UNDERSTANDING YOUR PASTOR’S MINDSET

Church family,

Understanding Your Pastor’s Mindset. You probably read that title and say to yourself, “This ought to be interesting! Do I have enough time to read through this?”

All my life I have lived in vocational ministry. My father was a pastor. I am a pastor. Some might say that I lived in a ‘fishbowl’. Some may say “Poor guy!” I suppose living in this setting from birth has deeply shaped my mindset and behavior. But that is true for each of us. Your setting, from the time you came into this world to this very moment, has shaped your mindset as well. Your experiences and surroundings have deeply impacted who you are.

With that said, from the time I came to serve at PAC, I have desired to teach/preach/exhort the truth of the gospel. I have tried to speak to you with my heart from God’s Word. You have been gracious to allow me to grow into the “new” position God called me to. As your pastor, at times I have had great burdens. Most of them center around the desire for each one of you to embrace and walk in the truth of the gospel. Honestly, that is my desire for myself as well. We are on this journey together.

Being raised in a pastor’s home and then having a pastor’s home, has had its share of challenges and blessings. What has always been at the forefront of our family’s ministry is the message of the gospel. My mind and heart were deeply impacted early in my life by the gospel message. So much so, I trusted Christ as my Savior when I was just 6. From early in my life the gospel was lived, embraced, and central to our family. My parents, and later Carmela and I, sought to value ‘Jesus most.’

My desire for each of you is that you value ‘Jesus most’ as well. I am all too aware that I cannot save anyone, change anyone, or even grow a church (from a spiritual perspective). Spiritual change is what the Holy Spirit does. So with that clear reality, I am committed to exhorting you, His church, to value ‘Jesus most.’ I am committed to pray for you. I am committed to come alongside you, to encourage you on the journey. I am committed to lead where the Holy Spirit leads me.

I take this time to write you on a regular basis to lead and challenge you in your faith. To push your thinking deeper. To hopefully encourage you to surrender more to what the Lord would want of you. After all, as His children He desires each of us to “seek, listen, obey, and devote” ourselves to Him.

Today I am passing on two articles to exhort our men and families. They are insightful and very helpful for us on this journey as children of God. As a father, having raised four boys, let me challenge you to read and reflect on this article – Why You Should Take your Kids to Church Even When It Feels PointlessI appreciate the writer’s thoughts as she addresses the challenges parents sometimes face in “getting the family to church”. As I have shared with you a few times: remember, we are in a spiritual battle ALL the time. There is an enemy of the Christian who will do whatever he can to keep your family from being with the body of Christ. Why??? He very well knows it matters. When you are faced with these situations, the question is, does ‘Jesus matter most’ to you?

Husbands, here is an article written to encourage a change in your thinking toward your wife – 6 Ways to Lead and Love Your Wife. Often we have great intentions as men. We just don’t get to the follow through. I know all too well – being a man! The question is, does ‘Jesus matter most’ to you?

Recently, I was having a conversation with one of our church folks and they made a very insightful comment. I will take the liberty to ‘tweak’ it to make the application here. They shared with me ‘We often know we have issues that need to change. We just aren’t committed or consistent to do anything about them.’ The statement has stayed with me for a few weeks now. Personally, I have reflected on the question as well. There are issues we each have in our lives. Some we can change. Others we were dealt. All of them were allowed by the hand of God. The question is, what will we do about our response?

As you perhaps have picked up, my desire as your pastor is to urge you, exhort you, to grow in your commitment to Christ. Sometimes that take a little ‘push from the pastor’.Hopefully, you receive an urging from the Holy Spirit as well. I am just the messenger. He is the only one who can bring true change.

So, as I take time to regularly write you, take time to read and reflect. But also understand your pastor’s mindset is all about each of you becoming ALL that God desires for you to be! Simply stated, ‘Jesus matters most.’

Romans 12:1-2 (NLT) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Walking with you,

Pastor Brian