Diversify to Diversify

As a Pastor it's so easy to get caught with your pants down (not that way, that's another sad post about morality in the ministry) when talking about a subject with people in your community. To bridge the relational gap between yourself and those you lead (and attempt to reach), you need to be able to carry on conversations that go a little further than "It's so great to see you this Sunday! I love that tie/dress."

What I've noticed unfortunately is that many Pastors have NO CLUE what to talk about outside of ministry. Conversations rarely get past the superficial and therefore the ability to connect stays in the shallow end of the pool. Many pastors have grown up in Christian bubbles and find it difficult to relate on any level outside of ministry experience.
--Pastors usually aren't up on current events
--They don't read the latest books
--They don't usually stay aware of local political issues.

What's worse to me is that in addition to not being aware these things, Pastors often will take the word of other people who are equally as ignorant and propogate it as if it's true.

It is my hope that the next generation of Pastors would become more diverse. Jesus talked to people using language that was familiar to their culture (vine and branches, hand to the plow, render to Ceaser, etc.) Jesus didn't say "I don't have time to learn and discuss agriculture, that's secular and I'm a man of the gospel!"

Here are some thoughts to help you diversify your life so you can diversify your ministry reach:

Ask Questions:
This week try and learn about what people do on their jobs. Say "Yeah Bob, you work on Airplanes? It amazes me how that much steel gets into the air... how does that work?" Bob will be glad to show you how much he knows and you'll get to know a little about him.

Listen more than you talk:
The old saying "God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason" rings true. Diversify by being a listener. Don't simply wait to talk. Listen. Pick up on key phrases that display emotion or a past concern. These phrases that go by in general conversation are usually doors the person is allowing you to see. If you turn the knob you will find rooms of information about them they would love to share but are rarely asked.

Read Trade Literature:
Read what your people read. If you live in an area where there is a lot of a particular industry, I beg you to read their trade magazines. Find out about the industry. I can't tell you how many conversational in-roads I've had because I knew a little about that person's industry. Again, people open up if they feel like you are willing to go into their world.

Read Governmental, Historical and Business books:
You learn from 100 speaches by reading one good book. Someone spent a year (or years) finding the best information to put in black and white. You can spend an hour a day learning from them. I assure you that you will quickly find many principles that cross over among various industries (and in your case Ministries). Your creativity and problem-solving abilities increase as well due to the fact that you expand your experience zone. The more angles you have at a problem, the greater the opportunity for you to solove the problem.

Watch some news and sports:
The world changes daily around you. If you are attempting to take the timeless truths of the Gospel into a culture, you have to understand what that culture looks like. In truly globalized economy so much of what goes on here affects other parts of the world and vise-versa. Watch a major news cast and spit out the bones of the slant (left or right) to get to the straight truth of the world around you. Pastors so often times ignore everything around them and claim to be relevant at the same time.

I'm a sports fan but I don't know a bunch of statistics. It's not an area where I spend that much time. I have learned however that many people are huge fanatics (especially those sitting at home on Sundays watching pre-game shows). Having a general idea of sports provides conversation that again can turn to deeper topics as you develop that relationship. One person who's surprised me with their sports knowledge and passion is Sara over at Fellowship Church. She seems to kick tail when it comes to this area.

Get out more:
One of the worst things to happen to Pastors is the office. If you are presenting the gospel please present it in a relevant way. God is not dusty and out of date. He's always in fashion however we in the church make him seem out of touch and this to me is presenting the average person a god that is not the God of the bible. Get out more so you can get to know and understand the people whom you are attempting to reach. If you have an office, make it a habit to study or work from a coffee shop, park or in the middle of a shoping area at a bench so that you can be more in touch with your community. Don't go from the 4 walls of your house to the 4 walls of your office every day.

Have your kids involved in sports within the community. Coach a team. Go to an art exibit. It doesn't matter... just get out! Expand your horizons and diversify your knowledge base so you can more easily relate to your community.

Have you experienced the joy of building in-roads to nuture others spiritually through something other than "church stuff"?