One Year Anniversary!

I write this from the beach, where the family and I are on vacation for a few days. It has been lovely to watch my children play in the waves and enjoy their first trip to Western Florida--green water, white sand, blue sky. 

One year ago, Eric and I were here, a sort of last hurrah before starting my first pastoring job. As the anniversary of that time approaches, I'm looking back in wonder at the past year and all I have learned. Now there's a new batch of great and gifted "first-year" pastors heading off to first appointments.  My unsolicited advice to them follows.

1. It's not about you. God is at work in your new place and you are joining what's already happening there. When you are being praised, it's not about you--it's about what God is doing through you. And when you are being criticized, it's also not about you. Put away your ego and find out what God is already up to in that space. And be a part of that. We are John the Baptist-types. We point to Jesus Christ, we want people to grow into disciples of his. It's not about you.

2. Appreciate well. "Thank you" is never said enough. Enthusiasm and gratitude are a pastor's bread and butter pitches. Don't be afraid to voice the positive or the grateful whenever you can.

3. Embrace the rhythms of our vocation. We don't make widgets for a living and sometimes it's hard to "measure" how much we've "accomplished" in a day. This can be especially hard for second career-ers who are used to measuring accomplishments by how much has passed from inbox to outbox. Our vocation is measured in disciples, which can be messy and slippery. You have to measure success through a cross-shaped lens.

4. Be a pastor who PREACHES (Thanks Eugene Peterson). The pulpit is a lovely, powerful, subversive place. Thank God for the joy and responsibility of the preaching task.

5. Work on your prayer life and your spiritual life and your self-care as if you were being evaluated on those things. If you don't take a Sabbath, how is your flock going to find the will to do it? In the words of my dear friend Kendall Soulen, "Be a rebel, Mandy, keep it sane and healthy!" I pass it to you. Be a rebel, keep your sanity. And your sense of humor.  Pastors ought to have a spring in their step, because they've gotten the word that Easter has happened, that God is really in control. It's a good thing.

6.  Being a pastor is very, very busy. Take a look at what you are doing with your time. Are you doing things that only you can do? Should someone else be doing it? You have some very, very gifted laity who can teach classes and lead small groups and give testimonies and buy supplies. Your job is to equip them to serve God--don't hog all the good stuff for yourself.

7. Take your vacation--all of it. I recommend Florida.

Looking forward to coming home and beginning a new year in service to our Lord. I can no longer say I'm the "new" pastor. Now that I've been planted, it's time to grow and branch out in our Lord's Vineyard.

Peace,
Pastor Mandy