“Guard What Has Been Entrusted to Your Care!” - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

“Guard What Has Been Entrusted to Your Care!”(1 Timothy 6:20)Encouraging brothers in ministry to guard four key gifts supporting ministry-long growth

Session #2:Guarding God’s Gift of TimeSlide2

Managing Ourselves in God’s Good Gift of Time

“God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day” (Genesis 1:5).“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning – the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31).

You can’t really manage time. Each week God faithfully entrusts the same gift of 168 hours into each of our hands. But you can, under God’s blessing, manage

yourself in time!Why are we discussing this first of the four gifts to guard?Slide3

A Translation Comparison: Ps 46:5The NIV 1984The RLG 2012

“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”

“Gurgel is within her, she will not fall; Gurgel will help her since he doesn’t take a break any day.”

What gets us into the ministry messiah complex?What are the practical problems caused by a ministry messiah complex?One Side of Challenge #1Slide4

“Was it not Ralph Waldo Emerson who said that 'man is as lazy as he dares to be'? It is true. And we pastors can be very daring in this area, because we have no employer to supervise our work or to reproach us for our neglect of it…. We are our own master and have to organize our own schedule. So it is possible for us to fritter our days away, until our time-wasting lapses degenerate into a life of gross indiscipline” (John Stott, Between Two Worlds,

208). The Other Side of Challenge #1Slide5

Toward Which Side Do You Lean in Your Ministry?The Special Challenge of the Young Called Worker? The Special Challenge of the Older Called Worker?

“After his many years in the classroom…he thinks he knows what to do and what to avoid in teaching others. He thinks he knows how to teach so that children and adults will hang on his every word and then do just what he has told them that Jesus wants them to do. Our new pastor may be only dimly aware that he has thoughts such as these or that his thinking verges on arrogance” (

The Theology of the Cross, 200).

“There is a new cross and struggle that comes to a pastor of some experience. …The heart surgeon who has performed one thousand bypass operations no longer thinks of doing a heart bypass the way he did when he performed his first ten such operations….The pastor can fall into that kind of thinking as well; he can fall into professionalism. (The Theology of the Cross, 208-209).Slide6

A Word of Encouragement to Experienced Called Workers:Don’t Ride at Anchor!

"Not all pastors wrestle with ambition and standards for success set by the surrounding culture. Some pastors seem to reach a plateau and a level of contentedness with themselves that I find disturbing, especially when I see it in myself. When I stop trying to learn something new, or when I haven't added a new skill in a long time, I know my overall effectiveness actually declines. Unless I constantly challenge myself to further develop my gifts, they get stale very quickly….The

great cellist Pablo Casals was once heard practicing when he was well into his 80s, and someone asked him why at his age and level of accomplishment he was still practicing. He said, 'I think I'm noticing some improvement.' If I make it to my 80’s, I suspect God will be nudging me to notice improvement,

too" (“Called to Be a Loser: A Theology of Self-Improvement for Pastors,” Leadership, Summer 1999, Douglas Brouwer, 32).Slide7

A Middle Ground?Taking the Ministry Seriously But Taking Ourselves Less SeriouslyDr. Dale MeyerPresident,Concordia, St. Louis

How can Psalm 103:15-16 help us maintain our balance between the two sides of challenge #1?Slide8

"Diplomas on our walls, the jots and tittles of good theological education, expensive vestments, leadership skills and seminars - thank God that a broader perspective than all that comes from aging in pastoral ministry. As a young seminary graduate I was so enthralled with what I was doing in ministry. It is so easy to confuse our egos with God and his work. Rationalizations abound....Now I know better that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously as we hone our pastoral skills and as we prepare for weekly worship. We weren't the first, aren't the only ones, and won't be the last. You and I are only stewards and that for only a short time.

No, we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously… A Middle Ground Solution?Slide9

…but the work of preaching? Yes, indeed, for sooner or later the faithful come into church looking to that special place, the pulpit, for a good word from God. That's the place where we fulfill our part of the 'contract,' our call from God through his people to prepare and deliver sermons that inspire them with the mercies of God. It is, indeed, holy ministry." (Dale Meyer, “The Place of the Sermon in the Order of Service,” found in Liturgical Preaching: Contemporary Essays , 10-11)

A Middle Ground Solution?Slide10

A Key Perspective for Those Wearing Many HatsHow do we need to be careful not to over-apply Paul’s point?Learning again that every

hat given by God is a high and holy calling was a key Reformation insight!1 Timothy 3:1

Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.πιστὸς ὁ λόγος.

Εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται, καλοῦ ἔργου ἐπιθυμεῖ.

What’s the blessing of remembering this?Slide11

A Timely Comparisonfrom Thom Rainer’s Surprising Insights from the Unchurched

Don’t Wear Everyone’s Hats!Slide12

A Timely Comparisonfrom Thom Rainer’s Surprising Insights from the Unchurched

Don’t Wear Everyone’s Hats!Slide13

When Does 6 + 4 = 22?Acts 6:3–4 “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

Ephesians 4:1,16 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received….

16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

The true measure of our ministry is not what stops the day after we leave. It is what keeps going!Slide14

The Unbusy Pastor???

Spend the next ten minutes reading through the excerpt from the chapter entitled

“The Unbusy Pastor” from Eugene H. Peterson’s book The Contemplative Pastor.

Once you have finished reading, spend the next ten minutes discussing with a group of 3 or 4 others and list:the three most useful insights; andthe three questions/challenges you would like to direct to the author.We will share with the whole group.Slide15

The Unbusy Pastor???

What were the three most useful insights you gained from the reading?

What were the three questions/challenges you would like to direct to the author?Slide16

Changing Pastoral Work Week?Slide17

Median Pastoral Work WeekSlide18

Use 1 hour to plan your week, 1 day to plan your month, 1 week to plan your yearGet to your calendar first – unburden your mind by scheduling priorities such as Word/prayer, exercise, rest

Caveat: James 4:13ff: leave margins for God’s unexpected changes to your day!Work to maximize your strengths, delegate to minimize your weaknesses21 blocks – strive to block off 7 for family, rest, recreationSchedule to your oppositeRemember: you are always saying “No!” with every “Yes!” you speak

“This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength’” (Isaiah 30:15).

My Personal Top Seven List What have you found most helpful in managing yourself in God’s gift of time?Slide19

We Place Into Your Hands Our Unfinished Tasks!O God our Father, by your mercy and might, the world turns safely into darkness and returns again to light. We place into you hands our unfinished tasks, our unsolved problems, and our unfulfilled hopes, knowing that only what you bless will prosper. To your great love and protection, we commit each other and all those we love, knowing that you alone are our sure defender, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Christian Worship: New Service Settings, 42)Slide20

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).The Grace of Each New Day