Don,
This is a wonderful post! I will be passing this on for others to read. A church with such a pastor will have the wonderful privilege of seeing a healthy, authentic, Godly human being.

Pastor’s Wisdom « RC Gale

[...] Jump to Comments Scot McKnight’s series on asking pastors what they would do differently if they started fromthe beginning of their ministry again was amazing. Unfortunately this is the last one (here). The bold font is my emphasis. If I started again, I would prepare the same way; seminary training focusing on the classics of Greek, Hebrew, Church History, Theology and Ethics. I would spend less time on counseling and psychology and more on worship and liturgics. [...]

Don, I love it … jokes, dancing, and laughter. However, some of the best times I have with people is over breakfast. I’ll be re-reading this one. Thanks again. Steve.

…doesn’t this speak to the need to have smaller congregations? Otherwise it would be impossible for the task of visiting every home in the church during the first year — with only three nights a week available! And it would have to be kept up by visiting in the home of each new member — which is very much supporting the paradigm of the pastor as the visitation committee of one!
I struggle with this … having been the “assimilation pastor” at a large church.
All the thoughts are so very valid. I just wonder whether there are any other folks who yearn for these activities to be common among all the members?
I realize we are in a time of changing paradigms, and I may be farther down that road than others.

Peggy #4 is right – this would work well in a small congregation and probably not a larger one, which forces you to choose whom you visit, unless the Pastoral staff visits everyone. That would take away from your other points of limiting nights out for the church. We visited a large church and were visited by someone from the Pastoral staff, so maybe that’s a possible way of doing it.
Anyway, I still LOVE the idea of taking the first year to meet with EVERYONE, not just the power brokers of the congregation, where it is feasible. There is so much wisdom and wonderful advice in this post–especially playing jokes and laughing more. Moves everyone away from being so serious and enjoying life a bit more. It’s contagious. Thanks so much for sharing.