By Dr. Francis Akin-John

Today, I’m thinking about pastors I knew who finished well—those who faithfully served God all the way to death. Here are some of their characteristics that challenged me to live differently today.

1. They oozed humility. Though they, like all leaders, at times wrestled with a desire to be some-body, they knew from the begin-ning that the work of the gospel was not about them—it’s about Jesus.
2. They always knew they could be steps away from a fall. They weren’t so foolish as to think they could not fall. Their honest recog-nition of the possibility made them ever alert and prayerful.
3. At the same time, the thought of failing Jesus was almost a foreign thought. They just loved Jesus, and serving Him meant more to them than anything. Even the thought of letting Him down broke their hearts.
4. They planned to finish well. That is, they didn’t end well by accident. They made a commit-ment to finish well each day, and the faithful days became years.
5. They were firmly committed to their families. They adored their spouses and children, and every-body knew it. Serving God meant building their homes on His Word, praying daily with their family, and protecting their time with them.
6. They had some kind of mentor in their lives. These relationships weren’t always formal, but they were intentional. The pastors I’ve known who finished well always had somebody walking with them and encouraging them.
7. They lived in the Word and on their knees. They knew the Word so well that it naturally flowed from them. Prayer was not ritual to them; it was relationship.
8. They were committed to in-tegrity. Their “yes” really did mean “yes,” and their “no” really did mean “no” (Matt. 5:37). Never once did I question the truthfulness of their lives or their words.
9. They evangelized regularly. This characteristic may be surprising, but I can’t deny what I saw in their lives. These pastors wanted others to know about Jesus. Their world was first and foremost about Him.
10. Their only ambition was to please Jesus. Some of these pastors were elected to significant denominational positions, but none of them sought those roles. Hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21) was more important to them than hear-ing the accolades and applause of man.

My prayer is that you and I will finish well, too. What character-istics have you seen in pastors who ran the race well?

13 OF MY FEARS FOR SENIOR MINISTERS

I quite appreciate seniors, elderly and veteran ministers in the mini-stry. People who have served the Lord all their life—who have been in ministry for 35, 40, 50 years and have no blemish in the work. And I have utmost respect for them, especially those who have raised their children up in the ways of the Lord.

They have really bored the brunt of ministry hardwork, arrows and onerous challenges. They have laid a good foundation for those of us coming behind. But the more  watched them, relate with them and share with them, the more I have fear for them. So here are some of my main concerns for them;

1. Many have allowed the hurts of ministry to affect them negatively.

Yes, lots of elderly ministers have been sorely wounded, injured by people whom they have trusted and it hurts. However, doing ministry with bitterness clouds out God’s ultimate glory from one.

2. Many have refused to move with the changing landscape of mini-stry today. New views, innovations, perceptions and realities of church which are not contrary to the moves of God in Word have left many senior ministers back-ward and irrelevant today
3. Many have concentrated all their ministry inside their church-es only.

Lots of veteran ministers operate with the mindset that all their ministries start and end inside their churches or denominations. The more reason many cling to their churches all their life and refused to let go. Nothing could be further from the truth.

4. Many have not consciously invested in the youths of today, because they see nothing good in them.

Believe it or not, senior ministers almost see nothing good in the youths of today. They secretly detest them and refused blatantly to invest time, treasures and resources on them, yet they are the future of our churches. Either we like it or not, the pastors, teachers and bishops of churches in 20, 30 years time are the young people of today, if Jesus tarried.