20 Lessons from 20 Years of Pastoring

In April 2002, I was installed as the lead pastor of Mt. Zion Church in Cary, NC. Here are 20 lessons I've learned so far.

1. Love people. You have to love people. If you only love to preach but don't love people, don't be a pastor. 
2. Shepherd your family. Your first flock to shepherd is your family. I reduced my meetings when my kids were born because I wanted them to know me as daddy, not Pastor Harris. 
3. Watch your life and doctrine. It's great to have the right doctrine but that doctrine must be lived out. It's hypocrisy to live contrary to the doctrine you're preaching and teaching. 
4. Focus on Character. Your character is more important than your skills as a preacher. 
5. Find joy in pastoring. I find great joy in seeing people grow as disciples of Jesus Christ 
6. Avoid pride. I have to fight against pride to make sure I'm not trying to steal God's glory 
7. Share the load. Pastoring is so much easier with a team of elders. A plurality of elders for the win! 
8. Appreciate the gifts of others. I really don't like the financial and much of the administrative aspects of the church. I'm so thankful for the administrative gifts of others. 
9. Sanctification is a slow process. I use to grow impatience with the growth of people in the church. The Lord had to teach me that slow, steady growth is better than quick, apparent growth that doesn't sustain. 
10. Expository preaching is the way to go. Preaching expository sermons through books of the Bible is the way to go. I was so stressed early on with finding different topics every week. 
11. Point people to Jesus. You cannot solve people's problems. You are not their savior, Jesus is! Point people to Jesus in your pastoral counseling. 
12. Care for all the sheep. You actually have to love and care for the difficult people in the congregation. 
13. You cannot overcommunicate. Just when I'm getting tired of repeating something that's when people are just starting to get it. 
14. Learn to delegate. I had to learn how to delegate to others even when it's something I love to do so I can focus on prayer and ministry of the Word. 
15. Don't compete with others. Other pastors and ministries are not competition. Be faithful to the calling God has given and celebrate what God is doing through others. 
16. Take time to rest. After a really busy season, I'll block off my calendar so I can rest and recover. You want to end well, not burn out. 
17. Share the pulpit with others. I want to give ministers under my care the opportunity to grow in their preaching. Plus it gives me time to rest. 
18. Cultivate interests outside of pastoring. Have something outside of pastoring/ministry that you enjoy doing (like a hobby). For me, since I'm bi-vocational as a software engineer I get to code and work with computers which provides a different space for my mind to occupy from pastoring. 
19. Study offensively. Do offensive study, not just defensive study. Defensive studying is when you study frantically for an upcoming task like preaching a sermon or teaching a class. But offensive studying is when you study for your own personal growth. You will grow through reading, taking occasional courses that stretch your mind, and exploring various disciplines for the joy of learning more about God. 
20. Be faithful. Do all you can according to the ability God has given you and trust in the sovereignty of God. Jesus said HE will build HIS church. That's His job, your job is to just be faithful.