Spiritual Growth Gauges for Pastors

Written by John Shepherd

Jesus told us what gauges to monitor in Matthew 22:37-40. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Spiritual Gauges for Pastors In other words, watch the gauges of your relationships with God, family, others, and yourself.

1. God Gauge
The Bible repeatedly states that God’s primary goal for His people is their transformation (Rom. 12:1-2).

Transformation is more than making sure people know where they are going after they die.
Transformation is more than making sure they have information about the Bible.
God desires for us to be transformed into the image of His Son.

Thus the primary question we need to ask ourselves is:

Am I becoming more like Christ in my thoughts, words, and actions?

I have learned that spiritual transformation is not simply a matter of trying harder but of training smarter. As you think about it you realize that training is required for any significant challenge in life whether it is learning to play the piano or learning a new language or running a marathon. Likewise, training is required to enjoy a healthy, vibrant spiritual life. Paul understood this key principle of the Christian life because he instructed Timothy to train himself in godliness (1 Tim. 4:7).

Following Jesus means learning how to arrange your life around activities that enable you to live in the fruit of the Spirit. Without question, certain activities or disciplines are foundational for living like Jesus lived: Scripture meditation, solitude, confession, generosity, and service, to name a few. But almost any activity can become a training exercise for spiritual life.

We need to arrange our lives around those relationships and activities that can help us live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loved.

Check yourself in the following areas:

	Rarely	Occasionally	Always
Scripture Meditation	❑	❑	❑
Solitude	❑	❑	❑
Confession of sin	❑	❑	❑
Generous with money and talents	❑	❑	❑
Serving where I am most passionate and effective	❑	❑	❑

2. Family/Others Gauge

As I look at the remaining yearsof my life and ministry, I see that I have struggled with this one area most of all. So that I maintain my own vitality, I have made commitments to four groups of people who will enable me to finish my race well.

Since ministry is so hard on families we need to commit to make them a higher priority. That means they need to know that they are our first priority, and we need to show that through our schedules.

Because ministry can isolate us from others, we need to prioritize lifelong relationships with a few other men. Also, spiritually vital leaders make a point of connecting with “normal” people on a regular basis—those who are not yet followers of Christ.

How do your relationships measure up?

	Rarely	Occasionally	Always
Date night with spouse	❑	❑	❑
Family fun night activity	❑	❑	❑
Spend time with a friend	❑	❑	❑

3. Self Gauge
Jesus did not say that we should not love and care for ourselves. He simply said that we should value and care for others at least as much as we do ourselves. Many leaders have committed to keep themselves fresh both physically and mentally by making commitments to certain activities.

Do you make time for yourself as you think of the following activities of life?

	Rarely	Occasionally	Always
Read one new book each month	❑	❑	❑
Get right amount of sleep	❑	❑	❑
Eat healthy diet	❑	❑	❑

All of us want to run the race that God has laid out for us, and to finish strong. Like Paul, we want to come to the end of our lives and be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).

Finishing the race well requires us to keep up proper maintenance and make adjustments as needed. A periodic check of these spiritual gauges will help us know whether we are running at optimum performance, living at a sustainable pace, in need of a tune-up, or near breakdown. A poorly performing (or soon failing) life engine does not bring honor to the Lord.

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