Consistency in the Life of a Pastor
People want leaders who are consistent. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to follow someone who does not lead consistently? You know, someone who is up and down, has emotions all over the map, and their responses are impulsive. Let’s set the record straight.
Consistency is adhering to the same principles. Consistency is acting or behaving in the same way. Firmness, coherence, and regularity should never be undervalued. When a Pastor-Leader adheres consistently to the same principles, lives with regularity, and thinks coherently, he is able to add tremendous value to people and the church or organization he serves.
How consistent are you? How consistent is your leadership?
People desire pastors to be consistent. Are you consistent? Do you lead with a commitment to regularity, sameness, firmness, and always live by the same principles you preach to others? These are serious questions that each of us must answer honestly. Let’s face it: Jesus Christ lived a consistent life. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Consistency is one way we can strive to be like Jesus.
When you lead consistently
When a Pastor leads consistently…
- Your people will trust you. It is much easier to trust and place confidence in a pastor who leads consistently. People become endeared to a leader they can count on. There is enough uneasiness in the world already; people want to have a pastor they can trust. Consistency leads to trust.
- Your people will respect you. Pastors should not have a personal goal to be liked by everyone; however, a pastor needs to have a goal to be respected. A leader will be admired and receive high respect when he leads consistently.
- Your people will follow you. It is much easier to follow a leader who is clear and consistent than it is to follow a leader who is inconsistent. If people cannot count on some “sameness” in your life, they will be less likely to follow you. I have observed this for years: Staff members in my fellowship that have tested well through the storms and difficult circumstances of life and have lived consistently, never have a problem with people following them.
A few final words…
I know many pastors who do not live consistently and do not lead with consistency in their lives. It is not a matter of the heart as much as a matter of priorities. If we want people to trust us, respect us, and follow us, we must live and lead with consistency.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
If God is Good, Why do People Suffer?
“But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came. I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me. I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.” Job 30:26-28 (HCSB)
Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt that every pursuit of good is met with only evil? That your pursuit of God is continually met with pain and suffering?
The most common question people have about God is some variation on the idea of God being good, yet evil existing in the world. Why are there disasters? Why are innocents killed? If God is good, why do people suffer? As the Bible reveals answers to these questions, we are reminded of the love and care of God even in the midst of hurting.
Suffering exists in our world for one simple reason: sin, which was introduced into the equation by Adam and Eve. There was no suffering in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve sinned. Cain did not murder Abel until sin entered the world. The flood happened because people continuously did evil.
All evil and suffering exist because sin entered the world. That God is good can be seen by the fact that He did not abandon His creation. Sin is a continual affront to God. The miracle is that He still relates to us at all. Instead of leaving the people He created, we see Him working in history to redeem people, demonstrating His tender care and compassion.
Suffering exists because sin brought it upon us; suffering will ultimately be removed when God makes all things new.
But what about when we suffer personally? It’s one thing to talk about the existence of suffering as a category. What about when I suffer? When you suffer? When a woman is raped or a child is murdered? Why do those things happen? The Bible gives us at least three reasons Christians suffer.
1. A World of Suffering
We suffer because we live in a world of suffering. We are not exempt from it. Jesus suffered, as do His followers. “You will have suffering in this world,” Jesus said1. His promise was not deliverance from suffering, but peace within it.
2. God’s Glory
We suffer so that God may be glorified. Sometimes this happens in healing. But other times it comes by our praise of Him when He chooses not to heal us. When the disciples questioned Jesus about a blind man, they expected blame for his condition to be placed on either him or his parents. Jesus turned their expectations around when He revealed the purpose: that God’s works could be revealed.2
When Job lost everything He owned and all ten children in rapid succession, his response was to praise God in the midst of his mourning. Job’s faithfulness left us with one of the most poignant lines of worship in all the Bible: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh.”3
3. Our Sin
We suffer when we sin. Too often, we hope God winks at our sin. We want a warning we’ve earned a ticket. We want to smoke for 40 years and never get cancer. We want to ignore our spouse and never face divorce. The simple fact is that God judges the sins of His people.4 Though God is extraordinarily merciful, He is far too loving to allow us to continue in sin. His goal is always that we will return to Him, even in the midst of our suffering.
Bible Studies for Life: Honest to God deals with a number of hard questions like these. I hope you will take a look at this series and consider using it in your church or small group study.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
1– John 16:33, HCSB
2– John 9:1-7
3– Job 1:21, HCSB
4– 1 Peter 4:17
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.