What I Wish I Knew When I Became a Pastor

“What do you wish you’d known when you started pastoral ministry?”

H. B. Charles Jr. (pastor at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida), Bryan Chapell (senior pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois), and Ray Ortlund (senior pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee) discuss this question in a new ten-minute roundtable.

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Related:

Thabiti Anyabwile on Preaching and Pastoral Ministry
Pastoral Ministry Is About Souls, Not Stats (Jared Wilson)
20 Lessons in 20 Years of Pastoral Ministry (Brian Croft)
Reflections from 40 Years in Pastoral Ministry (Interview with Kent Hughes)
What I Wish I’d Known: Reflections on Nearly 40 Years of Pastoral Ministry (Sam Storms)
Pastoral Ministry Is War (Paul Tripp)

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Bryan Chapell (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary; PhD, Southern Illinois University Carbondale) is a founding Council member of The Gospel Coalition, pastor emeritus of the historic Grace Presbyterian Church and president emeritus of Covenant Theological Seminary. His preaching and teaching are broadcast in many nations through Unlimited Grace Media. Bryan is the author of many books, including The Multigenerational Church Crisis, Christ-Centered Preaching, and The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach. He and his wife, Kathy, have four adult children and a growing number of grandchildren.

H. B. Charles Jr. (Master’s Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He is the author (or contributing author) of several books, including It Happens After Prayer. He and his wife, Crystal, have three children.

Ray Ortlund (ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary; MA, University of California, Berkeley; PhD, University of Aberdeen, Scotland) is president of Renewal Ministries and an Emeritus Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He founded Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and now serves from Immanuel as pastor to pastors. Ray has authored a number of books, including The Gospel: How The Church Portrays The Beauty of Christ, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel, and, with Sam Allberry, You’re Not Crazy: Gospel Sanity for Weary Churches. He and his wife, Jani, have four children.