Influence

Mark Batterson post:  Start Pastoring

I have a friend who used to be a pastor and now he’s a banker, but the truth is that he’s still a pastor. Instead of pastoring in a church he’s pastoring in a bank.  And the truth is, he’s having far more influence pastoring a bank than he ever did pastoring a church.

I don’t care if you’re a doctor, an actor, or teacher.  You are called to pastor the people around you.  What if you viewed your colleagues as your congregation?  What if you played the role of pastor?  What if you started looking for opportunities to pray or preach or counsel?  God has called has to be salt and light where we work.  After all, that is where we spend the vast majority of our waking hours! But too few of us view ourselves as pastors because we haven’t been to seminary or we don’t pastor a church.  We need a paradigm shift.

I happen to pastor a church, but I think that some of the greatest pastors aren’t even viewed as pastors.  They are entrepreneurs and entertainers and athletes and professionals who love Jesus Christ with all of their heart and understand that God has called them to pastor the people around them. They have turned a business, a film crew, a classroom or locker room into a church.

Start pastoring!