It is that time of
year again when many Christian Leaders and Pastors start to get stressed and
rushed off their feet. Christmas Programmes are being launched. The nativity
set has been repainted but is not fully dry, The donkey has gone lame and you
have a rooster instead of a lamb. The church roof has sprung a leak and the
Kids church leader has informed you that Joseph and Mary have come down with
the chicken pox. Your wife has phoned to remind you not miss your youngest
child's recital at the local school, to be honest you had forgotten. To top it
all you haven't finished your Christmas morning sermon and are tempted to
rehash a sermon from 5 years ago, hoping that it will get great reviews and
that Mrs Jones who is 87 and never missed a service in fifty years, will not
notice,-she will. A hundred other things need to be done and time is running
out.
But take a moment just to pause, breathe and think about the
Christmas story and what you need to do during this season to set you up for
the coming year. To make sure you stay on the right side of life and family and
congregation, here are three things to remember.
Time:
The best gift that any Christian Leader or Pastor can give
anyone this Christmas is TIME. It isn't about the sermon or the programmes;
it's about spending time with people and family. The sermon the leak, the
hundred other problems are not important. You wife, your children and people
are important. So spend time with them. Spend time hearing them, laughing with
them and interacting with them.
Memories:
Create memories, create them with your children with your
wife, so that in the years to come when you sit around another Christmas table
they will say "Dad, Mom do you remember when this happened or when dad did..."
Your children will not resent the time
you spent on church things. Laugh with your congregation, listen to them. Let
them in the years to come remember the time you sat with them and really got to
know them. Share a joke with Mrs Jones. Memories are more important than
sermons.
Stay Focused:
The season is about Jesus about the fact that God in his
infinity packaged himself in the form of a helpless child, who would one day
save the world.
The reason for the season is always about Jesus never the
short, overweight white bearded man with rosy cheeks in a red suit and with a
coca cola bottle in his hand.
Happy Christmas everybody and may God abundantly bless you
in 2019.
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