Your Most Important Job Is Not Pastoring

As pastors, our personal relationship with Christ is not for the job. It is the job.

We are all followers of Christ first. Not pastors. Not parents. Not spouses.

As pastors and church leaders, we can never forget that our priority in this life — before pastoring, before parenting, or before being a spouse — is being a follower of Christ. This is why it’s essential to develop spiritual intensity and lead our teams to do the same.   

Seeking God has to be first, and it has to be intentional.

Jesus said, But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

There are many ways to bring spiritual intensity to yourself and your team. Here are a few methods that have worked well for our Life.Church Open Network team.

• YouVersion Bible Reading Plans: Diving into God’s Word has never been easier with the YouVersion Bible App. Choose a Bible Plan to walk through as a team or as a church and grow together by reading God’s Word. Or choose plans just for you and your personal walk.
• Fasting and prayer: Our church staff starts off every year with a 21-day fast. The goal of these three weeks is to focus and start the year right by honoring God. This past year, our team used Pray First – A Personal Prayer Guide from Church of the Highlands as our guide during our fasting and prayer time. Download this free PDF here.
• Choose one word: Each year, our staff selects one word and a scripture to be a singular filter and focus for the entire year. In a world that views more as more, one word allows us to stay laser-focused on what God is speaking to us as individuals or as a team. Some of our words this year are full, faith, and fervor. What would your word be?

We’d love to learn from you, too!

 

Jump into our community and share your answer to one of the questions below:

• What are things you do to bring spiritual intensity to yourself, your family, or your team?
• What are some of your favorite Bible reading plans?
• What are the most effective spiritual disciplines you engage in?
• What are some great spiritual books that draw you closer to Jesus?