An Ongoing Interview with Randy Riggs

by Tracey Marx

Randy Riggs, senior pastor at 1stPresbyterian Church, Lancaster PA will retire from ministry in the summer of 2012, after 40 years as a pastor.  Over this next year, each month, he will be sharing his reflections with us, in answer to twelve questions.  As you read his thoughts, perhaps they will prompt reflection on your own ministry and your own journey.  How has your perspective changed?  How have you grown and developed as a pastor?  How would you answer each of these questions? 

January, 2012

The New Year’s start is a good time for self-reflection and discernment.  What annual (or at-least-every-once-in-a-while) questions should pastors ask themselves about their ministry?  What approach is helpful to take when considering how things are going?

There was an ad that was popular on television for a few years which carried the tag line: “Life comes at you fast.”  The older I get the faster life seems to come, and the times I carve out for reflection are all the more cherished. 

One of the key questions I try to ask myself everyday is this: what is important versus what is urgent.  Like others who felt called to help people, it is easy for me to be drawn into the place where I seem to be needed the most.  However, I have learned over time is not to mistake the urgent for the important. 

Ministry is filled with the urgent needs of many.  Illness, death, relationships, divorce, parenting, and other life crises are a part of the daily life of a pastor.  However, on closer analysis, the crisis in which many people find themselves probably did not develop overnight.  It has likely been brewing for a while, and it will likely even longer to resolve.  In the meantime, any one of these crises can consume a huge portion of a day without ever getting to the important things on my daily agenda.  I think all too often we respond to the urgent and neglect the important.  I think we need to ask ourselves if our involvement will play a key role in the life of the person we are serving, or is it our job to move people on to the long term resources available in most communities where people are more skilled that we are in helping find the best solution.

Annually I think it is important to review Ordination questions we were asked.  In my denomination there are nine of them.  They are good benchmarks to see if I am still called to serve God and honor my relationship with Jesus Christ as a Teaching Elder (Minister of the Word and Sacrament) in the PCUSA.  One in particular stands out: Will you serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?  If I cannot say an enthusiastic “YES” to this question, I am simply marking time until my retirement, and I should find a new position or a new profession where I can; sooner rather than later. 

Finally, if I had it to do all over again, I would pay more attention to this question: Does my family know that I love them, and what can I do to demonstrate that I place them as #1 on my priority list? 

My wife has been dealing with metastatic (stage 4) breast cancer for 8 years, and just recently we were told that her cancer had the upper hand.  I immediately asked my governing body for a leave of absence so that I could spend some quality time with her before I lose her to this dreaded disease.  She was honored that I make such a request, but in all honesty, she was also surprised.  So were my adult children.  What I knew in an instant, I am not sure I have communicated well throughout my ministry.  My priorities are these:  my personal commitment to Christ is first. My wife is second, and my children are third.  All other priorities fall in line after these primary commitments.  If I have not honored them, all the good I may have done has been more of an ego trip than a ministry.

Read Past Questions

July 2011 - "What have you enjoyed the most about pastoral ministry?" 

August 2011 - "What has been the most challenging part of ministry?"

September 2011 - "What advice would you give to a new pastor?"

October 2011 - "If your church was given 100 million dollars in undesignated funds, how would you like for it to be disbursed?  You may name up to ten items or categories."

November 2011 - "What must a pastor do to nurture his or her spirit?"

December 2011 -   "What does a congregation need most from their Pastor during Advent and Christmas?"

Tracey Marx is a writer and spiritual director, as well as a part-time consultant at the PRC.  You can reach her at tracey@prctr.org or find her ministry resources at www.ScriptureEcho.com.