Adapting to the First Year of Pastoral Ministry: An Interview with Ken Simpson (Part One)
Ten years ago I had the privilege of taking a pastoral ministry seminar at Welch College entitled “Adapting to the First of Pastoral Ministry.” The course title reflects something important to all who enter ministry. Yet it was the instructor for this course that gave it its value. It was taught by Ken Simpson, who was then in his first pastorate in the greater Kansas City area. Following his time earning a master’s degree from Covenant Theological Seminary and serving as an associate minister, Simpson spent nine years as pastor of the Beacon Free Will Baptist Church in Raytown, Missouri. After a fruitful tenure there, he returned to the Saint Louis area to become pastor of the Calvary Fellowship FWB Church, the congregation he had previously served during his seminary days. Ken is joined in ministry by his wife Jodi, and their two children, Ellie and Cole. I am delighted to pastor in a neighboring town and also have the opportunity to interview him on a practical topic that will have a lot of import for young men entering the pastorate, and even for those who have some years behind them.
Readers may listen to the interview here, or read the transcript below.
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Jackson Watts (JW): Brother Ken, it is a delight to interview you. I suspect that you also find the irony in me having been in that seminar that you taught nearly a decade ago, and here I am pastoring just down the road from you a bit.
Ken Simpson (KS): Thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed and to discuss these questions with you. I do see the irony of that. I’m glad you’re pastoring in Missouri and enjoying your first pastorate. You mentioned the seminar that I taught in 2005—I enjoyed that seminar. I enjoyed the men who were in that seminar and their interest in that topic. It was a delightful time, and it’s good to do this with you today.
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JW: As we get started, I think probably an obvious question is, “What’s changed?” That seminar was in 2004-05. We’re here ten years later, and I wonder if you could go back today and you were speaking to young guys training for ministry, what would you say differently? Is there something you’d emphasize more now than back then?
KS: In that seminar I shared a lot of personal experiences. I had been in the pastorate for five years, so I was just transitioning to my first church. And so in that seminar I spoke from some of the personal experiences that I had had, and the content was limited based on that. I think it’s important to realize what hasn’t changed, and that’s the calling—the calling of a man to preach and to pastor. And you’ll recall in that seminar that we spent a lengthy amount of time talking about the importance of that call. So I would stress what hasn’t changed. I think that’s important and bears repeating.
Some of the things that have changed I think in my experience would be dealing with leadership vacancies. When a church goes through pastoral transition, there may also be other leadership vacancies—and that could be for various reasons, whether health-related, burnout, et cetera. But one should expect or at least realize that there could be additional vacancies in the church. I would also encourage young men to realize that there is a culture to that church, and to seek to understand and discern that culture.
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JW: Along those lines, do you think sometimes guys go in with a big vision to sell, but they haven’t yet done the hard work of observing and understanding the church culture? Is that a common problem?
KS: I think a lot of guys do struggle with that. It takes a lot of wisdom and discernment on the part of the pastor to identify those issues and be patient in working through those issues. That pastor is going into a context that the congregation has been in for a while. They may be eager for some change, but the pastor needs to have wisdom and discernment to identify the culture of that church in order to determine what needs to happen going forward.
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JW: As you think about ministry in general (and I think this question applies to everyone) there is the issue of balance. You and I have discussed this on other occasions, and when I think about the subject you do come to mind. You have a wife, children, and you pastor a relatively large congregation. You’ve pretty well been in State Leadership here in Missouri most of your time here. You’re on one of our national boards. On those weeks when things get out of hand, how do you keep things between the ditches, to use a worn cliché?
KS: Well it’s a challenge that all pastors face. We need periodic checks to ensure that we’re working toward a balanced approach ministry. One of the things that I try to do is itemize daily tasks. I schedule out those tasks, set some deadlines, and I find I am motivated when I can complete a task and check it off my list.
Secondly, I listen to my wife. I appreciate her unwavering support for my ministry. She lets me know when I am out of balance with my time, and especially family priorities. I also appreciate other people in the church, especially deacons and lay leaders, that I have given permission to speak truth into my life when I might be out of balance. I think that’s important to do. It takes trust. It takes a willingness to receive that truth for a lay leader who is trustworthy. I also try to schedule intentional times with my family. Friday night is family night in the Simpson household. My family loves to spend time together. We usually go out to a restaurant and enjoy a meal together and have some kind of a fun activity. It may be at home playing a game, but it’s important to schedule those times to be together.
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JW: Has the ministry grown more complex? I suspect that in earlier generations there was still a tendency for things to get out of hand, to have too much on the plate. But it does seem like there is a different pace to things today than in previous generations.
KS: It’s very fast-paced. I think many pastors struggle with fatigue in ministry, although maybe not to the point of burnout where they are disconnecting altogether from ministry. But I think many pastors struggle with mental fatigue, dealing with the heaviness of problems and the complexity of ministering in the 21st century. I think it’s also important for pastors to balance all the responsibilities that they have in the local church along with other organizations that they may volunteer time to like boards and committees. It’s important to remember that the church you pastor deserves your primary focus and energy. I appreciate the opportunity to be involved in state and national ministries. That’s important, and it’s an extension of our ministry here in the pastorate. But we need to keep in mind that the primary focus should be the local church, and the calling of God to preach the Gospel and to shepherd God’s flock.
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JW: What are the distinct differences between simply transitioning to the first year of the pastorate for say a younger guy, versus someone who has been in ministry for a while but has moved to a new church? What kinds of issues are involved with that transition? It certainly isn’t the same as the one going in for the first time, whether as an assistant minister or a senior pastor. But how does it look different?
KS: Well there is a difference. I think he comes into a second or third pastorate with more wisdom, certainly more experience, a better understanding of people and their spiritual needs. Going into your first pastorate, there are a lot of things you’re going to learn and experience with trial, error, and failure. Certainly going into a second or third pastorate, there will still be challenges and failures, but you do bring knowledge and experience to the table. Often times those churches may have a particular issue that the pastor is gifted in, and he can lead them through the transition and help them deal with the challenges they are presently facing.
JW: Is there a danger in assuming that since you do have wisdom and experience, there is an immediate carryover from one ministry to the other, and failing to first play that observational role early on at a particular church?
KS: It certainly is, especially for a stronger visionary leader who comes in and has a vision for that church. This needs to be tempered with where the church is, the culture of the church, understanding exactly where they are. I think that’s vital. There is always a period, in my opinion, of identifying the church culture and then matching up your giftedness with what the church needs, and being patient for and allowing time for the church to understand who you are and what your vision is. It takes a while to articulate that vision—to identify that vision and then articulate it.
JW: It sounds like just so far we keep coming back to patience here. Maybe that is the lost virtue in pastoral ministry. I wonder if, as you said before, our fast-paced society makes that a less-plausible virtue to try to seek after.
KS: I think that one of the dynamics is that this pastor is eager for this new ministry. And that church may very well be really eager for that new pastor to come in. And so you’re building off the momentum that has been by this transition. And it’s exciting. You have this fresh vision, but this has to be tempered with a correct understanding of what is best for the church and the health of the church. And this takes time for people to buy into. I think the wise pastor is patient in allowing the church to understand his style, his philosophy of ministry, and allow time for the two to mesh together.
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Stay tuned for part two.
April 8, 2014
There is a lot of wisdom being conveyed here. Very insightful for this particular young man who is overseeing his first church. Look forward to Pt.II.