The two men had played...
Illustration
The two men had played golf together several times. One was a recently retired pastor from the parish now being served by the young pastor, fresh out of seminary. Besides enjoying the relaxation of playing golf together, they relished the opportunity to compare ministry notes with one another.
One morning, as they made their way around the dew-covered course, the retired pastor shared the following advice: "Be sure you take a regular day off. Spend time with your family, take some alone time, and be fair to yourself. Even the Lord took a day of rest, you know."
Well, the young pastor made a mental note of that, as the older pastor added the following anecdote to his advice: "A lot of folks look at me and see a successful pastor. They look at First Church and remember how I built it up from a small mission church to the booming church it is today. I mean, I used to make evangelism calls and hospital visits and teach classes and all the rest. Committee meetings took whatever evenings were left after I made home visits. Whenever I was home, I was writing or planning or studying. And the church grew with a lot of help from all the members. But, I now realize, I didn't get to know my kids. Now that I'm retired, I am having to get acquainted with them ... almost as if they were strangers. Just don't let that happen to you. You can be a successful pastor and a good husband and father at the same time."
- Thompson
One morning, as they made their way around the dew-covered course, the retired pastor shared the following advice: "Be sure you take a regular day off. Spend time with your family, take some alone time, and be fair to yourself. Even the Lord took a day of rest, you know."
Well, the young pastor made a mental note of that, as the older pastor added the following anecdote to his advice: "A lot of folks look at me and see a successful pastor. They look at First Church and remember how I built it up from a small mission church to the booming church it is today. I mean, I used to make evangelism calls and hospital visits and teach classes and all the rest. Committee meetings took whatever evenings were left after I made home visits. Whenever I was home, I was writing or planning or studying. And the church grew with a lot of help from all the members. But, I now realize, I didn't get to know my kids. Now that I'm retired, I am having to get acquainted with them ... almost as if they were strangers. Just don't let that happen to you. You can be a successful pastor and a good husband and father at the same time."
- Thompson
