Eugene H. Peterson died October 23, 2018, at age 85. While he is best known for The Message, he was also a prolific author on Christian spiritual formation and pastoral work. I have read 26 books by Peterson, and his writings have profoundly influenced my life and my vocation. Most of my deepest convictions about what it means to be a pastor come from him. Footnotes to the influence of Eugene H. Peterson on me appear in nearly every sermon, lecture or talk I have given, and his influence on me extends to all areas of my life as a follower of Christ.

As I’m reflecting on the life and legacy of “Pastor Pete,” here are four topics that have been particularly helpful to me from his writing.

Sabbath

Peterson returned again and again to the topic of Sabbath. He was emphatic that a “day off” and a day of Sabbath were not synonyms, learning from his own experience that a “day off” often has a utilitarian purpose. Sabbath, in his own words, is, “uncluttered time and space to distance ourselves from the frenzy of our own activities so we can see what God has been doing and is doing. If we do not regularly quit work for one day a week, we take ourselves far too seriously.”

Stay put

Peterson understood the impulse to move on to greener pastures and confessed his own restlessness in several of his writings, but the story of Gregory of Nyssa helped him to stay put. Gregory was appointed to serve as bishop of Nyssa by his older brother, Basil. Nyssa was a small insignificant town, and Gregory protested his appointment there, but Basil told Gregory not to gain notoriety from the place where he was appointed, but rather to distinguish the place by his being there. In his own words, “All living is local: this land, this neighborhood, these trees and streets and houses, this work, these people.” It is a deceptively simple truth, but one that mattered deeply to Peterson.

Busyness and the power of a calendar

Busyness is epidemic in American culture, and Peterson suspected that at least one reason why pastors succumb to busyness is vanity, and the desire to appear significant since “the heavy demands on my time are proof to myself — and to all who will notice – that I am important.” Peterson unapologetically saw busyness as an enemy of the Christian life.

One of the most practical things I learned from Peterson in addressing busyness is the power of a calendar. Peterson found that if someone asked him to attend a meeting on a day he had planned to write his sermon, or to spend time with his wife, someone would answer, “Well, I’m sure you can find another time to do that.” Peterson found, though, that if he answered instead, “My appointment calendar will not permit it,” the conversation stopped without further explanation. He urged pastors, and all of us, to protect our time by scheduling times to do the most important work (prayer, preparing sermons, time with our families, etc.), and then appeal to the authority of your calendar: “My appointment calendar will not permit it.” He adds, “The trick, of course, is to get to the calendar before anyone else does.”

Lastly, a family meal every evening

Jan Peterson, Eugene’s wife of 60 years, was once asked what her advice would be to parents about raising their children, and she answered, “Have a family meal every evening.” It’s a disarmingly simple answer, but Eugene and Jan Peterson knew most families do not share an evening meal together and suffer as a result.

Peterson frequently highlighted how meals were not just a means to an end in Jesus’ life and ministry, but often the backdrop of some of the most significant conversations and gatherings of his ministry. He said sharing a meal with someone mixes “conversation and calories” in a way that makes them both better.

This advice about a family meal sums up what I gained time and again by reading Peterson: he showed me things about Jesus or Scripture that I had overlooked before and gave me ways to apply it to my life in a way that was profound and practical. My family, my ministry and my life are better for it.

Sources:

• Eugene H. Peterson, Working the Angles. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.
• Eugene H. Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
• Eugene H. Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.
• Eugene H. Peterson, Living the Resurrection. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2006.
• Eugene H. Peterson, The Pastor. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2011.

Originally written for Wesleyan.org

Preachers have a notoriously hard time listening to each other preach. I guess it’s only human nature. Mechanics will assess the work of other mechanics, a hairstylist will probably always have something to say about your haircut, a musician will usually notice a mistake that an untrained ear would miss, and pastors critique each others’ sermons.

In these summer months when most preachers find themselves taking a break from the pulpit for one reason or another, how can a preacher listen well? Two years ago I transitioned from being the lead pastor of a growing church to a ministry role at Houghton College. I went from preaching 46 weekends per year on average (plus special services, funerals, weddings, etc.) to a role at Houghton where I have over 55 opportunities every year to preach, teach, or lead worship at various events, but only find myself on a church platform to preach or lead worship around 30 weekends per year. As a result, I have to take a seat about 22 weekends per year. Here are four habits that have been vital for me, and maybe will help you take a seat this summer:

Come as a student, not a teacher

Students don’t use red pens. Teachers use red pens to grade their students’ work, but when you hear a sermon you are not there to give a grade: you are there to learn and grow.

I don’t think I’ve seen two pastors yet in my travels who preach the same way. Note-taking, manuscript preaching, note-less preaching, object lessons, putting images on a screen, or not – I’ve seen it all and then some. The mode of delivery can be a distraction especially for us pastors who preach all the time.

You can always learn something, though, in any sermon. Sometimes the learning comes easy. Sometimes I have to be very creative in my ability to learn, but you can always learn something. Maybe it’s a song you didn’t know before. Maybe it’s a theological, historical, or biblical point you didn’t know before (or had forgotten). Maybe it’s something about their delivery that you’ve never tried before. Maybe it didn’t even work for them, but you can try to utilize it in a more constructive way. You may not like the sermon. You may not want to hear it a second time. But you can probably still learn something, and if you go into it the service looking to learnsomething God will rarely let you come up empty.

When you are a preacher on vacation this summer, put away your red pen. Be a student, not a sermon critic.

Be an example of how to listen to a sermon

As a preacher, especially someone who serves as a guest speaker in a variety of settings, it is really helpful and encouraging to find a smiling, friendly face in the congregation. It is a gift to find someone who makes eye contact and stays engaged. Every once in a while I even find someone who laughs at my jokes.

When you take a seat, be aware of how you look from the pulpit. Do you appear engaged or indifferent? Are you expressing a warm demeanor, or detached? Are you just waiting for this to be over, or are you fully present? Actually, whether or not that sort of stuff helps other preachers the way it helps me, I know acting that way makes a big difference in my heart when it’s my turn to take a seat.

Think about how you’ll use your phone, too. Your phone is a gateway to a million distractions. Maybe you’re better off leaving your phone in your pocket.

When you get Sundays off this summer, do unto the preachers as you would have others do unto you when it’s your turn to preach.

Enjoy the weekend

I went 12 years without a weekend off. 12 years without a true, non–vacation, run-of-the-mill weekend off. I think lay people don’t realize how much of a sacrifice it is for pastors and their families to give up our weekends. I remember how strange it felt when I finally got my first true weekend off in 12 years. I remember saying to someone, “You mean this happens every week?” It made me realize that, while I faithfully took a day off in the pastorate, a day off is no match for a weekend.

A Sunday when you don’t have to preach might be the closest thing you get to a weekend off all year long. Guard your calendar. Stay up late on Saturday night. Make special plans. Seize the day.

When you get a Sunday off, make a weekend out of it.

Put An Arm Around Your Loved Ones

I will never forget the Sunday three summers ago I woke up to go to church. It was the first time in my adult life when I was not a church’s pastor on a Sunday morning. I was still an ordained pastor, still doing pastoral work, but no longer responsible for one specific congregation in the same way. I was usually to the church before my children were even awake on Sunday mornings, so going to church with my family was a foreign idea.

And I loved it. My favorite part? I got to sit with my family in church.

There are many Sundays when I am jealous of my friends who are pastors who get to perform baptisms, or preach to their own congregation, or lead communion. There are certain Sundays of the year when I really wish I had a church to whom I could preach. I console myself those mornings by putting my arm around my wife or one of my children during the sermon. It’s a simple pleasure that simply makes a big difference in my life.

Whatever else you do when you take some time off this summer, make sure you put your arm around someone you love.

Why It Matters

Like other professions, it is no secret preachers are opinionated about their craft. But unlike other professions, it is vital to your soul that you can hear the voice of God through other pastors. You have blind spots, I have blind spots, and it is not just for the sake of time off or as a professional courtesy that pastors must learn to take a seat. In the struggle for the preacher’s soul, this is an often overlooked battlefield.

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© Steve Dunmire 2016
Dr. Steve Dunmire is Director of the Office of Ministry Resources at Houghton College (Houghton, NY), where he teaches classes for the Equipping for Ministry ministerial credentialing program, a program he oversees. Steve is an ordained Wesleyan pastor, and was a pastor in Buffalo-Niagara region churches for 12 years. Steve serves on the teaching/preaching team at Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church, a large church in suburban Buffalo, NY, and is also frequently invited to speak in churches throughout New York State. For more content visit SteveDunmire.com, or follow him on twitter at @DrSteveDunmire.

I am now an author for the Seedbed Preaching Collective, and this article was written for the Preaching Collective page. Click here to read it on the Seedbed Preaching Collective, and to find other Preaching Collective content.

What should I say? Every pastor asks him or herself that question one way or another when preparing an individual sermon, or planning a preaching calendar. Through my years of preaching I’ve also developed habits for long-range sermon planning, but I’ve also developed a conviction about the content of my preaching. I am convinced that my task as a preacher, first and foremost, is to preach Christ, and it can be summed up in these five convictions.

Conviction #1: A mini-Christ leads to mini-Christians

J.I. Packer said we have “pygmy Christians” because we have looked at God as if through the wrong end of a telescope, reducing him to “pygmy proportions.” John R.W. Stott (his friend) took it a step further saying, “we are pygmy Christians because we have a pygmy Christ,” and Stott said the most essential ingredient for the development of mature Christian discipleship is a genuine “vision of the authentic Jesus.” Stott’s writing on this convicted me of the central focus our preaching should be Jesus’ life, teaching, suffering, death, and resurrection.

Conviction #2: The name of Jesus.

I made a decision a few years ago to make sure I spoke the name of Jesus in every sermon. It might not necessarily be a sermon focused on Christ, but I intentionally make sure I find a way to talk about Jesus in some way shape or form even if Christ is not the focus of the sermon. Of course there is a difference between preaching that uses the Lord’s name in vain, and preaching that lovingly, and faithfully evokes the name of Christ. So far this has never felt forced, unnecessary, or awkward. Instead, when I have prepared a sermon where it feels forced to inject the name of Jesus, the problem is always with the sermon. What is more awkward than Christian preaching seemingly completely disconnected from the person and life of Jesus Christ?

Conviction #3: My task is to teach what Jesus taught.

An overlooked part of the Great Commission was Jesus’ instructions that we are to be “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” When I teach on discipleship with pastors, students, or lay people I often point out this part of the Great Commission, and then ask, “If I came to your church this Sunday and gave you a pop quiz now on ‘everything Jesus commanded,’ how do you think most of the people in your church would do? More importantly, how would you do?” Rarely are people in the room exceedingly confident.

Conviction #4: Christ is risen every day, not just Easter Sunday.

I was grading a paper earlier this year where an adult ministry student mentioned casually how it is harder for us today to follow Jesus because, she said, “He has been dead for almost 2,000 years.” I immediately wrote in the margin of her paper, “Christ is risen! And we serve a risen Savior who has been RISEN for 2,000 years!”

Now, I know this student, and I know she believes Christ is risen, and when I pointed out this statement to her she was mortified, but immediately I wondered how many sermons act as if Christ has been dead for 2,000 years rather than risen, and seated at the right hand of the Father?

It’s important for preachers to ask themselves from time to time, “Are there any subtle or not-so-subtle ways in which I am giving the impression that Christ was a martyr rather than a risen savior?”

Conviction #5: Jesus is not our mascot.

As David Bryant observed, in some American churches Jesus is not so much treated as our Lord but as our mascot. Houghton College, where I work and live, recently got a mascot for the first time. We are the Houghton Highlanders, and our mascot is a purple & gold lion in a Scottish kilt. Our mascot cheers at our games, inspires enthusiasm in the crowds, and makes other appearances at campus events, generally helping to foster school spirit. The mascot does not compete on the field of play, or take part in campus life, but is merely there to inspire and make people cheer.

Not so with Christ. Jesus may inspire us, but He does not do it as our cheerleader. He is Savior, He is Lord, and He ought not to be relegated to the sidelines when we have to make important decisions, or to do important work. Jesus is not our mascot.

Bottomline:

What should you preach? You should preach Christ. Not a caricature of Christ, not a dumbed-down version of Christ, but Christ in full dimensions. You cannot do better than to make every sermon an opportunity to teach everything Jesus commanded, taught, prayed, or lived. For further reading, I recommend Dr. Stephen Seamands’ book “Give Them Christ: Preaching His Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension and Return.”

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© Steve Dunmire 2016
Dr. Steve Dunmire is Director of the Office of Ministry Resources at Houghton College (Houghton, NY), where he teaches classes for the Equipping for Ministry ministerial credentialing program, a program he oversees. Steve is an ordained Wesleyan pastor, and was a pastor in Buffalo-Niagara region churches for 12 years. Steve serves on the teaching/preaching team at Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church, a large church in suburban Buffalo, NY, and is also frequently invited to speak in churches throughout New York State. For more content visit SteveDunmire.com, or follow him on twitter at @DrSteveDunmire.

I am now an author for the Seedbed Preaching Collective, and this article was written for the Preaching Collective page. Click here to read it on the Seedbed Preaching Collective, and to find other Preaching Collective content.

I am now an author for the Seedbed Preaching Collective, and this article was written for the Preaching Collective page.  Click here to read it on the Seedbed Preaching Collective, and to find other Preaching Collective content.

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Preachers have a notoriously hard time listening to each other preach. I guess it’s only human nature. Mechanics will assess the work of other mechanics, a hairstylist will probably always have something to say about your haircut, a musician will usually notice a mistake that an untrained ear would miss, and pastors critique each others’ sermons.

In these summer months when most preachers find themselves taking a break from the pulpit for one reason or another, how can a preacher listen well?  Two years ago I transitioned from being the lead pastor of a growing church to a ministry role at Houghton College. I went from preaching 46 weekends per year on average (plus special services, funerals, weddings, etc.) to a role at Houghton where I have over 55 opportunities every year to preach, teach, or lead worship at various events, but only find myself on a church platform to preach or lead worship around 30 weekends per year. As a result, I have to take a seat about 22 weekends per year. Here are four habits that have been vital for me, and maybe will help you take a seat this summer.

1. Put Your Red Pen Away and Learn Something

Students don’t use red pens. Teachers use red pens to grade their students’ work, but when you hear a sermon you are not there to give a grade: you are there to learn and grow.

I don’t think I’ve seen two pastors yet in my travels who preach the same way. Note-taking, manuscript preaching, note-less preaching, object lessons, putting images on a screen, or not – I’ve seen it all and then some. The mode of delivery can be a distraction especially for us pastors who preach all the time.

You can always learn something, though, in any sermon. Sometimes the learning comes easy. Sometimes I have to be very creative in my ability to learn, but you can always learn something. Maybe it’s a song you didn’t know before. Maybe it’s a theological, historical, or biblical point you didn’t know before (or had forgotten). Maybe it’s something about their delivery that you’ve never tried before. Maybe it didn’t even work for them, but you can try to utilize it in a more constructive way. You may not like the sermon. You may not want to hear it a second time. But you can probably still learn something, and if you go into it the service looking to learn something God will rarely let you come up empty.

When it’s your turn to take a seat, put away your red pen. Be a student, not a sermon critic.

2. Behave How You Want Others to Behave When You Preach

As a preacher, especially someone who serves as a guest speaker in a variety of settings, I cannot tell you how much it means to me to find a smiling, friendly face in the congregation. It is a gift to find someone who makes eye contact and stays engaged. Every once in a while I even find someone who laughs at my jokes.

When you take a seat, be aware of how you look from the pulpit. Do you appear engaged or indifferent? Are you expressing a warm demeanor, or detached? Are you just waiting for this to be over, or are you fully present? Actually, whether or not that sort of stuff helps other preachers the way it helps me, I know acting that way makes a big difference in my heart when it’s my turn to take a seat.

And put away your phone. Even if you typically use your phone for reading Scripture, you may want to bring a hard copy of the Bible just to avoid the appearance that you’re texting, surfing, or tweeting. Regardless of how it looks, your phone is a gateway to a million distractions. You’re better off leaving your phone in your pocket.

When it’s your turn to take a seat, do unto the preacher as you would have others do unto you when it’s your turn to preach.

3. Make the Most of the Weekend

I went 12 years without a weekend off. 12 years without a true, non–vacation, run-of-the-mill weekend off. I think lay people don’t realize how much of a sacrifice it is for pastors and their families to give up our weekends. I remember how strange it felt when I finally got my first true weekend off in 12 years. I remember saying to someone, “You mean this happens every week?” It made me realize that, while I faithfully took a day off in the pastorate, a day off is no match for a weekend.

A Sunday when you don’t have to preach might be the closest thing you get to a weekend off all year long. Guard your calendar. Stay up late on Saturday night. Make special plans. Seize the day.

When it’s your turn to take a seat, make a weekend out of it.

4. Put An Arm Around Your Loved Ones

I will never forget the Sunday two summers ago I woke up to go to church. It was the first time in my adult life when I was not a church’s pastor on a Sunday morning. I was still an ordained pastor, still doing pastoral work, but no longer responsible for one specific congregation in the same way. I was usually to the church before my children were even awake on Sunday mornings, so going to church with my family was a foreign idea.

And I loved it. My favorite part? I got to sit with my family in church.

There are many Sundays when I am jealous of my friends who are pastors who get to perform baptisms, or preach to their own congregation, or lead communion. There are certain Sundays of the year when I really wish I had a church to whom I could preach. I console myself those mornings by putting my arm around my wife or one of my children during the sermon. It’s a simple pleasure that simply makes a big difference in my life.

Whatever else you do when you take a seat, make sure you put your arm around someone you love.

Why It Matters
Like other professions, it is no secret preachers are opinionated about their craft. But unlike other professions, it is vital to your soul that you can hear the voice of God through other pastors. You have blind spots, I have blind spots, and it is not just for the sake of time off or as a professional courtesy that pastors must learn how to take a seat. In the battle for the preacher’s soul, this is an often overlooked battlefield.

© Steve Dunmire 2015

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Dr. Steve Dunmire is Director of the Office of Ministry Resources at Houghton College (Houghton, NY). He is an ordained pastor in the Wesleyan Church, and was a pastor in Buffalo-Niagara region churches of New York State for 12 years. Steve also serves as director and primary instructor for Houghton College’s Equipping for Ministry program, which provides non-traditional classes for adults seeking ordination and personal enrichment. For more content visit SteveDunmire.com, or follow him on twitter at @DrSteveDunmire

May 31 brings to close another statistical year for many churches. Whether your fiscal/statistical year aligns with the calendar year or not, I know many pastors dislike statistical reports, and they come up with many reasons for why traditional statistics don’t really matter.

But pastors should love numbers. Here are 4 reasons why I love numbers.

(1) You can’t have smart goals without good numbers

An acronym I hear often is that goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. In other words, if you set a goal for yourself and it is not measurable, then how will you know when you have achieved it? If your goal is to get in shape, a way to make that goal “measurable” is to determine to lose 10 pounds by next month, or to ride 100 miles this month on a bike. One month later either you will have met that goal or not, and most likely if you meet that goal, you may be on your way toward your larger goal of getting in shape.

Numbers help make vague goals specific, and in so doing, they bring focus to our work.

(2) Numbers are stubbornly honest

“Figures don’t lie, but liars sure do figure,” goes the old saying, and I’ve known people who operate that way. Look no further than Coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. When the Patriots were accused of breaking NFL rules earlier this year in #deflategate, Belichick held a press conference where he claimed to be quoting scientific data to prove that his team had not cheated, but “what he said didn’t make any sense” (according to Bill Nye the Science Guy). There are certainly cases like this where data or statistics have been twisted or manipulated, but that often means ripping statistical data out of context, or deliberately misinterpreting the data (because even good statistics need accurate interpretation most of the time). I am certainly not condoning any kind of number-twisting. And if you engage in that sort of number-manipulation, you will eventually get caught because numbers are stubbornly honest.

Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells once famously said, “You are what your record says you are.” He meant that, while you might want to make excuses for why your team is better than they appear to be, your win/loss record tells the true story of how good your team is.

Numbers are not opinions. They are stubborn facts. They are objective, not subjective. They are sometimes subject to interpretation, but when you overdraw your bank account, it’s no sense saying, “I don’t see myself as being broke.” If the numbers say you are broke, you are broke. Numbers are stubbornly honest that way, and they will sometimes tell us what no one else has the courage to say.

(3) Trends and perspective

Some things happen gradually and thus are almost imperceptible. We have a spot in our house where we mark how our kids are growing. Of course I know that they are growing all the time, but sometimes it’s astonishing when I see how tall they were last year compared to today.

An awareness of trends is a really key aspect of leadership. Attendance numbers may fluctuate year to year, but if your attendance numbers are dropping steadily over five years, you might want to take notice.

Numbers are meaningless without knowing where they fit into the big picture. Numbers can give a sense of perspective. If your church attendance is down, but every church in the neighborhood is down, too, then maybe there’s something bigger going on beyond your control (meaning you may need to adapt, not just make excuses).

I know of one church that has a startling trend of decline, and yet its leadership shows no concern. Instead, they consistently argue that traditional church statistics don’t measure the right things. Yet when you ask them what their goals are, all of their goals are unspecific and immeasurable (therefore, not very S.M.A.R.T.).

How do we measure up to others? How do we measure up to where we were a few years ago? What decisions do we need to make right now to be ready when we get where we are headed (or to avoid going there)?

(4) My primary care doctor loves numbers

I have a great primary care doctor. I drive 70 minutes to see him, even though there is a good doctor right in the small town where I live. I drive to see Dr. Charles because he’s thorough, we are at the same stage in life, and because I trust him.

Dr. Charles loves numbers.

Every time I visit Dr. Charles’ office he writes down all sorts of numbers. Height, weight, pulse rate, and blood pressure. He sends me down for bloodwork, and the results come back as numbers. I’m on a Vitamin D supplement because of those numbers, and he’s given me peace of mind in previous visits because my numbers look good.

But Dr. Charles doesn’t just look at the numbers.

He also looks me in the eye and asks me about my family, and my job. He talks about the journey he’s seen me go through from a newlywed in grad school to a father and husband with a full house and many responsibilities. When he looks in my eyes, I can tell he’s not just being polite: he’s being a doctor.

I want a doctor who pays attention to all of those numbers, while also paying attention to the look in my eyes. And I want a pastor who knows the value of numbers, but also the value of stories.

Assessing ministry health must always be a mixed-methods study: quantitative research (numbers and measurable data) and qualitative research (interpreting codes, analyzing comments, and identifying trends).

The Rest of the Story: Why Christians Count

As I was putting the final touches on this article, David Drury posted his article “Why Christians Count: It’s not all about the numbers, so why do Christians count?” Waves of disappointment swept over me as I was sure his article was going end up being a better version of what I tried to write here. And I was right, but in some senses I think our two articles are complementary. In any event, I highly recommend his article to you.

© Steve Dunmire 2015

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Dr. Steve Dunmire is an ordained pastor and Director of the Office of Ministry Resources at Houghton College (Houghton, NY). For more articles visit SteveDunmire.com

“In the Shadow of Your Glorious Cross”
Written by Brooks Ritter and Rebecca Elliot
Performed by Steve Dunmire (Guitar, Banjo, Vocals)
SteveDunmire.com

Download the MP3 for free here:
stevedunmire.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/in-the-shadow-of-your-glorious-cross-steve-dunmire-mastered-on-april-10-2014.mp3
(Right-click on the player, and it will give you the option to save the MP3 to your computer).

“These crowns I’ve clenched with fisted hands, I cast them down before the throne of Christ my God the worthy lamb. Christ crucified, the Great I AM.”
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Dr. Steve Dunmire is an ordained pastor, a commissioned ministry coach, and Director of Ministry Resources at Houghton College (Houghton, NY). He is also the director of and an instructor in Houghton College’s “Equipping for Ministry” program offering non-degree courses for ordination & personal enrichment.