More than 500 pastors and ministry leaders gathered at First Baptist Church Decatur Nov. 15 for the 2021 Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference.
“Pastors are the heartbeat of this convention,” said Blake Kersey, pastor of FBC Decatur and president of this year’s Pastors Conference, during the lunchtime opening session sponsored by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Kersey said he wants all pastors, regardless of their ministry size and context, to know “they matter.” That vision guided the planning of this year’s conference, which features workshops, panels and table discussions geared toward practical help for pastors under the umbrella of this year’s theme, Authentic: Finding Your Identity in Christ.
The conference began with a conversation between Blake Kersey, pastor of FBC Decatur and president of this year’s Pastors Conference, and Danny Wood, pastor emeritus of Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Vestavia Hills.
In a wide-ranging Q&A session, Wood shared several lessons he learned in ministry.
On priorities
Wood emphasized the importance of establishing priorities in ministry and family. “The thing about ministry is that everything is important. Everything has significance.”
The pastor and his family are often under a microscope. The church can overwhelm you to the point where your wife and kids are secondary, but if you lose your family, you lose your ministry. “Of all the balls you’re juggling, the one you can’t drop is your family.”
On wisdom
Pastors also can make the big ask of time and commitment, but church members have a lot of things pulling at them. Sometimes pastors have the unrealistic view that laypeople have unlimited time to give to the church. Respect the work and the time of church members.
Learn to discern the motives of those speaking into your life, Wood added. Every person who wants to speak into your life doesn’t have the purest motives. “Looking back, I would want the wisdom to know who to listen to and who not to listen to.”
On conflict
Your church is God’s church, and it is bigger than one or two people or families. Don’t fret about those who leave but focus on leading and ministering to those who stay. Don’t fret. Focus. God has put you there for that group.
When conflict arises, “You deal with it. You don’t duck it.” Whenever there is conflict, whether with a church member or staff member, you need to address it. When you talk about it, make sure you agree what the conflict is. Verbalize it. See if there is a direction to take to make it right. You’re going to feel so much better. If you’re nervous the conversation will be toxic, bring in a third person to talk with you. Let the other person know, “I just want to make sure we’re all hearing the same thing.”
On dealing with discouragement and depression
Wood commended young pastors he’s observed who have strong friendships with other young pastors. “I’m impressed with the bonds they’ve built. If 35-year-old Danny could do it over, that’s what I would have done, and I would greatly encourage you to do that.”
- Exercise relieves stress. There is something about the way our bodies are made that exercise helps us deal with other stresses. Do some kind of exercise.
- Find a confidant. You need someone you can confide in. For me, it was my wife. For some it might be a friend in ministry or someone outside ministry you can talk to.
- Pray and pour it out to the Lord. Don’t hang on to it. Get on your knees before God. God will point out things that need to be addressed.
- Go to counseling. A good professional counselor can hear you and help to give you direction. We don’t need to think that’s a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength.
- When you get frustrated, take time to be with your family. Do something fun as a family.
- Keep your focus on the mission of the church. Yes, there are going to be obstacles. Yes, we’re going to get frustrated. Get back on mission.
On perseverance
Every person here has probably thought about quitting at one time or another. How do you weather it? Here are some ideas, in no particular order:
- Create a balance in your life: spiritual, physical, family, emotional. The way you create balance is to control your calendar, and you learn to say the word no. Put what’s most important on your calendar, starting with family activities.
- Maintain a sustainable pace. What’s the pace you’re running right now? Ask yourself the question — can I maintain this pace? There are seasons and rhythms. Some are busier than others. Acknowledge a tough season. Sit down with your family and give them a heads up. But when you finish that month, slow down. Do something fun with your family.
- A strong body equals a strong mind. Come up with something consistent.
- Don’t ever compromise your integrity. You compromise your integrity, you lose your ability to lead.
- Make tough choices and be willing to be misunderstood. When you make tough choices, everyone is not going to get it. You’re going to have to sit down with some people and explain it a few times. In the long term it’s the right thing to do.
- Cultivate younger people for wisdom and younger people for fresh ideas and perspective.
- Keep short accounts and forgive others. Bitterness drags us down in ministry. When you carry bitterness, it will show in your preaching.
- Keep your call in mind. It’s God that called you—nobody else. If times get difficult, go back and remember the call. There will be times in ministry when God releases you from that specific call, but until you get that word, keep on plugging.
On church and culture
Our culture is more and more biblically illiterate. We can’t expect people will know all the stories and events, so we have to drill down a little deeper, be a little more explanatory. Political correctness also has gotten stricter, so while we never want to compromise truth, we have to be more careful with our words.
People’s lives are getting busier and busier. People have so many options, so the church has to be strategic when planning events. Whatever you plan as a major event better be spot on in order for people to attend.
A missions-minded church culture starts with the pastor. It’s got to be in your heart. If it’s not a priority for you, it won’t be a priority for your congregation. Talk to your people about getting outside the walls of the church — and that happens from the pulpit.
One of the biggest obstacles a pastor might face is a church thinking too highly or too lowly of themselves. If the church thinks too highly of themselves, they’ll be resistant to change. If they feel too lowly, they will be resistant to challenge. “I’m just a …” — fill in the blank. And suddenly they’ll be resistant to the next challenge. Figure out where your church is. Figure out if you are going to be the one to push the change or the challenge.
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