In 1998 when I was a student at Dallas Theological Seminary, Pastor Tommy Nelson delivered a series of messages in chapel on the “12 Landmines of Ministry.” I have never forgotten these sermons. They grow out of the experience of a seasoned pastor, and they are very practical. You will have to adapt these to your own ecclesiological context (e.g., he’s not a congregationalist), but I still think there are some very helpful things in here both for pastors and for those training to be a pastor. There are four messages, each of which contains three landmines. You can download or listen to them below.
Landmines 1-3 [download]
1. Inability to avoid pride
2. Inability to have authenticity
3. Inability to shun worldliness
Landmines 4-6 [download]
4. Inability to identify leaders and surround yourself with worthy men
5. Inability to deal with women
6. Inability to cultivate a private devotional life
Landmines 7-9 [download]
7. Inability to educate your people to be disciple-makers
8. Inability to enjoy and relate to people
9. Inability to persevere in ministry
Landmines 10-12 [download]
10. Lack of courage to remain in Apostolic truth
11. Inability to be a team man
12. Unwillingness to lead, initiate, or progress
3 Comments
Matt Smethurst
Nelson is a sadly underrated and even unknown Bible teacher in YRR circles. Thanks for highlighting his ministry.
Michael Karpf
You need to watch out for these landmines. Problem is, you don’t find out until you step on one, and then it’s usually too late
Tim Campbell
Thank you for sharing! This is very helpful!