tough conversations among pastors

We were all sort of squirmy.  There were 6 of us, all responsible for pastoring the worship gatherings of Calvary, and we were diving into the things that aren’t going as well as we’d like.  It was a good 2-day retreat, even though it was filled with a lot of discussion about the things that need improving, overhauling, and more attention.  We worked through a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis and spent some time discussing our priorities and goals.  We talked about each gathering, our own life/ministries, and what we were hearing from the Lord.  We spent time praying together…

I usually have a hard time processing the negatives.  All too often I get stuck in the bowels of “I’m not doing a good job.”  And trust me–you don’t want to be in the bowels of anything…I tend to dwell on the things that aren’t kicking, and that leads me to negative thinking.

It’s not that there aren’t bright spots.  We’re seeing God do some wonderful things all across Calvary.  Our hopes are not crushed, and our hearts are often full.  But there are some things that need our attention.

Tonight as I worked through some of those things, I realized that if we don’t know what the problems are, we can’t address them.  We can’t ask God to work in specifics if we haven’t nailed them down.  We can’t move forward without clarifying direction.

I believe that there’s a God-piece to this (Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Ps 127) and there’s a people part to this.  And while things may not be shaping up like we anticipated or expected, I am more confident than ever that we’re on the right track.  We need to make some adjustments, but I am excited to be part of this church, part of this team.  We needed to take some time away to pray and evaluate, to assess and prioritize.

Tough conversations are not my strong suit.  But when I know that I am valued, that I am part of the team, that people have my back and believe in me, I am willing to enter those discussions.  The last 2 days were difficult, but necessary, and even good. We know some of the things that we need to work on, and like the video will tell you…