www.lifeway.com just published an article I wrote about ministry. You can read the article below or see it at www.lifeway.com. I have asked myself these questions during the first part of every week for many years. My pastoral heart leads me to try to connect with God and my members each week. Let me know if these are the questions I should be asking myself.
4 Monday Morning Questions for Every Pastor
Written by Ken Gosnell
In ministry, Monday mornings are often the most difficult part of the week and of the job. Exhausted from preaching and teaching the weekend before and facing the monumental task of preparing new sermons and lessons for the coming week often lead the preacher feeling overwhelmed and under-appreciated. I have found the following questions help me to get through my Monday mornings and focus on the meat of ministry.
1. Am I fulfilling my call?
Every minister got into ministry because they felt called by God to preach the Gospel, build a church, or help people. Each week it is important to come back to that original calling and remind ourselves that the work that we do is important and essential.
2. Who in my church needs encouragement?
Interacting with people on Sunday allows us to hear the stories of what happened during the previous week. Pausing on Monday morning allows me to spend a few minutes thinking about who in my church needs encouragement and support. Then I can figure out how during the week I will reach out to encourage them. Encouragement might come from a letter I write, a phone call, or even a visit.
3. Who in my church needs to be challenged?
Part of the role of a minister is to bring out the best in the people of the church. Sometimes we do that through encouragement, and sometimes through challenge. Like a coach we need to see what people are capable of doing and ask them to step into new roles and responsibilities. If I don’t pause to think about how people might be challenged it is easy to not focus on how people can improve and develop.
4. How can I model for my church God’s love?
Jesus told us that the greatest commandment was to love God and the second was to love our neighbors. I believe that if he was speaking to preachers he would say love God and then love our members. On Monday I have to ask myself how I can show my members the love of God. This alone often changes my attitude and helps me to think about ways that I can serve my members rather than focus on how they didn’t serve me.
Having a preacher’s journal where I record my thoughts on Monday has been helpful and insightful throughout the years. I believe wholeheartedly that a few minutes of reflection on Monday can transform your everyday’s into special days for your church and for your ministry.
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Ken Gosnell is the lead preacher at Restoration Point Christian Church, a church in the DC metro area (www.therestorationpoint.com) and you can reach Ken at kenspeaks@gmail.com
