5) With the office staff, always conduct yourself with quietness and strength.

When you raise your voice to someone in the office, it feels to them and anyone overhearing it that you have lost control. That unnerves people. People want to know their leader has things in hand. I once heard a leader of a large company say he never lets an employee see him rushing anywhere or hear him raising his voice. He knows how vital it is that the workers trust the leader to keep a cool head.

6) Never put anything negative in a letter; deal with it personally.

Letters--and that goes for the e-mail kind, too--can develop a life of their own long after an issue has been resolved. So, only the positive stuff goes into a letter. Problems and criticism should be given personally or over the phone.

7) Lower your expectations about your congregation.

That sounds like I'm counseling you to distrust your members, doesn't it. Actually, I'm suggesting you remember your own theology. "All have sinned," according to Romans 3:23. Remember, you are dealing with sinners. God remembers. "He is mindful that we are but dust," Psalm 103:14 says.

You've read the Old Testament enough to have seen where Moses is repeatedly criticized by God's people, even though he was giving his best and never deserved their harsh treatment. We may look upon that as a harbinger of things to come! Almost everyone sent by the Lord to shepherd His people will encounter ugliness and unfairness along the way. Some seem to receive a steady diet of it, and our hearts go out to them. In my case, I've been treated far better than I deserve, but still....

8) Nothing is more important than staying close to the Lord.

It's not enough to open your Bible each morning and study next Sunday's sermon. You're not just a chef who prepares meals for others; you are a needy human with a spiritual body in need of nourishment too, like every other follower of Jesus Christ. So, feed your soul. I suggest you get a specific place in your house and keep your Bible and notebook there. First thing every morning, spend time there in the Word and prayer. I guarantee you it will make a difference throughout the day.

9) Know how much of church stuff to keep from your wife.

Every wife is different. I've known pastors whose wives were equal partners in the ministry, and what one knew, both knew. But not all wives can handle the harsh treatment their husbands occasionally receive and still smile on Sunday and treat the offenders kindly. Ask the Lord to make you sensitive about this. There is a fine line between over-protecting your wife and burdening her with church doings. "You husbands, dwell with your wives according to knowledge," Peter counseled. (I Pet. 3:7)

10) Protect your sermon study time.

The most important task you have as a pastor takes place when you step up to the pulpit to deliver the Sunday morning sermon. Prepare well. Three primary activities will comprise the bulk of your sermon preparation: studying, praying, and just thinking.