Loving what I do

I love what I do as a Pastor - I think I've kind of blogged on this before, so pardon me please, but this is fresh in me this morning.

Last night I spent time visiting someone and shared with them about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the challenge of struggling with the old and the new person (as Paul puts it in Romans) and how character change and growth can be a struggle.

But when I compare last night with what I have also done this week and recently, it shows the huge breadth and variety - I have hoovered the church hall, cleaned some church toilets, prep'd a discussion document on mentoring and christian education, prep'd the leaders agenda and minutes, scoured the net for the best price on a Henry Hoover, and recently spent some time re-wiring and positioning the church broadband router.
Then I've spent time thinking, reflecting and planning - and oh yes, preping last week a sermon on "Hope". Planned a few services online, engaged in some Baptist Association work, and followed the Church of England synod debates on twitter. Then i have admin'd some church papers, visited a few people to listen and pray with them, checked through some minutes, glued a church table, stacked some chairs, and done an assembly, planned my diary and spent some time listening to others and yes, listening to myself!

Then I've updated the church web site, done some planning on my own personal web site and spent a few moments social networking - oh yes! This week my car developed a moment of black smoke, but I sorted that once I realised the air-con belt was coming off - so a quick fiddle and mend. Yes, I do love fiddling with practical stuff, DIY, and electronics or computing - all part of being a pastor it would seem, and I do have those skills in my bag. I've spent some time listening to elderly parents and the emotions that come with their struggles.

No funerals recently, but that might change, you never know given the cold. Now, if I'm wise, I need to plan for sunday week's sermon - again, on hope; I hope I can sort that and get ahead, because next week is half term and I always, always blank that out for family. Then there is the cleaning and dusting and ironing to do at home too - I tend to have mass moments on those, though Claire is very good too when she has time. My fundamental focus at the moment though is my family and my wife.

There is a tremendous variety in being a Pastor. That at time can be a huge delight and joy and at other times the variety is the very worst part of the job. Sometimes you long for a borring, steady, regular activity, and at other times the variety makes it!

But I suppose what is really coming to me in recent days is that I have a growing passion for the pastoral care and support of other Christian Leaders and Pastor's. After 20+ years in ministry I can honestly say that I know what it's like to be pastoring a church. I know the heights and the depths of the call, the moments of delight and pain. And in short I have a passion to be with Pastor's in their struggles and to help them and care for them pro-actively with what I hope would be wisdom, encouragement and insight. What I've learned through my own struggles has not been lost in a Romans 8: 28 context, and I have much that I feel I can pass on.

There is a website that people are getting excited alot about in the baptist zone called beyond400.net. It seems you have to be a big cheese to contribute, but if I had to contribute something for the UK Baptist world (and I doubt I'll get asked) in the next few decades (past the 400 years we have been in the UK), I would write an article on "Who Pastor's the Pastors" and the priority of Pastoral Care for Christian Leaders.

Where I have blogged in recent months on Christian Ministry undergoing major paradigm shifts predominantly in the local church scene, leads me to ask the question - I wonder if how we operate regionally, and in particular in pastoral care of Pastors, is also about to change?

Oh, and just to finish, you can buy a Henry Hoover for £55 on ebay!