Park Farthest Away: 5 Simple Pastoral Habits To Defy Our “Me First” Culture

Some of the strongest statements are made in the simplest ways. This is true of leadership. Especially Christian leadership. People will learn more from what we do than what we say. For instance, if we are going to teach and preach against greed and pride, we need to live a life that demonstrates generosity and humility. Sometimes that’s done in big ways, through benevolence projects and sacrificial giving. But it needs to be lived out in smaller ways as well. The people closest to us are watching to see if our everyday lives are matching up to those big, visible efforts. Here are five simple practices that serve as a starting point as we think about the example we are setting for the people who see us in everyday church leadership.

June 22, 2018

by Karl Vaters

Some of the strongest statements are made in the simplest ways.

This is true of leadership. Especially Christian leadership. People will learn more from what we do than what we say.

For instance, if we are going to teach and preach against greed and pride, we need to live a life that demonstrates generosity and humility. Sometimes that’s done in big ways, through benevolence projects and sacrificial giving. But it needs to be lived out in smaller ways as well. The people closest to us are watching to see if our everyday lives are matching up to those big, visible efforts.

Here are five simple practices that serve as a starting point as we think about the example we are setting for the people who see us in everyday church leadership.

Author

Karl Vaters

Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.

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