It's my opinion that the average pastor does the first one of these three pretty well, the second not so well, and the third one hardly at all. The first, you do in your study with the Bible and various books. The second--prayer--you do there and throughout the day as you reflect on your text and the sermon itself. But the third--reflection--is a never-ending, on-going discipline that will clarify the points, solidify the message in your own mind, and sharpen its impact as it keeps you from veering down many a dead-end road.

Remember to laugh with your people. Visit in their homes. Do not try to protect your image; serve Christ and let Him guard your image. Have fun. Love the Lord and do loving things to His people. Get some physical exercise, eat healthy food, and try to sleep 8 hours a night.

I should have made this one of the 10 principles, but we'll just end with it: love your wife. "Rejoice in the wife of your youth," Solomon (or whoever wrote Proverbs) said (Pr. 5:18). Let nothing interfere with this most vital of relationships. Peter says husbands and wives are "heirs together of the grace of life" (I Peter 3:7). I don't claim to know all that means, but early in our marriage I discovered that when I was close to my wife, I felt close to God. And, when things were not good between us, I felt a distance from the Lord.

Eventually, Jim, you will come to the conclusion that no human being can adequately pastor the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter how large or small. Don't let that discourage you; you've just learned one of the most basic realities of the ministry.

From then on, you will go forward on your knees--or go nowhere at all.

Dr. Joe McKeever is a Preacher, Cartoonist, and the Director of Missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. Visit him at joemckeever.com/mt. Used with permission.