An acquaintance of mine just asked a group of friends and me how to encourage and mentor a young pastor experiencing tremendous growth in his church. He had wisely sought out my acquaintance for mentoring and accountability, and this man then asked us for pieces of experience that he could pass along to this young man. These were the first things that came to my mind, and I thought they’d be fun to post here for you.
- Ensuring the proper care of his own soul. Nothing comes close. The busyness and pace of his environment will absolutely dry him up and leave him vulnerable. This includes one or two trusted accountability folks as well as embracing with wisdom what rightly fuels his spirit.
- Making sure that he never forgets that long before God even utters the name of this man’s church to him God wants to know if he’s been a good steward of his own wife and kids. They must not get the leftovers. I’ve learned this the hard way.
- Identify other shepherds in his context who can “pet the sheep.” He will feel the pressure to do all of that, particularly as the earthly father (founding pastor) of the congregation. He can’t. It will kill him. He must raise up others who can share the load of the day-to-day care of the sheep. This will then free him for the aforementioned items, as well the necessary responsibility of visioneering and leadership development.