Quite often, pastors get caught up in the  running of day to day ministry duties and are sucked into the vortex of the urgent. While understandable, it becomes a problem when it leads to the neglect of other aspects that are truly important. It is a good practice to regularly pull back and rise above the ground level view to survey the big picture landscape of church and ministry. Otherwise as the old adage goes, you won’t be able to see the forest for the trees. And when that happens both leader and church can lose their way.

That said, here are five big picture views that need to be revisited regularly in order to maintain a balanced overall perspective. Ask yourself how well you are doing in each area. Is there a tendency to camp out in a  “pet” area or two  while avoiding the others?

LEADERSHIP

  • Practice self leadership: Maintain spiritual, physical, emotional, relational and financial health. (1 Timothy 4:16)

  • Cultivate health in marriage and family. (1 Timothy 3:2-5)

  • Review and clarify  the mission, vision and strategy (Proverbs 29:18)

  • Govern the leadership core team and facilitate the leadership meeting. (Romans 12:8)

  • Disciple and develop present and future leaders. (2 Timothy 2:1-2; Acts 6:1-7)

DISCIPLESHIP

  • Develop, establish and grow small group systems. Jesus used this as his primary focus as demonstrated in his training of the 12 and the early church by necessity was born into it through home settings.

  • Shepherd people through a pathway of growth and assimilation in a timely manner. Use classes, cohorts,  modules, groups and anything that will work.

  • Establish timely rhythms  for water baptism. The early church's example tells us that baptism should follow conversion as soon as possible. It is a very important transformational sacrament and should not be viewed as a cool cultural moment delayed to accommodate social amenities (Acts 8:26-39).

  • Provide for life phase preparation in the areas of marriage and parenting. Strong families make for a strong lasting church. Youth and young adult revivals may start something but strong stable families ultimately sustain everything.

  • If possible make available a recovery ministry that fosters healing, recovery and deliverance for life’s addictions, traumas and obsessions.  The covid pandemic, its resulting impacts and lingering residues have made this more important than ever.

  • Meet the practical needs of the surrounding society when most appropriate. Quite often a church serves its way into both the heart of a community and the consciousness of a city.

WORSHIP

  • Engage services that connect people to God through worship. Psalm 22:3 tells us that God enthrones himself in praise and manifests his presence.

  • Feed people through the preaching of scripture and teaching of the Word. Truth is food for spiritual growth (1 Peter 2:2-3), and sets people free while turning followers into disciples (John 8:31-32). Most of all, remember that the written Word is essentially the embodiment of Jesus, the living Word of God.

  • Establish the vertical foundation of a healthy, consistent prayer ministry. Remember, the church was born in the upper room with prayer and history proves that it only continues with prayer (Acts 2). Scripture warns us that when foundations are destroyed the works of the righteous are curtailed (Psalm 11:3).

  • Ensure the health, alignment and unity of worship leaders and musicians. Creative artists can be the most brilliant people on the planet but they can also be the most errant because of their deeply emotional wiring. Leaders in this area need to be shepherded like any other area.

  • Embrace the Lord’s Supper and the regular engagement of communion.

SCHOLARSHIP

  • Practice responsible sermon preparation that includes quality time to produce healthy preaching and teaching.

  • Guide all preachers through some type of mandatory minimums of systemized training.

  • Process resources (books, podcasts, videos, etc) that serve to broaden and deepen through the inclusion of fresh voices.

  • Attend selected roundtables, seminars and conferences to ensure lifelong learning and the enlargement of  horizons.

  • Further education through seminary and other formal life long training opportunities as appropriate. Discerning the right time and season is vital. Normally, when a church is just starting and one’s family is young,  is not the best time to engage heavy graduate work. Wait for a more settled and riper season of life. The experience accumulated will provide a more informed context to engage a more relevant focus.

STEWARDSHIP

  • Teach the congregation the theology of faithfulness through the practice of tithing (Malachi 3:1-10).

  • Foster the practice of generosity above the tithe through engaging special causes. Giving to national level ministries  international missions, building campaigns and crisis needs provide healthy conduits for abundant giving (Philippians 4:10-19, Corinthians chapters 8-9).

  • Practice  budgetary planning and the exercise of reasonable fiscal discipline.

  • Track key trends: monitor year over year metrics (monthly, quarterly, yearly) to discern growth or regression while keeping the context of seasons and unique societal disruptions in mind.