Pummeling Pastoral Pride

by Staff April 23, 2015

From Pastor David Pinckney's talk on "Battling the Arrogant Soul", three practical tips to help pastors squash pride and cultivate humility:

1. Take out the trash.

Literally, Pinckney says. Take out your trash. Don't give it to your assistant or custodian. Take it out yourself. It can be cathartic. And humbling. Don't be above doing this and prove you're not by actually doing it.

2. Visit nursing homes.

This will not increase your attendance, Pinckney says, but do it anyway. And don't make it a program or a project. Don't worry about telling anybody you're doing this. Just go visit. Many folks in nursing home don't get visits once a week, and some don't even get visits once a month.

3. Adopt prayer positions.

Pinckney is not trying to endorse mysticism, here; he's saying that we should literally get on our knees to pray. Or better — on our faces. When no one can see. He says we should be intimately familiar with the smell of the carpet in our office. (He said taking out the trash can enhance that experience.)