Advanced Pastoral Training

YOUR GOAL:

Your goal is to center your identity on Jesus and continually accept his love.

Reject centering your identity on your ministry, its accomplishments or failings.

KEY MINISTRY RESULTS:

1. You will be able to give away his love, even in the toughest situations, because your well will be full.

2. You will escape the crushing and destructive elements of the performance trap.

3. You will have an ever deepening and closer relationship with God and an appreciation for the work of his Son.

He loves you because you were created in his image, not because of your ministry.

Think about this: He loved you before you even thought about ministry or your calling to it. He will love you just the same after it.

So, what are some key results when you center your identity on Jesus, and not your ministry?

• People would say that your relationship with Jesus defines you.
• Butts and budgets no longer define you.
• Performance no longer defines you.
• Your turn. Which key results would you like to add?

These things may describe you, but they do not define you.

This may seem counter-intuitive to you. After all, you have spent a lot of time acquiring knowledge that very few people possess. You want to make a mark. You want to perform. As you should. Just don’t let it define you.

If 75 usually attend an event and only 40 show up, it’s usually not about you, so don’t let it define you.

If someone lays into you, maybe even for a valid reason, take it as a way to improve, but don’t let it define you.

If someone leaves your church because you said something doctrinally correct and in a gentle way, that is about them not you, so don’t let it define you.

So, how do I achieve the goal?

Ask yourself:

1. Who am I? Who am I becoming?

• I’m an adopted son/daughter of God through the blood of Jesus.
• I’m becoming more Christ-like day-by-day through the blood of Jesus.

2. What do I know? What I am learning?

• I know that Jesus loves me.
• I am learning to receive his love.

Note the personal, not professional, development emphasis here. It’s intentional. If we are going to ask people to accept Jesus’ love and live it out, should we do it first? Shouldn’t this define us?

Think about this: how can you confidently demonstrate and give love away, if you are not assured by his love and been receiving it?

Okay but, “What do I need to do to get there?”

The same thing you would tell your congregation.

• Use the Gospel
• Pray
• Meditate or reflect
• Read Scripture
• Practice, practice, practice
• Accountability

Here is a better question, “What am I willing to do to get there?”

Answering this question will cause your mind to wrestle with your will. Which one will win? Your answer will set the course.

Homework

When figuring out how to accept to live and lead with love, you will need some tools to get there. These tools need to provoke thought, cause reflection, and motivate you to act.

Let’s look at how this works.

• What role does the gospel play in the developing your character so you may live by love?
• Describe how the themes of the gospel (reconciliation, redemption, adoption, justification, restoration, sacrifice, destruction) help you become more Christ-like and loving during a situation.

Tip: Think in terms of specific situations where the gospel MUST be used to make the situation whole. Example: Marital fight. Theme: reconcilation.

• Reflect on a previous trial when leading.
  • What happened?
  • What challenges did you have to lead by love?
  • What was the outcome?
  • What would you do differently?
  • What is your desired outcome next time you are in this situation?
• Which spiritual disciplines will best help you achieve your goal?
• Which parts of the Bible should be consistently studied so that you can live by love? How about lead by love?
• Think about the theme of love from Genesis to Revelation.
  • Which stories or verses are you drawn to?
  • What is the setting for each story or verse?
  • Who are the characters and what do you know about them?
  • What is the tension or dilemma?
  • How is it resolved?
  • What are the difficulties you encounter you are in a similar situation?
• Who can speak in to your life and offer a course correction when you are not living or leading by love?
• What are the next two steps you will take to disciple your leaders learn and lead by love?

As we walk through your training, we will refer to these answers time and again. Learning to live and lead by love will be your anchor.