If you were to describe the image that you hope your congregation will have of you and your ministry after the first year, how would you describe the following.
What would you hope they would say about your personality in general? How would you hope they would feel about your sensitivity to others? What are the behaviors you hope to exhibit that will result in the conclusions that you want?
How about flexibility? What are the situations in which you can demonstrate the flexibility that you hope they will see in you? As they are experiencing that, what conclusions do you hope they will draw about your sense of integrity? Can one have both a strong integrity and demonstrate flexibility at the same time?
At the end of the first year, what is the type of shared vision about your ministry together that you hope they will grasp? If it is to be a shared vision, what type of experiences will need to take place for that to become a reality?
The phrase, “a non-anxious presence” has become popular in literature about pastors. What do you need to do and refrain from doing that can provide that “non-anxious” presence to your congregation and how will that lower their anxiety as well.
What would you like them to say about your sense of humor? What about your compassion for others?
Perhaps most of all, how can you convey a strong sense of faith that is contagious? How do you help them put words on the faith that they sense, not only in your words but also in your behavior as you live among them?
What else would you add in describing what you would hope would be the majority of the congregation’s impressions of you as a pastor at the end of your first year together?
While you don’t control other people’s conclusions, you can be intentional about providing a congregation with the experience of a pastor that shapes the image that they carry with them.
