Archive for the 'Pastors' Category
A Call to Pastors: Give Your Mornings to God
Serving as a pastor of a local church is a difficult job. Each of us need all the help we can get. No one can help us like God.
A Call to Pastors
In 1980, at an evening session of the Texas Baptist Evangelism Conference in Dallas, I heard the late and great W.A. Criswell challenge pastors to give their mornings to God. The following Sunday, I stood before the small church I pastored, the First Baptist Church of Milford, Texas, and announced my decision to give my mornings completely to God for prayer and study. All these years, I have lived by this firm commitment. I can tell you this: Nothing has ascended my spiritual life and level of leadership more than this allocated time each morning.
Pastors, my call to you is to give your mornings to God. Obviously, the Lord Himself must call you to do this, but I believe firmly that since Jesus rose before daybreak to be the Father, we certainly need to do so some in our lives.
My Morning Schedule
Over the years, on a typical day, my schedule has evolved into getting up at 3:00 a.m. from Sunday through Thursday. If I am traveling, especially across time zones, this schedule may be negotiated. Friday and Saturday are for family and rest, and of course, Sunday is a very different kind of day.
Sunday Morning
On Saturday night, I usually struggle going to sleep, anticipating the day ahead. My goal is to be in bed with lights off by 10:15 p.m., if possible. My alarm goes off at 3:00 a.m., and I head into my office, stopping first to prepare a cup of strong coffee or green tea, grab my iPad, (on which I keep my prayer list), my Bible, and my journal. I begin in prayer, moving into the Word, interweaving with prayer, and journaling a prayer to God — which I’ve done daily since January 1, 1990. I am a big believer in having a spiritual journal.
At 4:45 a.m., I jog on my treadmill for an hour, going over my sermon, praying through it, and talking through it aloud. This is where I move to mastering the sermon. After an hour on the treadmill, I call a prayer partner for a few minutes. I have called this man every Sunday morning since 1989, and it is a practice I strongly encourage pastors to develop. If I am not fasting, I then eat a light breakfast and head for the shower.
By 7:35 a.m. I am on my way to church. After touching base with our leaders for ten minutes, I am in my office for prayer and additional study. By 8:40 a.m., I am on my way to greet church members and guests in an informal setting and by 9:00 a.m., I walk into a prayer room with several men who lay hands on me and pray for the service and me. By 9:10 a.m., I walk into our worship center, greet more people, and begin the worship experience. At the present time, I preach two services, one at our Springdale campus and another at our Pinnacle Hills campus. After the second service, Jeana and I greet people for at least 20 minutes, and we usually leave the campus around 1:00 p.m. I may have a luncheon, but whatever the schedule, I look forward to a brief nap in the afternoon.
Monday Morning through Thursday Morning
Again, the alarm goes off at 3:00 a.m. After water goes on my face and I grab a cup of strong coffee or green tea to help me start the day, I head to my home study. The first 90 minutes of my morning are spent in prayer and the Word devotionally. I reference a long prayer list on my iPad, which continually grows and is updated. I always end with my prayer journal, writing a prayer to God daily.
By 4:45 a.m., I am totally into my sermon preparation. I take this very seriously. For a pastor, there is nothing more important than developing your personal walk, followed by preparation to teach and preach the Word of God. From 4:45 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., with the exception of one hour for exercise and personal fitness, I am in study preparation. Sometimes I will respond to emails if it fits into the moment. If not, I wait. By 10:30 a.m., I am in the shower and by 11:30 a.m., I am on my way to a lunch meeting.
Friday and Saturday Morning
I usually sleep until 6:00 a.m. on Friday and on Saturday. If I am in a writing project, I may still get up at 3:00 a.m. I always begin my day with God for at least an hour. For years, my Friday priority has been Jeana and our family. It is the rare exception that Friday is spent in work and ministry tasks. On Saturday morning, I move into sermon preparation, mainly working on memorizing the sermon. I finish around 9:00 a.m. If it is college football season, I may adjust all this to be done in time for my favorite television program, ESPN’s “College Game Day.” If I need to rest more, I will watch the first hour of their broadcast that day by DVR.
Takeaway for Pastors Today: Give Your Mornings to God!
Giving your morning to God will transform your life and ministry. Nothing, and I repeat, nothing is more important than your own personal spiritual development and walk with God. It will transform your life and ministry. So pastors, devote yourself to a deep study time, giving yourself to prayer and the study of God’s Word. You are called to lead, feed, and intercede for the people of God. Doing ministry in the power of God is imperative.
Consider this, pastor: How much more could you get done if you got up just one hour earlier for five mornings of the week? That would be five hours of additional time to deepen your walk with God, enhance your study time for sermon preparation, or practically deal with matters that are always hanging on you. God will use it in your life.
One more time as a testimony: Nothing has ascended my spiritual life and level of leadership than this allocated time in the morning.
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the Senior Pastor of Cross Church, Immediate Past President of the Southern Baptist Convention, founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry, and host of the Ronnie Floyd on Life and Leadership Today podcast.
To request an interview with Dr. Ronnie Floyd
contact Gayla Oldham at (479) 751-4523 or email gaylao@crosschurch.com.
Visit our website at http://ronniefloyd.com
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
A Personal Prayer Plan
Prayer is a spiritual journey. Just as a journey from your present location to the other side of the country requires that you have a plan to reach your destination, you need a plan to assist you in your spiritual journey of prayer. Prayer is your personal communication with God. Since this is your spiritual destination every day, you need a plan to help you reach your destination effectively and consistently.
In my own life, I have observed that the greatest times in my prayer life have been those in which I followed a specific plan of action for prayer. Here is a plan that I have used from time to time, and I often customize it as I go. Perhaps it will help you or at least serve as a guide. You can modify this plan to meet your own personal prayer needs.
The plan I am suggesting has four features that I believe make it accessible to everyone.
*Simple. This plan is simple for everyone to use. Whether you want to move into another dimension in your prayer life or are teaching a child to pray, I believe this plan can be beneficial.
*Sequential. There is a sense of order to this plan. If this is your first attempt to establish a prayer plan or you have used other plans, a sequential plan can help you. Simplicity combined with sequence produces relevance and productivity, particularly for followers of Christ.
*Specific. One of the reasons this plan is so dynamic is that it leads you to pray for people, ministries, organizations, problems, and situations in a specific manner.
*Spiritual. This plan incorporates the Word of God into your prayer and encourages the dynamic of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of prayer.
You can modify this plan to meet your own personal prayer needs, but it can be a useful tool that will make a real difference in your spiritual life.
Step One: Read God’s Word
I believe it is very important to listen to God speak daily through His Word. What He says in His Word will prepare you to talk to Him and will influence what you say to Him in prayer. Always keep in mind that the Word of God and prayer go hand in hand. As you continue through the steps, keep your Bible open near you.
Step Two: Pray
When you pray, follow these principles:
- Confession: Effective prayer occurs when you talk to God and listen to what God is saying to you. Sin clogs the lines of communication between you and God. Therefore, confess your sin and your helplessness to God. Confession and repentance are very important in the life of the growing Christian. God hears and answers your prayers when your heart yearns to be clean and right with Him.
- Praise: Praise is the expression of your love and adoration for who God is. In your time of praise, focus on three attributes of God’s character. Make this a rich time of worship between you and your Creator.
- Thanksgiving: This is the expression of gratefulness to God for all the things He has done for you. Thank him for provisional, physical, and spiritual blessings. Thank Him for people who have blessed you. Take the time to say, “Thanks, God.”
- Petition: During this time, focus your prayer on personal needs you want to present to God. Do not pray for others yet; pray for the things you believe to be within God’s will for your own life. You can use a personal prayer notebook to record God’s answers to the requests you lift up to Him for both yourself and others.
- Intercession: Intercession is the privilege of standing in the gap between the God of heaven and the person you are praying for at the time. Remember: God is attracted to the specific prayers you pray for yourself and others.
- Urgent Requests: During your prayer time, you will also want to list urgent requests to pray for every day. An urgent prayer request is so critical that it requires daily attention from you for a specific time or until the crisis has passed. When God places an urgent need on someone else’s life upon your heart, commit yourself to pray for that person daily.
- Focus-Day Requests: As you become familiar with the basic principles of this plan, you may choose to add an additional layer of intercession that involves focusing your prayer on a special area each day. Consider the following schedule:
- Sunday: World missions and missionaries
- Monday: Lost and unchurched
- Tuesday: United States of America
- Wednesday: Friends
- Thursday: Christian leaders
- Friday: Your local church
- Saturday: Relatives
When you add focus-day requests to your times of intercession, you will have a healthy balance of prayer. Be careful not to overload this section because too many requests on your prayer list may overwhelm you and even squelch your desire to pray. But remember: Prayer is work!
Step Three: Journal
I believe in the life-changing power of closing your time with God by writing a one-page letter to God. On this one page, you will be recapturing your main burdens as well as the joy of answered prayers. Journaling provides a means of concrete communication with God. It also provides a sense of relief from your burdens. As you document your walk with God in this way, your faith in the power of prayer will increase. Journaling can become one of the greatest dynamics in your prayer life.
Just do it!
This is a suggested plan intended to help you, not bind you. Feel free to customize it according to your desires. The Holy Spirit will work through this plan, granting you spiritual liberty as you communicate with God. In time, these steps will become natural for you. Do not make the plan itself holy. What is holy is when you meet with God in a personal and intimate way every day of your life.
Enjoy the journey! It’s worth it, so just do it!
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
This article is an adapted and condensed excerpt from my book, How to Pray.
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.