I’m a pastor. Pastors are supposed to go to church. So I go to church, several times each week. I’ve done that for decades. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve missed church by choice. This past weekend I added to that handful of misses. I skipped church.

My daughter had come to visit us over the Labor Day weekend and I scheduled one of our other pastors to preach at the weekend services. We took a long weekend at a lake house about 50 miles from our home.

The last time we took a long weekend we all went to church, a very boring one. This time however, I simply decided I wouldn’t go. To be frank, I felt a tinge of guilt because my wife will tell you I’m always the one pushing us to go to church while on vacation.

But for some odd reason, I didn’t push us this time.

So what did I do that Sunday morning? I sat in a swing and read my bible. I cut some dead limbs off a tree. I chatted with a neighbor. I exercised on my treadmill. I practiced the art of ‘slowing.’ And I really liked it.

Although I’m deeply committed to the local church and won’t make skipping a habit, I leaned a few valuable lessons.

1. Skipping Church reminded me that pastors’ schedules keep us from normal weekends that most families experience. Sundays (and Saturdays if you hold services) are our biggest work days. But, it’s not all about me and I will gladly stay faithful to God’s calling.
2. Those not in pastoral leadership roles will never understand this sacrificial part of our profession because when they want to skip church, they easily do with no repercussions. And when they do, most don’t even think twice about skipping.
3. An occasional ‘break from the Sunday routine’ can refresh a soul to avoid pastoral burnout.
4. I now understand how hard it would be for someone who has seldom attended church to give up his Sunday mornings and start attending. I truly enjoyed having Sundays free.
5. Number 3 above reminded me that we pastors must craft compelling, Spirit-led services if we are to entice the unchurched to attend and keep attending. What they experience at church must be worth the price of giving up their relaxing mornings at home, at the lake, or at the ballpark. We may only get one shot.
6. Pastors need  a sabbath too. Since Sunday’s aren’t ours, we must prioritize another day for rest. I take Monday’s off and I was reminded that I must truly rest on that day.

Never say NO.
Please everybody.
Don’t take a vacation.
Strategize first, pray later.
Act like you have it all together. (more…)

What defines ministry success? How do you know if your ministry or church is really successful?

I’ve served five churches, three in associate leadership positions and two as the senior pastor. In my first senior pastor position I started a church in a suburb of Atlanta. I envisioned myself as the south’s Rick Warren, a future mega-church pastor what would soon lead his own church growth conferences. 51 attended our first service. I was so successful that in six months I was able to bring that number down to 17, which included five members of my own family.

I was devastated. I didn’t quit though and after 14 years our church grew to about 500, certainly not a candidate for Outreach Magazine’s fastest growing churches.

For probably three quarters of my 30 years in ministry, Monday would be the best day of the week or the worst day. It depended on the attendance report. Good attendance and I felt valued. Low attendance (or attendance less than the previous year’s) and my day didn’t go so well

Now, 24 years after that heart crushing day when only 17 showed up at my church, I believe God is finally freeing me from the “success in numbers” mentality.

But, we still live in a culture that determines success if the numbers are up and to the right.

As I’ve dialogued with lay leaders in the churches I’ve served, I’ve often felt a not-so-subltle message that our church was doing poorly if the attendance and giving were not significantly up and to the right. I’ve discovered that often businessmen who have experienced success in their vocations (ie, their numbers went up and to the right) bring that same expectation into the church.

Unfortunately, this view often overshadows other very important ministry success measures such as spiritual health and the percentage of people who serve.

• Have you experienced this pressure from your leaders?
• If so, how have you managed it?

I’d love to hear from you.

Related post: 5 Reasons Churches Should often Celebrate Wins

This morning in my quiet time I reflected over the past two Sunday services in our church. For some reason attendance was down compared to last year. The flu has hit and I’m sure that accounts for some absences. But, I’ve struggled with discouragement wondering what we could do differently to encourage people to attend. Unfortunately, I’m tempted too often to allow the church numbers game to regulate my inner peace.

As I mulled over my feelings, I read Psalm 27. Verse four goes like this.

One thing (my emphasis) I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

I’ve read that passage hundreds of times but this time the first two words struck me: ONE THING. As I felt like a not-so-successful pastor because numbers had drooped, I asked myself these questions.

• Charles, what is your ONE THING?
• Is your ONE THING to strive always to feel competent because your efforts brought more people to church?
• Is your ONE THING to always serve a church whose attendance graph is to the right and up?
• Is your ONE THING yourself?

I forced myself to ask these penetrating questions in light of David’s ONE THING. He wanted more than anything to know, follow, and be with his Lord. Do I really want what he wanted? I believe I do, but sometimes for a while other things supplant the ONE THING. These uncomfortable feelings make me evaluate if I’m keeping the right ONE THING.

I’m just guessing here, but I bet many if not most pastors face this same temptation.

What is your ONE THING today?