the New Year

I'd like to jump on the band wagon and try as able to set some goals for the New Year. Like the rest of humanity, can't say for sure I have ever actually met any of my resolutions - but that does not mean we cannot at least try.

1) Read the Bible through at least once (may seem like and odd goal but when is the last time you read the Bible through? Exactly). How much more important is it for a fledgling pastor of a small church?

2) Become licensed with the Assemblies of God (well, I don't really have much choice on this though there are a couple "issues" I need to work through to be okay with signing the papers - which I will not go into here on this blog). We are only at this church because my wife is already fully ordained, so officially, she is the senior pastor of the church. I am not sure yet if I will go for ordination, it is just so expensive to maintain, and yes each pastor has to maintain his own ordination).

3) See progress in becoming a competent pastor. This is important because you would be surprised how many pastors are not competent nor well grounded in a strong sense of pastoral identity.

4) Gain consistency in personal spiritual growth and discipline. I learned in seminary that the spiritual formation of the minister is crucially important not just to the minister but also to those whom the minister "ministers." Effectiveness in our calling is related to our consistency in personal spiritual formation. If we are not prayed up, we dry up. I do not want to just "pray more" or "read my Bible more" but instead be consistent in pursuing those things that will allow for personal spiritual growth. This will be a challenge for me because since my daughter was born a year ago January 10th, I have found the battle for personal time with God nearly overwhelming (with me on the losing side).

5) Read many books (and finish them too!) I personally believe in the value of reading many books and that not just Christian books - in the words of Douglas Stuart, "The good exegete reads many books." I think too being widely read helps bring breadth and depth to ones understanding of the world and life (and to one's own personal growth and maturity, spiritually and emotionally) - and can assist in becoming a competent well-rounded person. Of course I too have many books I need to finish and others I want to read so hopefully I will make some headway on this, this year.

6) Like Bryan L, spend less time on the computer (which if not careful, easily wastes a lot of time) and more time with my baby girl and my beautiful wifey. I would like us to spend quality time together and see growth in our marriage as well. We are in a tough situation here in the canyon and above all else we need a strong healthy marriage to push through and see the church gain a strong presence in the Grand Canyon Village. Do pray for us, we need it. There is significant spiritual opposition to what we do here and we need the prayers of our fellow Christians to help sustain us and see us move forward in the Lord.

So, with that, I need to get off the computer and attend to my soon to be one year old daughter!

May you all have a blessed new year!