Supermodels are super-paid because they are super-effective at making people copy them. Fashion and design gurus know that the way to sell their clothes is to get them on Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Giselle or whoever the latest coat-hanger is. Young (and not-so-young) people see the clothes on the model and say, “I want to be/look like that!”

So how would you like to be a Pastoral Supermodel? Well, if you’re a pastor, you already are. Your life, character, and conversation, are super-influential. And although you’re never going to get super-pay for it, to see people being impacted for good by our life, character, and example should be more-than-sufficient reward.

But that raises the question as to whether we are modeling for good or for evil. Just as many have followed Kate Moss into drug abuse, and Naomi Campbell into prima donna mood-swings, likewise many people have suffered by copying the bad examples of their pastors. So let me pose some questions:

• Are you demonstrating the need for a weekly Sabbath rest from work? (Or does “six days you shall labor” only apply to non-pastors?)
• Are you treating your body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit?
• Are you drawing wise boundaries in your relationships with other women in the congregation?
• Are you taking reasonable vacations and really vacating the office – leaving it behind mentally as well as physically?
• Are you exercising wise time-management?
• Are you setting reasonable working, resting, and sleeping hours?
• Are you modeling a godly family by spending quality and quantity time with your wife and children?
• Are you showing your spiritual need to hear good preaching and to read good books for the good of your own soul?
• Are you guarding personal devotion time as jealously as you guard your children?

To put it bluntly, is the overall message of your life: “I am so indispensible, unstoppable, and incomparable that I don’t need to care for myself.”

Or are you communicating: “I am so dependent, so vulnerable, so fragile, so needy that unless I take care of myself and my family first, I won’t be able to take care of anyone else.” Now that’s a Supermodel.

I met a “celebrity” pastor at T4G yesterday.

I can confidently report that he was normal.

In fact, he was more normal than many “normal” pastors I’ve met. He was warm, friendly, engaged in our conversation, didn’t try to get away after the initial pleasantries, and wasn’t continually looking over my shoulder for someone more interesting or important to talk to. And I have to say that most of the well-known pastors and preachers I’ve met have been similar.

The problem is often with those who surround these men. In my experience, it’s often the gatekeepers, the hangers-on, the media, PR & marketing guys, the organizers, the administrators, the “friends,” etc., that create the impression of superiority, aloofness, arrogance, and disinterest in lesser mortals.

I’ve met a good number of them too, and though there are some happy exceptions, I’m afraid that they often give their masters and “friends” a bad name. When no one else is around, they might give you the time of day, but meet them in a crowd and you’re suddenly invisible. Or if you are talking to them in a crowd, you wonder if you have a parrot on your shoulder!

Past too much like the present
Before I was converted, I’m afraid that I was a regular sampler of Glasgow’s nightlife. I used to go to clubs that were attended by the top Scottish soccer players (the equivalent of your ARod, Tom Brady, etc). Because of their large “retinues” you wouldn’t normally get near to talk to them – unless you met in the restroom. I “bumped” into quite a few of them there over the years and usually found them friendly, decent, down-to-earth, etc. Just like the few “celebrity” pastors I’ve met.

But again, it was their retinue, the guys basking in reflected glory, the entourage, the guys that probably could hardly kick a ball, that by their attitudes and actions usually caused the public perception of these “stars” arrogance and superiority.

(Mis)representatives
So, to the celebrity pastors, I would say, you may be the humblest, godliest, and most decent pastor in the world; but if you have bumptious, pretentious, person-respecting staff and (mis)representatives, don’t be surprised if people who don’t know you think that you are just like them. I would prescribe them a daily dose of James 2v1-4 and maybe some regular time at Calvary.

To the entourage, the “friends,” I would say, go pastor a church yourself for a few years (rather than by proxy), and you might then stop to talk to some “ordinary” pastors at the next T4G.

The Word of God reveals the human heart. So do large conferences.

Pastor Greg Lubbers, a graduate of Puritan Reformed Seminary, preached a wonderful Chapel message for us yesterday on a theme that has become very dear to my own heart. I’d love for every over-worked Pastor to hear and obey this precious and gracious invitation.

Just the day before listening to this, my wife pointed me to a passage in Anthony Selvaggio’s excellent book, A Proverbs Driven Life. He argues that the sins of sloth and workaholism are very similar sins, both resulting from pride, self-centeredness, and idolatry.

Today, I believe Christians are actually more likely to become workaholics than they are sluggards, simply because the idolatry of workaholism is more socially respectable. In fact, it is so widely praised that many Christians don’t even consider it a sin! As a pastor, I certainly became a workaholic . . . and my idolatry won me praise! People often commended me for my ability to multi-task and get things done. I often allowed the boundaries between work and rest to be blurred. There were so many “good things” to do with my time: preach, teach, counsel, discipline, go to the soccer games and plays of the children in my congregation, teach at seminary, teach at college, speak at conferences and write books. In serving “24/7,” I was trying to build God’s house without his help by shouldering all the responsibilities for his church myself.

In the final analysis, we can stop working and rest because God is sovereign. He is in control, not us. If we are not pursuing his priorities—which include rest as well as a broad range of responsibilities—our efforts will ultimately be futile, no matter how hard we work. But as we embrace a balanced life that includes work, rest, and proper attention to all our responsibilities, he will provide all we need to accomplish his will.

It’s extremely liberating to recognize that God gives us enough time to finish everything to which he has actually called us. Here are some of those things: devotional time with God; relationships and service in your  family, church, and community; and matters of stewardship over your material goods. If any of these areas are suffering because of the amount of time you spend doing other things, take a close look. Perhaps you are becoming—or became long ago—a workaholic, an idolater who has foolishly dethroned God by believing that his ways, so plainly presented in Scripture, are inferior to your own.

Both Sins the Same
The sin of the sluggard is serious, but so is that of the workaholic. In fact, they are very similar sins. The man or woman who builds all of life around work is every bit as proud and self-centered as the sluggard. At either extreme we worship an idol called “Doing it My Way.” Perhaps the Bible spends a lot more time on sluggards and a lot less on anything we would call “workaholism” because the workaholic is really just a variety of sluggard by another name. Both are interested in avoiding responsibilities that don’t interest them. The workaholic simply avoids things by a different technique—crowding them out of his calendar. And where the sluggard is sure to suffer economic loss, the workaholic suffers losses that are often more relational than monetary, but nevertheless real, lasting, and painful.

Work, whatever form it may take, is a core activity of each of our lives, taking up most of our waking moments. What a tragedy to despise it like the sluggard, and live for those times when we are not doing it. to worship it like the workaholic, as we strive to deify ourselves in our little kingdom; a tiny god over a tiny world, as if we had created that world ourselves, or sustain it ourselves, or even understand its true workings.

A Proverbs Driven Life by Anthony Selvaggio.

Here are links to the audio and handouts of the pastoral ministry course I taught at PRTS last semester. I took a biographical approach to the subject, by giving a maxim for ministry followed by a quote or paragraph from a pastoral biography (and sometimes a pastoral theology book) to illustrate or demonstrate the point. I’m grateful to previous students for some of the research work presented in these lectures. And thanks also to our young summer interns, Constance and Lucy, who did much of the typing.

Quite a few other pastoral subjects were covered in handouts or by links to other articles and audio.

The student handouts below include the quote from the biography, but the maxims have to be filled out as the lecture is followed (well I’ve got to keep them awake somehow!)

As I had not intended making these notes public, the handouts do not contain standard footnotes for each quote. However, if you want to track down each quote, you should be able to do so by using the code at the end of each quote together with this key. In other words if the code is (2/34) then you look up book 2 on the list and you’ll find the quote on page 24. Some of these references need to be double checked (especially the ones marked in red), and nothing has been proof-read (caveat emptor).

I’ve tried to cut out classroom discussion from the audio as much as possible so that listeners are not straining to hear distant voices.

The Pastor’s Preparation
Quotes
Audio

The Pastor’s Qualification
Quotes
Audio

The Pastor’s Call: To the Ministry
Quotes
Audio

The Pastor’s Call: To first congregation
Quotes
Audio

The Pastor’s Call: To another congregation
Quotes
Audio

The Pastor’s Training
Quotes
Audio

The Pastor’s Heart
Quotes
Audio 1     Audio 2     Audio 3

The Pastor’s Family
Covered by another lecturer, but here’s a handout with some gleanings from the biographies.

The Pastor’s Study
Quotes
Audio 1     Audio 2

The Pastor’s Preaching
Quotes
Audio 1     Audio 2     Audio 3     Audio 4

The Pastor’s Visiting
Quotes
Audio 1     Audio 2

The Pastor’s Relationships
Quotes
Audio 1     Audio 2     Audio 3

The Pastor’s Suffering
Quotes
Audio

The Pastor’s Satisfaction
Ran out of time!

Key to the books

I’ve been reading through Steve Jobs’ biography with considerable disappointment. Not because it’s not a good read; it’s a superbly written and entertaining book. No, my disappointment, even shock, has been in discovering what a horrible character Jobs was in his early career. How could such an ugly character produce so much beauty? But then I remembered a post I wrote a long while back about the the life- and character-transforming “university” we both attended later in life. 

May 1985.

Apple’s mountain of unsold inventory was growing along with its debts. Sales were declining and losses were looming. Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs was “relieved of operating responsibilities,” and a few months later he resigned from the chairman’s post to start a new computer company called NeXT.

What came next for Jobs was the unexpected – 12 years in the corporate wilderness. 12 years of painful, dispiriting, humiliating, stressful failure. His vision was to build a high-powered personal mainframe computer for students. He was advised to keep the price under $2000, but ended up going to market with an underpowered computer carrying a $6500 price tag. For students! The printer alone was another $2000.

When students didn’t bite, Jobs started selling to businesses and fared little better. He eventually got out of manufacturing and tried to make NeXT’s software profitable. His main customer was Apple R&D, who eventually took over the company when Jobs returned to Apple in 1997.

And what a return it was! Apple’s business model was rotten and fermenting. Fruitful it was not. But Jobs’ return turned Apple around and the rest, as they say is history (and billions of dollars).

What changed? All who know Jobs agree that the wilderness years transformed him:

“It’s hard to see how anything like that would have transpired. The Steve Jobs who returned to Apple was a much more capable leader — precisely because he had been badly banged up. He had spent 12 tumultuous, painful years failing to find a way to make the new company profitable” (Randall Stross, Professor of Business at San Jose University).

“I am convinced that he would not have been as successful after his return at Apple if he hadn’t gone through his wilderness experience at Next” (Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies).

“He’s the same Steve in his passion for excellence, but a new Steve in his understanding of how to empower a large company to realize his vision” (Kevin Compton, previously senior executive at Businessland).

Among the lessons he learned were:

• How to delegate. At NeXT he did everything, from designing the office furnishings to designing the finish on internal computer screws. He once kept Businessland executives waiting 20 minutes as he directed a landscaping crew where to place sprinkler heads.
• How to listen to advice. Many had tried to advise and counsel Jobs, but he wouldn’t listen. Seven vice-presidents left or were “let go” from NeXT from 1992-1993.
• How to retain, not just attract, top talent. Apple Inc. has a remarkably stable executive team.
• Stop modeling future technology on past technology. The iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad all abandoned conventional shapes.

The idea of a life-transforming wilderness experience is nothing new to the Christian, of course. Moses, David, and even our Lord Himself went to Wilderness University. Nobody wants to study there, but God sometimes sees fit to send us there.

I spent nine months in Wilderness University in the year 2000. And I learned more there than I ever learned in Seminary. Our church had divided over moral and doctrinal matters. I was sure I had done what was right and had taken a stand for truth. Yet I ended up without a congregation and on the pastoral shelf for nine long months. I was so cast down, I even stopped preaching for a couple of months and withdrew from all church service.

Among the lessons I learned at WU:

• No one is indispensible. God may use us for a time and then leave us out of the picture for a while as His picks up other instruments to advance his Kingdom.
• God does not owe us anything. At the end of the day we are unprofitable servants, having done only what was required of us.
• You can do the right things in the wrong way. Pride, self-confidence, and the desire for victory and vindication are obscene, whatever the rights and wrongs of a situation.
• Self-pity is dangerous pity. Feeling sorry for oneself is utterly pointless, totally selfish, and spiritually catastrophic.
• God bruises and breaks to prepare for future usefulness and fruitfulness. Without the wilderness I was nowhere near ready to pastor the flock God gave me in November 2000.

No, my return from WU was not as financially profitable for me as it was for Steve Jobs. However, I do believe it produced a huge spiritual return that continues to pay dividends to this day.

If God has you presently enrolled in one of WU’s courses, I hope you will be encouraged by the invaluable lessons you can learn there. I’ll probably be back for a refresher course some day as well!

Actually Tony Schartz’s HBR headline was Four destructive myths most companies still live by. However, I think they are applicable to many church leaders too. Here’s a summary:

Myth #1: Multitasking is critical in a world of infinite demand.
This myth is based on the assumption that human beings are capable of doing two cognitive tasks at the same time. We’re not…In fact we lose 25% of our time due to the “switching time” required.

Myth #2: A little bit of anxiety helps us perform better.
The more anxious we feel, the less clearly and imaginatively we think, and the more reactive and impulsive we become. That’s not good for you, and it also has huge implications if you’re in a supervisory role.

Myth #3: Creativity is genetically inherited, and it’s impossible to teach.
Despite our deeply ingrained belief that deeply ingrained belief that creativity is mostly inborn and magical, research has proven that creativity is actually teachable and reachable for all of us.

Myth #4: The best way to get more work done is to work longer hours.
I’m not going to summarize this one but simply give it in its entirety:

No single myth is more destructive to employers and employees than this one. The reason is that we’re not designed to operate like computers — at high speeds, continuously, for long periods of time.

Instead, human beings are designed to pulse intermittently between spending and renewing energy. Great performers — and enlightened leaders — recognize that it’s not the number of hours people work that determines the value they create, but rather the energy they bring to whatever hours they work.

Rather than systematically burning down our reservoir of energy as the day wears on, as most of us do, intermittent renewal makes it possible to keep our energy steady all day long. Strategically alternating periods of intense focus with intermittent renewal, at least every 90 minutes, makes it possible to get more done, in less time, more sustainably.

Want to test the assumption? Choose the most challenging task on your agenda before you go to sleep each night over the next week. Set aside 60 to 90 minutes at the start of the following day to focus on the activity you’ve chosen.

Choose a designated start and stop time, and do your best to allow no interruptions. (It helps to turn off your email.) Succeed and it will almost surely be your most productive period of the day. When you’re done, reward yourself by taking a true renewal break.

Here are links to the audio for the first two weeks of lectures from “The Minister & His Ministry” Course

1.1 The Pastor’s Preparation

1.2 The Pastor’s Qualifications

2.1 The Pastor’s Call (General call)

2.2 The Pastor’s Call (to first congregation)