C.J. Mahaney's Advice to Pastors: The ordinary Pastor (taken from Together for the gospel book)

Ordinary Pastors (series intro)

May 17, 2011 by Tony Reinke Categories: Ordinary Pastors | Pastoral ministry

1. Called, Gifted, and Discouraged
2. A Biblical Definition of Ministry
3. Be Faithful to the Message
4. Commitment to Unoriginality
5. Be Ready in Season and out of Season
6. With Complete Patience
7. Remember God’s Patience With You
8. Note to Self: Sanctification Is Slow
9. Be Amazed They Came Back!
10. Be Faithful to Your Ministry
11. Be Faithful to the Savior
12. “Well Done, Good and Faithful Ordinary Pastor”

We tend to overlook the “ordinary” things in life.

We don't watch a keynote speech live online to see the unveiling of a new model of an ordinary mobile phone.

We don't buy expensive stadium tickets to watch ordinary athletes compete.

And ordinary YouTube videos never “go viral.”

The common, the everyday, the routine, the uneventful, the garden-variety...none of it grabs headlines or our attention. We notice the extra-ordinary, and when it comes we will watch, buy, and spread it.

Yet the honest truth is that most pastors do not think of themselves as exceptional. Most pastors are ordinary pastors, and normally they are the first to admit it. These ordinary pastors often face particular struggles and temptations, especially the temptation to compare themselves unfavorably to extraordinarily gifted pastors and preachers.

In advance of C.J.’s chapter “Ordinary Pastors” to be published in the forthcoming Together for the Gospel book, we are reprinting the chapter in 12 parts (courtesy of Crossway). In this series C.J. addresses some of the common temptations ordinary pastors experience and sets for them a realistic vision for successful pastoral ministry that honors God and faithfully proclaims the Savior.

The ultimate goal of the series is to encourage ordinary pastors, men who are laboring faithfully in their ordinary churches and who seek to honor the extraordinary Savior. In the words of an older mentor to a young pastor, “What is important at the end of the day is the church—ordinary churches trying to live faithfully in a rapidly changing society. Ordinary churches pastored by ordinary people like you and me, knowing that we cannot do everything, but trying to do what we can and seeking God's face for His presence and blessing so that His dear Son might be honored and His people strengthened.”*

May this 12-part series, Ordinary Pastors, play a small role to that end.

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Series index:

1. Called, Gifted, and Discouraged
2. A Biblical Definition of Ministry
3. Be Faithful to the Message
4. Commitment to Unoriginality
5. Be Ready in Season and Out of Season**
6. With Complete Patience**
7. Remember God’s Patience With You**
8. Note to Self: Sanctification Is Slow**
9. Be Amazed They Came Back!**
10. Be Faithful to Your Ministry**
11. Be Faithful to the Savior**
12. “Well Done, Good and Faithful Ordinary Pastor”**

** forthcoming

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* D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, Letters Along the Way: A Novel of the Christian Life (Crossway, 1993), 226-227.