Thirty-five years ago this month I began serving my first church as pastor. The Rock Prairie Baptist Church in College Station, Texas took a major risk on a senior Texas A&M student by issuing me a call to be their pastor. It was my happy privilege to serve them for nearly two years before being called to the Spring Valley Baptist Church in Dallas. I am currently in my twenty-eighth year of serving Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida.

As I recently reflected on the last thirty-five years I wrote down some lessons learned and convictions I’ve come to or continued to hold. Here are thirty-five of them.

1. Long-term perspective helps you to endure and to think wisely about immediate problems.
2. The kingdom of God does not—and will not—skip a beat when I am sidelined.
3. The church is more important than I thought when I started.
4. Some of my words and actions to which I am most oblivious can be hurtful to people.
5. Pastoral ministry is indeed, as John Newton puts it, “a bitter full of sweet” and “a sorrow full of joy.”
6. Christians are the greatest people in the world.
7. Christians are capable of the most wicked actions in the world.
8. My greatest challenge at the beginning of my ministry continues to be dealing with my own heart.
9. An excellent wife is the greatest earthly gift I have, and she is more excellent than I ever could have imagined.
10. True friends are rare and invaluable.
11. Some of the most outwardly religious people can be the biggest hypocrites.
12. It is nearly impossible for a man who marries poorly to make it in the ministry.
13. Some of the most humble, unassuming saints provide the greatest encouragement to pastors.
14. Some of the most effective pastoral ministry I have ever had has come through my presence more than my words.
15. Some words I have spoken incidentally have ministered God’s grace more powerfully than others over which I labored and prepared for hours.
16. Preaching really is a divinely ordained, foolish activity.
17. Every conversion to Christ is a miracle of grace involving intricate acts and provisions that have been divinely orchestrated.
18. Having the right books is far more important than have many books.
19. God’s grace has shined brightest through the suffering of His people.
20. Justification by faith is a bottomless well of grace.
21. The complete humanity and spotless righteousness of Jesus has become more amazing to me.
22. There is no easy way to do a hard task and ministry is full of hard tasks.
23. The propitiatory work of Jesus on the cross amazes me more and more.
24. The relationship of God’s law to His gospel has implications for every biblical doctrine.
25. Some of the greatest pastors are men who live, serve and die in relative obscurity.
26. Incremental progress is real progress and should not be dismissed.
27. God is far more patient than I could have ever imagined.
28. Forgiveness is one of the sweetest graces both in its giving and receiving.
29. Though I’ve stayed in one place a long time, I have served at least 4 different churches during that time and my people have had at least that many different pastors in the same man.
30. Wherever you see a long pastorate you can be sure there is an abundance of grace in the congregation.
31. Godly widows and widowers are worthy heroes.
32. The advance of the gospel and the spread of God’s kingdom is a testimony to power of His grace.
33. Raising children is one of the greatest privileges and challenges in human experience.
34. Having adult children is a greater joy and blessing than I ever imagined it would be.
35. Grandchildren rock!