The Pastor’s Human Side and Spiritual Side

When it comes to cognitive thinking and strategic planning, how does it relate to spiritual direction and guidance? Is there an effective balance between the two? The reality is, your strategic action and God’s direction work hand-in-hand in terms of ministry. This series focuses on how pastors know the difference between what they think and what God thinks.

As you think about the day-to-day functionality of your church, try to name one aspect that does not require planning and spiritual direction. This is a tough task, because there is not one! Everything you do in ministry must be planned well, according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. With this said, how can you ensure that your planning and your spiritual life are effectively working together?

The first step in ensuring that your prayer and cognitive thinking mesh well, is to learn both skills separately. Learning the importance of prayer is really a prerequisite for effective ministry. Along with this, you must also learn how to think in terms of strategy and logistics. We want to help you learn both of these things, and then combine them for optimal decision making and planning.

The next step is to understand how to implement prayer and planning together. There is a temptation to think that prayer and planning are mutually exclusive. This is far from the truth! Your planning and decision-making should revolve around your prayer life. With this said, how can you incorporate this into your leadership?

Once you feel comfortable with the combination of prayer and cognitive thinking, it is your responsibility teach it. Just as this concept is important for the pastor, it is important for the rest of the team. Prayer and decision-making go hand-in-hand for each member of the team.

In this series:

We provide insight on how to pray, how to act on prayer, and how your actions should mesh with your prayer life.