A New Year Pastoral Review

Imagine you had a good, wise and godly friend. This person knows you, your family and your circumstances well. They genuinely want the best for you and have no hidden agenda of their own. And they are both kind and ruthlessly truthful. What might that person ask you? What would they say to you? What would they encourage you to aim for in 2022? And how?

You need a couple of meaningful goals which matter to you, in which you could make progress. 

And you need to think of some small actions that you might actually do (probably every day or weekly) which over time would cause you to make significant progress towards the goal. 

For example, if you aim to love God more, you will need to find a way to daily remind yourself of how lovely he is. And how much he loves you. Could you read a portion of Scripture each day? Or listen to a hymn? And write down one learning or reminder, and turn it into a prayer. And look at it again in the evening and give thanks.  

Or you want to get on better with your spouse. You plan a Date Night once a fortnight. Or a walk. Or to listen to music together. Or play a game. Or.... Have fun. Come up with a plan together. Maybe you take it in turns to pick an activity. It need not be too expensive or time consuming. And you resolve NEVER to interrupt your spouse unless it is a life and death emergency. You ask them to tell you if they feel interrupted or not listened to. And you pray for them every day like the friend in paragraph one might. 

By the grace of God and in the power of the Spirit, within a year, your love for God or your spouse could be transformed. 

Do you actually have such a friend? Could you cultivate one?

Your pastor may be busy, but I bet they would love you to email and say, "Could you spare me 50 minutes some time to talk about my soul and how I might be more godly this year?" They may not be able to fit you in this week or next but I bet they would love to. They would like to know you better. And it is their job to know God and his Word and to pray with and for you. Your pastor is not God or Messiah and they can't fix you by magic, but they could be a somewhat kind and wise and truthful shepherd to your soul if you will invite them in.

(Readers may recognise a debt here both to Professor Jordan Peterson and to Jesus).