6. Pray. I know this goes without saying. But when you start a new ministry you are will be busy, busy, busy. There is a natural tendency to want to fix everything wrong with the Church yourself. Remember – it is the Lord’s body and he is in control.

7. Learn your environment. Every city is different. Every Church is different. Every people group is different. There may be a reason that “we have always done it that way.” Then again the past may just be an obstacle to the future. Stop, Look and Listen closely.

8. Most people are well-intentioned. I have to remind myself of this everyday. When people suggest puppet ministries and bike blessings and bake sales and everything else, the really only want the best for the Church. The problem only comes when you say yes to everything or when you say no to everything. Love the people and try to direct their energies in the most productive ways.

I am sure I will think of more to tell him. Maybe you can help me add to my list from your experience. What advice would you give a guy just beginning a new ministry.

I am the president of Pop Warner football here in Homer Alaska. It is a volunteer activity I participate in so that my kids and other children have an organized and safe place to play football each year. As a leader I make a huge effort to purchase the best equipment we can afford and keep it new and clean.

With that said, I know of one very predictable thing that is going to happen every year. Every year I will have 4-6 kids who will come to the gear trailer every practice. Their helmet will need adjusted. Their shoulder pads are too big or too small. Their chin strap clips will not snap tight. And on and on it goes.

Then on the nights when I know their gear is alright they will suddenly have an injury. Their ankle hurts. They have a headache (usually classified as a migraine). Last night I walked over to one boy and he wasn’t even in gear and I asked what his problem was tonight. He responded with, and I quote, “I have a sinus infection in the back of my head.” I began to laugh and so did another parent nearby. I calmly said, “Really, that is hard to believe.”

Here is my point. With some kids, they find an excuse every night to not get involved. They want to be around the game, but they don’t want to do anything to really participate especially if it might require any extra effort.

The same is true of a large group of adults I know at Church.