The First Year as Pastor

A friend asked me recently what advice I would give to a man who was beginning his first year as a pastor. My initial answer felt a bit “lame” but I have since had an opportunity to process and refine my thoughts. In doing so, I find four things that a leader should intentionally embrace during the first year, and particularly if that leader is a pastor. 

LISTEN. I know this sounds a bit cliche’; however, there is wisdom to have “having two ears and one mouth” so listen twice as much as you talk. What’s always true is that organizations appear different during the interview stage than they do once you’re on the inside. The leader’s perspective is also different. Take time to listen to all of the voices. Hear the words but listen for perspectives as well. Every opinion has a back story. Try to unpack the “why” behind the “what,” without signing on to anyone’s agenda. Bear in mind that some perceive your attention in listening without disagreement as ENDORSEMENT. Don’t endorse. Simply seek first to understand. 

LEARN. One of the television shows I enjoy is “NCIS: New Orleans.” One of the signature phrases of the lead character is “go learn things.” He commissions his team of investigators to this task as they take on a new case. You have to take what you hear from the people and start to process it. Put it into buckets. Investigate. Verify. Validate. Seek oppositional views. Seek to understand motives as well as actions. This will help identify the institutional memory. A wise man once said, “Don’t tear down a fence until you learn why it was built to begin with. There may be a bull just beyond your view.” 

LOVE. This one sounds “sappy” but it really isn’t from a biblical perspective. Take what you’ve heard and learned and deal with it with the people. Most everyone believes they are “right” in their perspective. Their conclusion is not always accurate but their opinion certainly seems that way to them. No one is entitled to a private version of the truth. Love requires you to challenge assumptions and conclusions at times. Be gracious in doing it, but love demands that you challenge wrong thinking. By the way, this is almost never popular…but now as the leader, you don’t have the luxury of seeking popularity. You are responsible for a higher calling and correction is one of the difficulties in that responsibility. 

LEAD. Ultimately, you were not sent or commissioned to take opinion polls and then implement popular desires. You were sent to equip the people and lead them to engage. Equip and lead. Nothing truly happens in any organization without movement. Leaders affect movement; otherwise, you are a commentator and not a leader. You must help people move. 
Finally, and particularly for pastoral leadership these 10 bullets have proven true in my experience. At times, they have served as an anchor for my soul. At other times, they served to prod me on when sitting comfortably seemed more attractive. 

1. “You cannot lead those you do not influence.” Dr. Johnny Hunt. There is a reason that great generals lead from the front edge of battle. Their courage, bravery, and passion is contagious. It inspires people to follow.
2. Remember who you serve and WHOSE you are. Some people will think of you as theirs. You must remember that you are His. You serve the people by listening, learning, loving, and leading but they are not your authority. Your authority is derived from the One who called you. Many “pastors” have been fired and continued to serve as a pastor of the church. They are chaplains and event coordinators, orators and entertainers. The pastor’s authority has long since been revoked by the One who owns him. 
3. Criticism goes with the calling. Many will refuse to follow while simultaneously charge you with not leading. They will make their errant opinions known broadly. Take it in stride. 
4. “Don’t read your own press clippings.” Dr. Michael Cloer. You are not as good as some claim you are. You are also not as bad as some claim you are.
5. Work hard. Your family will be OK if you work hard. Some evenings away are actually a good example to your children. Make the most of the moments you have. Engage the entire family in the calling. 
6. Have a pastor/coach. You need a truth speaker who has already earned battle scars. He must love you enough to wound you and to encourage as the circumstances dictate. This is not a peer, an evangelist, or a friend you lead in ministry. It must be a pastor that you think of as pastor. Every pastor needs someone who understands without having to explain. 
7. Gather friends in ministry for a safe place to offload the weight of Office. Think of this as peer support or peer accountability. There is a rising tide of peer coaching/support groups today for pastors. 
8. It is not as easy as it looked before you took the chair. It sometimes takes weeks but often months before the weightiness of the Office sets in. The difficulty is not a sign you are doing it wrong…it is just validation that it looked easier from the outside looking in. 
9. Lighten up. Fun is important. You’re not perfect and shouldn’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does (smile). Try to laugh–a lot. It is hard to be angry with a guy who is laughing. 
10. Soak in every minute. I’ve done some difficult things in my life. Pastoring has proven to be the most grueling and also the most rewarding. Watching the lights turn on and seeing people grow to understand and love Jesus absolutely lights my fire! Most leaders never experience the kind of joy that pastors do. You are involved in an eternal enterprise as a select servant of the Sovereign King! 

So…new pastor (and a few old pastors who benefit from the reminder)…fulfill the calling you have been entrusted with. 

If this article has been a blessing to you, or if you’d add to it, let me hear from you. 
Press on!