Life Cycle of a pastor-by Thom Rainer.

I copied this primarily for my benefit later.

The Lifecycle of Pastors
Almost twenty years ago, I began to note that the tenure of a pastor often follows a predictable pattern. Now, almost two decades later, I still see many of the same patterns, though I have refined the categories and time spans a bit.

I fully understand that these categories are not definitive, and there will certainly be exceptions to the rule. Nevertheless, I offer this lifecycle as a guide that I hope will prove useful to both pastors and congregations alike.

Honeymoon: Years 0 to 1

The new pastor is perceived to be the answer to all the needs and the problems of the church. He is often viewed as a hero because he is not his predecessor. Though some of his faults begin to show during this period, he is often given a pass. Expectations are high that he will be molded into the image that each congregant would like to have.

Crisis: Years 1 to 3

It is now apparent that the pastor is fully human. He has not lived up to the precise expectations of many of the members. This phase includes a number of conflicts and struggles. Indeed it is the most common time that pastors choose to leave the church or they are force terminated. This single epoch of a pastoral tenure contributes more to short tenures than any other time.

Realignment: Years 3 to 5

The number of crises begins to abate, though they do not disappear altogether. It is at this time that more and more new members come under the tenure of the new pastor. Some of the dissidents have left the church or the community. There is a realignment of loyalty and expectations of the pastor. Thus he is able to lead more effectively, and began to see some more productive years as pastor of the church.

Growth: Years 5 to 10

Not all pastors have productive and joyous ministries in this period, but many do. It is not unusual for the congregation to begin to appreciate the pastor more and to follow his leadership with greater enthusiasm. Many of the battles have already been fought; and many of the conflicts have been resolved. The pastor and the entire congregation are ready to move forward in more productive ministry for the glory of God.

Mystery: Years 10 and Beyond

There are relatively few pastors and congregations that continue their relationships beyond a period of one decade. Thus any perspective I have of long-term pastorates is inconclusive and limited. I am confident, however, that if we see more and more pastors entering their tenth year of ministry and beyond, we will see more productive and fruitful ministries in local churches across the nation.

The Quest Continues

The topic of pastoral tenure fascinates me. I see significant correlation between ministry effectiveness and longer pastoral tenure, though there are certainly exceptions to the rule. I do hope that we will do a more comprehensive and objective study of this important issue in the future.

What is your perspective of pastoral tenure?

Reading Radical by David Platt

I have been going through the process, albeit rather slow due to the rocking of my world from this book, of reading RADICAL by David Platt. My wife has read it, and I have been intending to read it, and finally committed to doing it. I am not a reader by nature, but I had to do this one. Crazy Love by Francis Chan did this to me, especially chapters one and four, and quite frankly I had to marinate on that for a while.

This book is a lot like an earthquake or a punch to the face. It knocks you down, but after you recover, you realize that there is some things that you have allowed in your life (spiritually speaking of course) that should have never been allowed into your life.


I seriously questioned my faith and salvation. Why? It has caused me to look at my life compared to the lives of the men who followed after Christ. Mark 10 deals with a man who had it all yet wanted to follow after Christ. He was smart, he was wealthy, he was influential, the type that every American pastor wants who will influence others. yet this man wanted eternal life. Jesus knew his heart and knew what he truly needed. Jesus didn't say pray this prayer, sign this card, get baptized. He said, "go, sell everything you have, and give to the poor. Then come follow me." I like to think I would sell everything but I had to really ask myself would I? When Jesus went to Peter, Andrew, James, and John and said, "Come follow me", would I leave everything? Would I give up my job, my comforts, my family for uncertainty, danger, hunger. Would I drop my nets?

I am still going through the process of reading and applying these difficult words. I realize these words are just from a man, but if his words are difficult to hear and do, can you imagine how Jesus' words would have sounded when Jesus said that we must take up our cross, an instrument of torture, and follow Him? Or leave our families, or not take care of our parents as they age in order to follow Him. I could keep going but I hope you get the impact of Jesus' words. There can be nothing in my life that comes close to Him if I am truly going to follow Him. That means my wife, my kids, my job, my health, and yes, even my wealth.

What is the purpose of this blog entry? I am not sure except that I challenge you to read it and also that I need to express how much I have failed to follow God's Word. I have done it the American way, and the bottom line is that the American way is not God's way. It seems almost unpatriotic to say and it hurts my patriotic pride, but the simple fact I must face is that my allegiance is to my Lord and Savior not a country or what I believe our country should be and used to be. It is a tradition of man, and Jesus spoke against the traditions of man when He blasted the Pharisees. The only thing that I must hold to is God and His Word and making Him known and bringing glory and honor to Him.

And as I read, i am realizing how much I must do in order to fulfill what God asks of all of us. I am one of the worst to think about the poor, the hungry, the orphans, the widows. Yet my Lord tells us to do that very thing. I must take all of God's Word if I am to take it at all. I can't just take what makes me comfortable, but I must go and do this because I called to do this, you are called to do this by the Creator, the Lord whom I surrendered my rights to, the one who has saved me from the wrath of God.

I write this more for my benefit now and to remind me so I don't forget it and forsake it later. If it helps you, thank the Lord not me. I have much to learn in what time I have left.

To God be all the glory and may my life, my family, and all of me bring glory and honor to God.

Update

Over the past month, our world has been overwhelmed. Terra's dad had a hemmoradic (spelling?) stroke which has affected his memory, hearing, right side, and his speech. He sounds the same, but the words he uses are not always right. He may or may not remember your name or his grandkids' names. We will not know what is permanent for at least another month or possibly as much as 3. The blood from the bleeding on his brain has to be absorbed by the body.

The reality that we as a family are dealing with the possibility of permanent damage which causes fear and stress, especially on Terra, her sisters, and her mom. What will we do? Will things ever be the same? What will Terra's mom do with trying to run a daycare and taking care of him? We face a lot of uncertainty on our end. BUT . . . .

This has not caught God off-guard. He is on His throne and in control. Somehow this will bring Him glory. The issue I face is how do I help my wife? How do I help my family? What if he is never the same? And the question that lies in the room like the elephant that no one wants to talk about is WHY??????? I am around these type of things enough to know that we may never know. But my human nature still screams out wanting answers.

Would you (the few who may read this) pray for him and pray for Terra's mom? And would you ask the Lord to glorify Himself through this?

Too much time in hospitals

Have you been to a hospital in a waiting room, Emergency Room, or hospital room, and it just drains the life out of you. I don't mean just make you tired, but I mean the kind of "sucking the very life out of your bones and marrow" (if I can sound a little King James Version-esque). For whatever reason, this year and going back into last year has seemed to do this for me. I can't put my finger on it, but I think I might be at the starting point of grasping the bigger picture. But let me go back to the beginning of this diatribe to the Middle of December, 2010.


A man in our church was hit right in the sternum by a bull and broke every rib. He was in the hospital for weeks.

A girl in our church got a form of staph or strep that almost completely closed her airway. She was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks.

A close family friend's father (also in our church) went into the hospital and then got to go HOME but leaving us here.

A father of 4 of my students was in a car accident and is still in the hospital facing another surgery tomorrow as I write this. He faces a long road of rehab, longer than mine with my foot. Did I mention that they are all in our church?

Another female student, whose family is one of my most faithful student workers, has been battling some heart issues and then apparently had a focal seizure due to migraine headaches and has been in the ER and facing tests; again in our church.

A fellow staff member here in our church just had back surgery in the past week.

Another close family friend who is (you are beginning to the get the picture that they are in our church by now, right?) having their youngest son have another surgery tomorrow morning. He was in the hospital a little over a month ago battling stomach virus and the flu.

Then there is my family. My wife's sister had her first child this past Friday but he is still in the hospital due to not enough oxygen in his blood. He is only 2 weeks early. His parents have been handling this like warriors by the way, but they are related to me.

Last night my grandmother was admitted to the hospital due to a mini-stroke, which tests conclude that she is not at risk for a bigger stroke or another mini, but still in the hospital.



Here is my conclusion: God has to be up to something. I don't mean that He is causing this, but what I mean is that God must have some big plans for our church, b/c this has got to be Satan or the devil attacking us. But whatever it is, I long to see what God has planned. Jeremiah 29:11-14. You should go and read it.

But I am also realizing that I am weak and tired. And to be brutally honest, I don't want to go to any more hospitals. But I will. I don't want to see people I care about sick, injured, hurt, dying, etc. But it will happen. The reality is that I need an attitude adjustment like it talks about in Philippians 2:5-8. Again, you should go and read that and then pray that I will have this attitude. Maybe for all of us.

Bottom line, God do what you must to increase Your Kingdom. May I be found faithful to do all I can to make You stand out above all else.

Hasta La Vista 2010-I won't miss you

Last year was one of the years that I could do without. It was my 35th upon this rock we call Earth and it was one of the hardest emotionally, physically, etc. On Jan 1, I discovered my uncle had been murdered. Next came the ice storm which turned it all upside down here in Stephens County and Oklahoma.

On Aug 1, I was stupid and jumped from a 4 foot stage and broke my foot. 2 surgeries, a cast, 2 walking boots later, I am in 2 shoes but can't run or jump at all yet. It has been physically exhausting!

So needless to say, 2011, here's hoping you are better!