James MacDonald: Harvest Bible Chapel, Rolling Meadows, Ill.

JAMES MACDONALD is senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

JAMES SAYS:

A Whole Lot Different, A Whole Lot the Same

One of the things I’ve discovered about people is the truth of Ecclesiastes 3:11, that there’s an eternity in our hearts, a longing God has placed in us. Church ministry has tended to focus on ways people are different; I think the greater emphasis should be on the way we’re the same. We’ve all been made to hunger for something else.

Hiring Challenges

Where we have hired poorly, I wish we had admitted it sooner and made the changes we needed to make. I’ve tended to overestimate my ability to change the behavior of others. I wish the personnel decisions were less rooted in how the people I hired wanted to be and more in what they had been—what their resume showed.

The greatest sin in ministry …

… is to bore people with the Bible.

Never Alone

Don’t be alone. It’s the important thing I’ve learned in ministry. Find a network of churches to be a part of. A lot of years we were very alone. Pastors need other pastors for counsel and support. I wish someone had told me that sooner.

 

James P. Long
James P. Longhttp://JamesPLong.com

James P. Long was formerly the editor of Outreach magazine and the author of a number of books, including Why Is God Silent When We Need Him the Most?

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