By: Jason McCray

As a new pastor, there are numerous challenges that have impacted my ministry since moving from being a youth minister. While I was not blind to the challenges, I was amazed by the intensity of those challenges. The first major challenge has to do with prioritizing my time. Unfortunately, I fell into the trap of trying to be the official “Super Man” of the church, or should I say “Captain America” since I am more partial to him; because of the really cool shield and deep sense of patriotism. Sorry, I digress. While I knew and trusted in God, I would still try and do everything. In addition, I would struggle with trying to please everyone. While I did see God moving and impacting lives, I noticed my stress load would never decrease. Instead of making progress on the to-do list, there were two items added for every one item that was checked off. Feeling overwhelmed and inadequate was a constant way of life and ministry. Also, what about my family? I would see them and be with them but my focus seemed to be back on my to-do list. It became such a challenge that I doubted God for placing me in the pastorate position because I could not get a “handle” on everything that needed to be done. No matter how well the Sermon, the Bible lessons, and counseling sessions were, I felt like a failure.

The advice from others was simple. Jason, you just need to prioritize your time and your tasks. While I agreed with their quick solution, I always asked “How?”. How do I prioritize my time and my to-do list when both are full of priorities? I wonder if their system was better than mine. Practically, I would utilize a method of completing tasks similar to Franklin-Covey’s method. However, was it really the best? One of the best helps came from a book on my Logos Bible Software that was written over twenty years ago called The Time Crunch: What to do When You Can’t Do it All by Steve McKinley, John Maxwell, and Greg Asimakoupoulos. Even though the book is “dated” compared to our app driven society, the principles and nuggets of info can be brought into our 21st century context of ministry.  For instance, “…I set a prioritized schedule in advance. If you don’t set your schedule in advance, others will fill it for you—with no regard for your priorities.” What a simple but brilliant concept! After stopping to do a self evaluation of how I have been spending my time, I discovered that I had been allowing others to fill my time and my to-do list. While I am still not perfect in prioritizing my time, I have made better strides in organizing my schedule in advance so that I can better protect my time and the important tasks that must get done. For instance, I noticed that I accomplished more in a week when the week was planned out by weekend before the start of the new week. I didn’t plan out every single moment of time in order to leave room for some flexibility. When emergencies happened, I would come back to the weekly plan and make adjustments as needed when I have a moment. This plan of action and schedule would give me the opportunity to say “yes”, “no”, or more importantly “not right now” to someone because I am limited on the time that I have been given. However, there needs to be an obvious starting point.

Mark 1:35, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (ESV) Being more of a “night owl”, I hate this verse. However, it does not take away from its truth, importance, and example. No matter what our role or position in ministry may be, our schedule and work would fall short of how hard our Savior worked to spread God’s kingdom. Yet, no matter what, Jesus would go spend time with God the Father in a place that was private and away from everyone else. Yes, I would personally spend time with God on a daily basis. However, I have been inconsistent in giving God my to-do list and my schedule for Him to determine what His priorities are for that day, week, and month. Should I plan and prioritize my time in advance? Absolutely! However, I must consistently seek God daily and first thing to determine His will for His ministry. Martin Luther, the great Reformer, said this, “I have so much to do today, I must begin with at least two hours alone with God.” I have to admit. I am trying to change my habits and tendencies. I would go nuts to push pause on all that needs to be done in order to spend two hours of prayer with God. I shouldn’t, but I would feel guilty because I am not busy “doing.” Would you feel guilty? When I spend time with my God to align my will and to-do list with His, it amazes me how I am able to prioritize the time that has been given to me to further His kingdom. Am I perfect at following the example of Mark 1:35 and applying the concept of prioritizing my time? I wish I could say “yes”. I am getting better by the grace of God.

While my first challenge has everything to do with prioritizing my time, my second challenge has to do with a phrase that God gave me during a prayer time, “stay the course.” Before coming pastor of FBC of Lebanon Junction in April of 2013, I had the opportunity to be a full-time youth pastor for over eight years in Elizabethtown, KY. While it was a wonderful blessing and will treasure every opportunity I had there, there were many difficult moments and hardships. Some challenges I handled very well by the grace of God. Unfortunately, some I could of handled much better than I did. Yet through all those challenges, I walked away believing that I was equipped and ready for any challenges that I would face at the pastorate position. I know. I know. For those experienced and seasoned pastors, go ahead and laugh. In fact, I am chuckling as I reflect on it. While there have been countless experiences and opportunities that have prepared me for the pastor position, I still had a lot to learn. In reality, I still have a lot more to learn. Before reaching that point of humility, there have been many situations and emergencies in which I have been frustrated and wanted to give up by seeking a new church or even leaving the ministry. Frequently, I would pray for such opportunities and God to just speak to me. On one such occasion, God revealed that phrase from earlier, “Stay the course.” Frankly, I was hoping for something a little more.

Yet as I meditate on those words, I was reminded of Scripture. Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Similar to the earlier issue with prioritizing my time, I had tried to do ministry my way. I had lost sight of when God had called me to the ministry to begin with. He is the One that called me. I did not call myself. Doesn’t that sound silly? God is the One who is commanding and encouraging me to run the marathon race, not the sprint, that He has set before me. So during that wonderful time of prayer, God could not have given me any better words to encourage me to stay where I am and in ministry than “Stay the course.”

While there are other challenges that I have faced and will face, I know I will be able to get through them. In addition, I know that you will be able to get through every challenge you are facing and will face. How do I know this? First, aligning our priorities with God’s by following Jesus’ example in Mark 1:35. Second, “Stay the Course.”

Jason has been the Pastor of First Baptist Church of Lebanon Junction in Bullitt County since April 2014. Prior, Jason served as the Youth Pastor for Valley Creek Baptist Church in Elizabethtown for over eight years. Jason is a graduate of Boyce college and received his masters from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jason has been married to Angela for 12 years, and has two children: Carter and Anneliese. In his free time Jason enjoys reading, history, golf, sports, and photography.

By: Shelby Pruitt

I had just picked him up to take him to Sunday Morning Worship.  That was when he asked the question from the back seat…”Pastor Shelby, can I get baptized today?” This was going to be an exciting conversation. 

I asked him why.  “Because I’m ready, and I want to be baptized, today!”   I told him I couldn’t baptize him that day, but we could talk about it,  He asked why not, reiterated that he was ready, he believed, and he loves Jesus. He wanted to be baptized before worship. Then he began to tear up.  A love for the Lord, an intense desire to be obedient in baptism, and tears!   Look out river, here we come!  But I have had many conversations with him.  I know his tendency to emotions and spontaneity.  So I asked him why it had to be today, why he couldn’t wait? He said that if he wasn’t baptized today,  then he couldn’t “have the Lord’s Supper”.  He wanted to be able to take the Lords Supper with the church. 

Aha, turns out it was my wife’s fault.  Not really, but she had been teaching her Sunday School class about the meaning of the ordinances.  That baptism is very important, but doesn’t save, nor make one savable.  She taught them the meaning and importance of the Lord’s Supper, and that it should only be taken by those who are baptized.  I could see a nine year old wanting to participate, but to be crying over an oyster cracker and some juice seemed a bit much.

It turns out that he had confused the Lord’s Supper with the meal we were having after worship.  His nine year old mind had figured out that if he wasn’t baptized, he would have to sit there (stomach rumbling) and watch us eat. When I explained the difference his tears dried up, he was smiling, and asked what we were having for lunch.  I’ve wondered how many pastors would have baptized him without further investigation.  He said many of the right words. 

It is easy to get baptisms if we want to.  I’ve had many children ask to be baptized. I’ve had parents ask me to baptize their children.  Our church ministers to children in some nearby apartments, and this past year I could have easily baptized 20-30 children without even trying, imagine the potential if I would have tried to enticed them to be baptized. Several have told me they were baptized in other churches, but they want to be baptized at our church. One little girl thinks she was baptized, but cannot remember for sure.

There is a girl who has asked on several occasions, but I’ve not baptized her. We show her love and minister to her with both grace and truth. She does have many personal issues, but has not demonstrated repentance or faith. She stopped coming for several weeks. When she showed back up, she told us she had been baptized at another church. I don’t doubt that. I’m sure she is now a statistic in that church’s annual report… another child who has “made a decision”.

There is an effort to raise baptism numbers, an effort that I do not believe is God honoring.  When the only consistently growing age group for baptisms in the past 30 years is five and under we have jumped off the credobaptist rails. Our job isn’t to get young children (who are eager to please)  to say that right words and then immerse them as another number. Our job is not just to get them wet, but to call sinners to repentance and faith in Christ and Christ alone. Our effort should be to get the gospel to the lost, to see those who are dead in sins be regenerated. New creations in Christ will want baptism, along with membership, discipleship, accountability, and service for Christ. And that is when the truly hard work of discipleship begins. But we don’t want to be a stumbling block to children by confusing them with a pre-conversion “believer’s baptism”. 

As pastors we’ve been called to an awesome and glorious mission. We are “under shepherds” serving the Good Shepherd who has allowed us the “privilege to participate in the process” (thank you Bill Faye for the great alliteration). We are not called to be novel, or creative, or even enticing, and certainly not manipulative..  We are called to be faithful. James tells us “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” James 3:1 ESV .  The author of Hebrews wrote “… leaders … are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” Hebrews 13:17 ESV.  This verse is a sobering warning for every pastor. 

I’m afraid that when the time to give an account is at hand, when our works are tested by fire…many of our numbers (baptisms, attendance, membership rolls, and CP giving) will be consumed like chaff.. To be clear, these are all good things, but should not be our focus. These things should be the natural result of a God glorifying focus on Christ and His gospel.

By the way, that young man is now 10, and is memorizing scripture, catechism questions, and hymns.  He can intelligently answer questions for me that I believe many adults would struggle with. He really does show remorse when I have to call him down, or point out his sins. None of this is warrant for baptism. I am looking for genuine repentance because he has sinned against and disappointed a thrice holy God, not remorse for disappointing me or others. I am looking for true faith, an all-in trust in Christ alone for salvation and an eager submission to Jesus as Lord. I can’t manufacture or convince him of this. I can, however, faithfully instruct him, and call him to faith and repentance, for God’s Glory alone. Soli Deo Gloria

Shelby Pruitt and his wife Michelle have three children and two grandchildren. Shelby grew up in Bullitt County, and was called into pastoral ministry while in his thirties. Shelby is blessed to be in his fifth year serving as the bi-vocational pastor at Eagle Heights Baptist Church of Shepherdsville.

This post was written by a contributor to the Pastor’s Blog Initiative. The viewpoints expressed in such posts are explicitly that of the author and not necessarily the Nelson Baptist Association. 

By: Matt Flanagan 

In both churches and other positions, success is often seen in acquiring positions that involve greater resources, greater numbers, and greater opportunities.  It is upward mobility.  If one is really doing a good work at one location, wouldn’t the natural move be to do the same work in a new and better place?  The plight of ministers is often to be on the search for the next great opportunity.  This seems to be the only way to increase in church size, opportunity, and pay.  The statistics of a minister’s tenure bear this reality: either we are looking to move up or we are looking to move out (perhaps another blog). 

As a sophomore in college, FBC Junction City approached me about serving as their part-time Student Minister.  Though I did not understand my call to ministry at this point in my life, it seemed a great way to serve Christ in the church.  My first Bible study had three of us: me and two other boys.  And in fact, for the next couple of years, that is typically all that came.  However, I did not see this as any failure.  I did not know what success or failure really was at that point.  As these two young men (and me too) began to grow in Christ, the Lord began to bring more and more students to this smaller country church.  As graduation from college neared in my future; I could not consider leaving what God was doing in this church.  I had only been there three years.  I made a choice to continue my education at a location that would allow me to continue to serve at this church.  It was an incredible blessing to see God grow a group of young people (who were just a few years younger than me); one that I would have completely missed without making the decision to stay put for a while.

As I near completion of my tenth year in Student Ministry at Parkway, God has taught me some incredible lessons about the value of remaining in one church for a longer period of time.  My prayer is that these would serve as an encouragement for pastors to value the call and church that God has placed you rather than seeing the current situation as a stepping stone to the next church.

My Family

Aside from the struggles of changing homes, schools, and neighbors, the blessing of my immediate family embracing and connecting long term with their church family has been tremendous.  Parkway is their church.  There is no sense in our home that we will leave one day (though we must be obedient if God does move us).  We are in with both feet.  There are no reservations or guarded walls in fear of future separation.

Growth in Ministry

Let’s face it, we all have experienced ministry such as sermons, Bible studies, events, and training that have worked well.  Some might call this our “bag of tricks.”  What do we do when these things run out?  Do we look for a new venue or do we continue to be learners so that we can faithfully shepherd people?  Serving in one place for a long time requires a transparency and authenticity about our own growth and obedience to the Lord.

Multiplication

I am grateful that there are many other leaders in our Student Ministry that are as capable as I am to lead, teach, counsel, and disciple.  However, this is never the case on arrival at a church.  This is the fruit of sharing long term ministry together.  For those of us that would describe ourselves as “task-oriented,” this is must become our priority.  Yes, it is often easier to do it ourselves than train someone else.  However, it is not about what is easy; discipleship is a process that involves sharing our lives and ministry with key people.

Relationships

Felicia and I have been blessed to experience wonderful friends in every church that we have served.  However, as God as allowed us to raise our children, work alongside, serve in ministry and missions, attend ball games and community events, and simply share meals with the families of Parkway for so many years it has allowed a depth of friendship and relationships that many other ministry friends of mine do not have. 

Life Change

And finally (and the best) blessing of staying put is seeing authentic growth in people that God has entrusted to your care.  To see the journey of a shy seventh grader enter your ministry and now watch them serve across the globe is a blessing that only comes with long term tenure.  Our faithful preaching, teaching, and discipling plants and waters the seed; though it is God that does the growing.  However, it is a great blessing to see His work over an extended period of time.

Matt is currently the Pastor of Discipleship and Student Ministry at Parkway Baptist Church and has been the Youth Pastor since 2005. Matt has held youth ministry positions at three other churches: FBC Junction City, KY; Calvary Baptist Church Danville, KY; and FBC Jesup, GA.

Matt Grew up on the family farm in Campbellsville, Kentucky as the youngest son to Dan & Ginny Flanagan. After graduating Taylor County High School Matt enrolled at Centre College to obtain a degree in mathematics and physics. Later attending the University of Kentucky to  pursue graduate studies in chemical engineering. Matt received his Masters in Theology from Campbellsville University. He has been married to Felicia for 17 years and have been blessed with two boys, Caleb (13) and Eli (10).

 By: Joe Dotson

The “front door” is how people become a part of your church, how they discover it, their first experience. The front door to many churches is the literal front door. Here I will contend that there is a better door. Some churches put an emphasis on having a small group ministry and some don’t.  Many of us know that small groups are an effective way of ministering to the community.  Then again, some may be wondering what all the hype is about. Hopefully I will be able to shed some light on the importance of small group ministry and how your church could benefit from it. Or, if you do have a small group ministry what are some of the pitfalls to avoid. 

One of the most threatening things for a non-believer to do is walk through the front door of a church.  In fact walking through the front door of a new or different church can invoke anxiety among even the most devout follower of Christ. Here lies reason number one to have a small group ministry. A small group, if done well, will be a less threatening front door to your church.

I am a small group leader in my church. This year we have multiplied our groups from two to four. Our groups, called “Missional Communities,” are families of missionaries sent out to make disciples. According to Mathew 28:18-20 (esv) 

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  

We are all called to be on mission together to go and make disciples of all nations. This is the primary mission of each small group. Our groups are not gender based, or age based, they are mission based. For example, the small group I lead focuses on A NEW HOPE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER. By supporting a group that is already established there is less stress on the group leader because the organization can help develop the missions. This is a lesson I learned the first year of leading a group in which we were not on mission very much because I was not good at coming up with things for us to do. So our group’s secondary mission is to support A New Hope. We do this in various ways, such as having work days, in which we go and do physical labor to help maintain their facility. We support them through prayer, or by simply bringing awareness to the organization by word of mouth. There are a number of other ways we help them but I think you get the picture. By having this secondary goal our group can develop different Missions in support of A New Hope. By planning these missions we can then enlist the help of our friends and neighbors (non-believers) to join in a great cause. In turn our service alongside them providesthe opportunity to share the gospel and to show God’s love. We are intentional about building relationships with those we partner with and since these groups are comprised of single adults, married couples, children, teenagers, elderly and all types, we become a “family”. This family environment is less threatening and can foster great relationships.  So to clarify, We do not have a “men’s over 40 who like to golf on Wednesday’s but only if it’s not too hot” , or a “women’s you are only allowed in if you know how to sew and can contribute to the quilt group” or whatever else qualifier that can be thought of to make a group exclusive.  Our groups are always open and are always looking to multiply. 

Our third goal is to get new folks committed to the group. Once committed they join us during the non-mission weeks. It’s during this time that we grow spiritually as a group. The activities during these weeks include in depth study of the Bible and the main sermon series, potluck dinner, guys or girls night out, (girls go out for coffee or shopping etc. while the guys keep the kids and study, or vice versa) game nights or other fun stuff. We begin to bear one another’s burdens, lift one another up, and a transparency develops that reveals our sinful nature. When non-believers see that we openly embrace our sinful nature and we work together as a group to eradicate it from our lives they will be comforted, and will be able to recognize the sin in their life. Soon thereafter they can begin the healing in their own lives through acceptance of Christ as their Lord and Savior. And this is how we get them to walk through the front door of our church. This may be a long process, but it is sustainable, and fruitful.

A few of the logistical challenges with small groups are, who is going to lead them?, where are they going to meet?, and what do you do with the children while the adults are trying to talk? There may be others, but these are some of the challenges we face within our groups. 

Developing Leaders – Finding a small group leader can prove to be difficult for any size church. In a small church or a start-up church all too often the task of small group leader is another duty assigned to the already overloaded head pastor. In a Large church this duty may land on one of the associate pastors whom are being held accountable for a completely different ministry. Within church leadership we tend to delegate this responsibility to someone with a theological degree, rather than looking within the lay leadership, or within the congregation. The challenge with the latter is oftentimes folks are reluctant to step forward and lead because they feel they are not qualified. Such was the case when I was asked to lead my first group. I recall being asked if I would lead a small group. My first knee jerk reaction was “heck no”. I was intimidated, what if someone in the group was stronger than me theologically, and what if they challenged my leadership? I wanted no part of that. I felt as though I was not “qualified” to lead. And then through consultation with one of our pastors Iwas reminded of the twelve that Jesus called to his ministry. Were they “qualified” before they were called?  No, in Mark 6:7-13 we see that he sent them out with nothing, forcing them to rely on their faith to sustain them. So that is what I did. To address this we began a training program to help prepare those considering leading a small group. The leader of each existing group is tasked with finding a potential leader, and mentoring them. We also partnered with another church that has a successful small group ministry and held a training class for all potential group leaders. This process has made it feasible to multiply our groups.   

Where to meet?  For larger churches this may seem like a non-issue, but remember the anxiety of a non-believer walking through the front door? Meeting in a meeting hall, someone’s house, or other non-threatening environment reduces the anxiety that might deter new people. This poses a challenge and could be costly. We began our groups in homes which is a great place to start. This lead to our next challenge, what to do with the children? While we strive to include them in all that we do, it is often times necessary to have them separated while the adults learn, plan, socialize etc.  I suggest finding someone with a home that has separate areas (such as a basement) and can host your group, or contact the organization that you’re supporting and see ifthey have a location that could accommodate your group, also budget for a dedicated childcare worker or two. When we first started we had a rotation of people within the group take care of the children, what we found is, when you have a small group, if part of them are missing the meeting to provide child care it is counterproductive and it really throws things off if that person does not show up. We now have dedicated personnel. 

Small Groups really can be the new front door to your church, but like anything else they must be Christ centered, relationship driven, and purposefully planned. I hope this helps in the planning or revitalization of your small group ministry. I am always available so please contact me if you would like to discuss this in more detail. 

Joe Dotson is a Senior Sales Representative for HMC Service Company, a pastor at Mercy Hill Baptist Church and a retired US Marine. He and his wife Susan have been together for 20 years and have four children: Caisey, Bradley, Addison and Damian. He and his family have resided in Mt. Washington for four years and enjoy Uk Basketball, home improvement projects, and youth sports.