December 31, 2008 - No Comments!

The Young and the Old Pastor

I was reading in Genesis today and it got me thinking about ministry life cycle. How younger pastors are known for acting a certain way and older ones another.  Younger men charge hell with a squirt gun, full of passion and arrogance.  Older men think first and act later, if at all.  It seems to me that God's call to these two stereotypes is different but equally important.

I notice that the longer you are in ministry, the greater the temptation to focus on minimizing your losses and shielding your assets.  If you have only been in ministry a short while (less than 10 years), than you downplay and underestimate the damage that can happen to the sheep along the way.

In Genesis, when Jacob and Esau are about to reconvene, Jacob splits his livestock and people into two groups so that if Esau attacks, one group will have enough time to get away. He wanted to minimize damages.  Was this wisdom or a lack of faith in God as protector?

In Jim Collin's assessment of successful organizations; he states that the greatest enemy of "great" is "good". That many organizations will never become great because good is simply "good enough". I hope that I remain faithful to whatever God calls me to for however many days He has granted me, and that he will protect me from the pitfalls on both sides: arrogance and insensitivity on one side, with comfort, ease, and false security on the other.

Published by: Donald in Devotions, Uncategorized

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