1 QUOTE

“It is the job of Christian preachers to carefully instruct the flock so that they understand the supreme beauty and majesty of God.”

- Jonathan Edwards

1 NOTE

Last week I shared how my mentor encouraged me to take up a hobby. Thanks for those of you who asked about my fantasy football team and last Tuesday’s veteran draft. For you football heads, I landed CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey and Bhayshul Tuten. My team, Long Term Parking, is clear for takeoff. And a special shout out to Bruce Rhoades, a Free Methodist superintendent in Michigan. He wrote, “My hobby (hunting and food plotting) has helped keep me sane for these 12 years of superintendency!” A good hobby is part of the finishing well formula.

This week I address the flip side of the hobbies. To be direct, do you know any pastors who have too many hobbies? I will never forget when a hard-working member of our church shared her concerns about pastors and hobbies. She had a very stressful job, navigating negative leadership at a very low wage.She said she followed a pastor on social who posted pics of his hobbies. Yes, hobbies. Plural. One post was his camera hobby. The next post his golf hobby. This was followed by his car hobby. And we can’t forget the obligatory cringy shot of ‘Quiet Time at the Beach’ with feet up over ocean and sand. She wondered out loud to me how many days the pastor actually worked. 

I wonder what Jonathan Edwards, the great Puritan preacher during the great Awakening, would post on his social. In his biography, Iain Murray shares Edwards’ great respect for his hard-working congregation. Many of his flock were field workers in the field, battling New England weather for 10 hours a day. From the field, the workers could see into his parsonage. Edwards made sure to have a standing desk (he was far ahead of his time) so that they could see him praying for them and working on his weekly sermon. Jonathan Edwards went deep into the book and discovered Kingdom treasure. And every Sunday he would share that treasure. As his flock in the field saw their pastor standing at his desk 10 hours a day, they said to each other, “Sunday’s Word is going to be a great meal!”

A good hobby (singular, not plural) is great. It balances our Kingdom work and strengthens our call. I close with a Kingdom salute to all of the hard working pastors and lay leaders. Be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for your labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

1 QUESTION

Being a pastor is a challenging and complex call. Will you join in me in prayer this week for your pastor to be diligent to teach the beauty and majesty of God?

Until Next Tuesday,

John