Regular Intercessory Prayer
One study recently found that the pastors of a particular denomination average less than 3 minutes of prayer each day! If one subtracts saying grace before each meal, the result is close to no prayer at all. I wonder what a similar study in the CCCC would find?
No pastor would argue against the vital nature of prayer, but there is one particular type of prayer that is repeatedly found to be lacking -- intercession. Most Christians pray about their own needs and those of their close friends and loved ones. Many even pray about their busy schedules and ask for more grace to complete the tasks at hand. But there are usually only a handful of folks in any church that regularly and fervently stand "in the gap" for others -- pleading on behalf of missionaries, beseeching God for the lost who live in the community surrounding the church, doing spiritual warfare for souls, praying for utter revival, and crying out to God for a spirit of repentance among God's people in America once again.
Intercessory prayer takes time and endurance. It requires patient persistence on our knees -- always seeking for God's will over our own. It's the missing ingredient in most American churches today. Why? Because too many pastors are not praying like this (you can't do this in just a few minutes each day!).
Personal Confession and Repentance
We all understand the theology of confession and repentance -- most of us have preached on these topics. But demonstrating them to our children, our spouses and our congregations is mandatory if we desire to have full (and even overflowing) spiritual reservoirs.
The Trusted Confessor
When was the last time you confessed sin -- including the kind you don't want to tell anyone for fear of your reputation or even your job -- to a trusted brother (or sister)? We often confess our sin to God (which is always needful and appropriate!), but we rarely confess sin to another who will keep a confidence and will hold us accountable to the resolution (James 5:16). In fact, the vast majority of pastors in America today (70% according to H.B. London of Focus on the Family) report that they do not have close friend or confidant. Such a relationship of mutual accountability is vital to every pastor. Confessing sin is required of us, but having someone lovingly following up with us to make sure we continue to avoid its temptation is also essential.
Personal Repentance
When was the last time you went to someone you offended, hurt or maligned, confessed your sin against them, and sought their forgiveness with a plan to avoid such an infraction in the future? I find that it's fairly easy for pastors to do this when they share a healthy relationship with people. It becomes more problematic when the infraction is against someone we find personally challenging. In some cases, it's a brother or sister with whom we vehemently disagree. In other cases it may be a powerbroker in the church. And sometimes, it may even be one of our own kids. To fail to demonstrate true confession and repentance in these relationships not only compromises our witness, it also keeps us in bondage away from the freedom of forgiveness we espouse.
If we want our families and congregations to be free, to experience the fruit of authentic forgiveness and to see real revival happen in our midst -- repentance must be demonstrated first and foremost by the pastor.
Spiritual Reading
If you're like me, then you're a "Book-a-holic"! I love libraries and bookstores -- especially a few used bookstores where I can find incredible treasures! Most pastors love to read. But what we read often depends on our personality. Some pastors cannot get enough information on Christian leadership. Others are into Christian fiction. Some are into politics. Some delve into the depths of theology. One pastor-friend of mine is really spiritual -- his library is full of books on great sports heroes (as are his sermon illustrations)!
All of these are important -- including appropriate secular topics we also enjoy -- but to feed our spiritual reservoir we also need to regularly spend some time in reading that specifically nourishes our spirit. Some of the great classics like Thomas a' Kempis' The Imitation of Christ are helpful here. But also are some more modern works like Dallas Willard's A Renovation of the Heart. There are so many good books out there that can serve this purpose -- ask your friends what they are reading too!
Personal Sabbath Plan
One realization from my job saddens me -- many pastors no longer understand the need for a personal sabbath rest. I cannot give you a percentage, per se, but most of the pastors with which I work, if they take it at all, do not use their scheduled day off for rest and recharging. What's worse, is that many also do not take their allotted vacation time -- which not only robs them of the rest they desperately need but also robs their families of needed rest time together.
In my role as Director of Conference Care, I regularly make three suggestions:
- Make your day off sacred - use it for rest and some of the other activities we have listed in this article.
- Plan a day at least quarterly to get away from town and listen to the Lord - if you know someone with a cottage or cabin, see if they will let you use it for this purpose. Make sure you turn off your cell phone!
- Take your planned vacation time - budgets are often tight, but it is still important to take your family and get away from the church community for an extended break. For many pastors, it takes a couple of days just to wind down and relax. Don't short-change this time - avoid conferences and other such events if at all possible (on this count, churches that require their pastors to use vacation time to attend the CCCC Annual Meeting are actually hurting themselves). Find economical ways to spend time away to rejuvenate.
As a pastor, I was often frustrated that members of my congregation would give mental assent to what I preached and taught, but their lives bore a significantly different witness. They would agree with what I said -- but their behavior often did not change. I came to the tough realization that my own life was not much different. We all know these things are important -- but do we actually do them? The "water table" in our spiritual reservoir depends upon them.
I'm continuously taking tangible steps to improve on all five of these areas. What about you?
