Toward Significance: A Guide for Pastoring Well

Ministry that matters and a life well-lived result from lots of the small, right things done well over a long time.That’s the well-worn path toward significance. This series of essays was originally written as weekly letters to pastors and fellow leaders of “normal- size” churches or congregations. Each chapter has practical, highly readable, and Biblically-based insights that resonate with leaders of any size church. Learn not only how to properly manage core issues of character, habit, and organization but also how to avoid stumbling blocks and increase the significance of ministry. Designed with a built-in Conversation Guide, the book models how pastors can engage in healthy dialogue with congregational leaders about matters of significance.
Instead of providing a silver bullet to propel your ministry forward, the author encourages a steady focus on:

• Proclaiming Jesus joyfully
• Reading God’s word persistently
• Praying aggressively
• Living faithfully
• Loving impartially
• Tinkering relentlessly

God backed me into being a pastor. It was not my first choice. It was not on my radar.
When asked, "When did you know you wanted to be a pastor?" I have come to answer, "About fifteen years into it." For those first many years I kept thinking there has to be something else I can do... anything else.
But when God calls...
I am grateful for the privilege of being a parish pastor now for over 35 years. It has been a calling of significance. My ministry has not been written up in Christianity Today; I was never listed on the twenty-five new Christian leaders to watch; my congregation was never the fastest growing in the county... but there has always been significance. People have come to know Jesus. Marriages have been healed. Young people have been guided toward discipleship. Leaders have been developed.
Read the Bible. Spend more time in prayer. Serve. Preach the Gospel, with words--engaging and quirky. See what's the most you can do. This has been my approach to ministry and significance.
Long ago I read Chuck Colson who wrote that only two things can save America: the family and the local congregation. My dedicated path toward significance has been:

• Love, serve and be faithful to my family
• Give myself over to the health of the local congregation--mine and others.

Come join me in a quest for something more than success. Let's experience significance!