Hopefully by the end of the summer the coronavirus
pandemic will be under control, and DLT will be able to resume its publishing
programme. In this regard timing is of the essence for me, since DLT have
kindly agreed to publish Fifty Lessons in Ministry: Reflections on Fifty
Years of Ministry to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of my
ordination in October.
I began as a missionary teaching Greek and New
Testament in the Congo. I then spent 13 years as minister of Altrincham Baptist
Church, 6 years as Principal of Spurgeon’s College, London, and a further 21
years as minister of Central Baptist Church, Chelmsford. Like most ministers I
have experienced all kinds of ups and downs in ministry, but ended up convinced
that being a pastor of a church is the most wonderful calling in the world.
Part of me would love to start ministry all over again – with all that I have
learnt over the years I feel I would make a much better job of it. Then reality
hits home: I no longer have the same energy today as I had when I began in
1970!
So, second best, I have written my latest book
to share some of the lessons I have learnt with the younger generation. These
include:
1.
Names
are important because people are important for to greet people by name shows that they count. It is
not enough to say on a Sunday morning, ‘Hi, how are you?’ Superficiality may be
sufficient in the everyday world, but not among God’s people.
2.
People
need to be affirmed constantly.
When ministers publicly praise members of their congregation for their
achievement, rather than themselves taking the credit for what has happened,
there is always a large base of willing volunteers.
3.
Leadership
demands passion.
Passion gives leaders energy and attracts people to follow their lead. Passion
is deeper than enthusiasm, for it is cruciform in shape. Vision gives direction
to passion – passion motivates vision. The two are inseparably intertwined.
4.
Every
church is different and has its own distinctive DNA. Something that has been tried and
tested in one situation with good effect may not be appropriate in another
situation. God is not in the business of cloning – and rightly so. This does
not means to say that ministers and churches cannot learn from one another.
However, good ideas always need to be ‘adapted’ rather than adopted.
5.
Retirement
simply marks a new stage in ministry.
As Louis Armstrong once said: ‘Musicians don’t retire; they stop when there’s
no more music in them.’ That too is how most retired ministers feel: we still
have divine music in our souls and we will only stop giving voice to that music
when we join the greater chorus in heaven! True, retired ministers no longer
have a church to run, but they still have a God to serve.
Although these lessons have been learnt in the
context of Baptist ministry, I dare to believe that they are relevant to
ministry in general. Indeed, to my delight, Stephen Cottrell, the incoming
Archbishop of York, has written:
‘John Henry Newman
famously said that to grow is to change, and to have become perfect is to have
changed often. Paul Beasley-Murray may not be perfect, but he has changed; and
he is gloriously open to change. It is this constant learning and probing that
makes his reflections on a lifetime of ministry so encouraging and helpful. He
is currently a Baptist minister worshipping in an Anglican cathedral. He
reflects generously on what he has received from the Church of England. This
book returns the favour, giving Anglican clergy – and others – the opportunity
to learn a lot from him. We need each other’s wisdom to expand the scope and
vision of Christian ministry. These 50 lessons from 50 years of ministry are a
very good place to start.’
***
This is the latest Lockdown Blog article by one
of Darton, Longman and Todd’s amazing authors, offering a personal reflection
on our current situation in life. These blogs post are written sometimes in
reference to one of the writer’s books, and sometimes about how they are living
in response to the coronavirus and our current world situation. We hope it will
give you a taste of the depth and diversity of DLT’s list – books for heart,
mind and soul that aim to meet the needs and interests of all.
Today’s post is by Paul Beasley-Murray, author
of Fifty Lessons in Ministry, which you can pre-order here.
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