Ephesians 4:1 begs me to “live a life worthy of the calling I have received.”
As a pastor, I certainly realize the non-negotiable need for me to be pure, seek God, love my wife, stay off drugs… you know, the biggies.
But there are many less obvious demands that I believe come with the territory of pastoral ministry. If I’m going to represent Jesus and be the ambassador of this move of God called Elevation Church, everything about me matters. Everything.

Here are a few things that I started giving attention to after becoming a pastor that I didn’t monitor nearly as much before:

My health. I feel like my credibility would be severely damaged if I had a big bulging pulpit bumper (belly). I have a metabolism that would render me quite fat and sloppy looking if I ate whatever I wanted and never worked out. So I usually eat pretty well, and I work out as regularly as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from a health nut. I’ll probably have a hot dog tonight, matter of fact. And I drink way too much caffeine. But I keep it in check.

My dress. I think a minister of the Gospel should dress well relative to the culture he’s trying to reach. This means different things in different places to different people. I don’t intend to turn this into a discourse on whether it’s ethical for a preacher to buy a $2000 suit and wear a Rolex. I’m not really talking about price at all. I’m talking about maintaining a neat, current, appropriate, fashionable personal appearance. In other words, everyone can iron. We represent the most meaningful message known to man. We should look like able messengers.

My hugs. I know it sounds gay, but roll with it. As I become more and more detached from those who serve with me at Elevation Church, I find myself becoming increasingly touchy and huggy. (Spell check is telling me huggy isn’t a word. Spell check is wrong.)
I rarely walk by one of our volunteers or staff members without giving them a hug. Because what may take 4 seconds out of my day could literally make their day. As a pastor, I need to realize the value of a simple thank you or acknowledgement of the people in my life. Sometimes it makes all the difference, even when I don’t recognize it.

My car. I keep it clean. It’s hard to set an example of a well ordered life with French Fries and Diet Coke cans piled up on the floorboard.

What little things could you begin tweaking today to make you a more accurate and credible representative of Jesus Christ?