Keepers of Dreams and Visions

In less than one month my transition out of pastoral ministry will take place. I’ll conclude my one and only pastorate having entered my 40th year of ministry among the people of Mayfair-Plymouth Church. Joe will be taking over. I’ll pass the baton to him, literally, as in the accompanying photo.

We have been in a process of intentional transition for nearly a year and a half. In this final stage I’m sensing something strange happening to me. I no longer have a dream or vision for the church. The Great Shepherd apparently is already transferring those dreams and visions over to the new under shepherd, Joe. This is good, the way it should be.

Dreams and visions for a church are crucial to a pastor. A church may have a variety of lay leadership that exercises one degree of authority or another, depending on the church governance, but the pastor should be the key vision holder, the keeper of the dreams. Yes, lay leadership and other staff need dreams and visions too, but no one should have them more than the senior or lead pastor.

Pastors, however, can get so busy in doing the day-to-day, in dealing with disagreements, conflicts and the issues of the congregation that there’s significant drift from the goal, seing the purpose of it all, keeping the destination in view. How do we as pastors nurture dreams and visions? As I look back, here are some key elements that helped me.

Keep close to Jesus – jealously guard a personal time with Him where it’s not prayer about your work but about Him and you.

Read – always be reading a book that’s NOT on church growth, church health, church administration, church vision, church anything.

Fellowship – have regular times when you meet with one or more other pastors where you share from your heart, pray for each other, and hold each other accountable. I’ve been in such a group for the past twenty years or more and it’s been a key to my spiritual health.

Rest – find time to get away from the work of pastoral ministry. Enjoy a hobby or a mini-ministry not related to the church (writing is mine, along with raising chickens, keeping a fish pond, photography, etc.) Take a day off each week, religiously. Take vacations. Don’t take yourself so seriously!

These are just a few thoughts that come to me as I look in the rear view mirror of my ministry and how the visions and dreams were kept alive, until the Lord started transferring them to Joe. Visions and dreams are what feed pastoral passion, give energy, and set a direction for what we do.