Monday afternoon I drove down to the URC Ministers’ Conference being held at Mid America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana with Pastor Bill Boekestein. Bill is a PRTS alumni, URC minister, great friend, and soon-to-be coauthor with me—we just did a book together on Christ’s incarnation. I was able to give him a surprise final edited version on the way down. We covered at least a few dozen subjects in the four hours we were together.
I gave the opening address to 40 to 50 ministers on “Maintaining Pastoral Vitality in Long-term Ministry.” I showed the disadvantages of short-term ministry, presented several arguments for long-term ministry, and then provided eight major helps for maintaining vitality for generational ministry:
- love God, your people, and the ministry;
- maintain a vibrant devotional life;
- model godliness as a husband and father;
- be a faithful Christ-focused preacher;
- develop a personal growth plan;
- be a compassionate, faithful pastor;
- handle criticism well;
- exercise wise leadership.
Since many ministers tend to serve five or six years in a pastorate and then move on, there were lots of questions afterward. Book buying was brisk, too. Unfortunately, I had to return home that same night to prepare for leaving for Brazil on Wednesday. I made it back safely but regret that I couldn’t stay to hear Dr. Murray, Dr. Pipa, and some other speakers the following day.
