Ken Shigemetsu is the Senior Pastor of Tenth Church in Vancouver, BC, one of the largest and most diverse city-center churches in Canada. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal awarded to Canadians in recognition for their outstanding contribution to the country. Before entering pastoral ministry, he worked for the Sony Corporation in Tokyo and draws on both eastern and western perspectives in his writing and speaking. Ken is the author of God in My Everything.
Key Questions for Ken Shigemetsu:
– Why are pastors challenged by the notion that they should always be doing more?
– What are some of the warning signs that pastors are too focused on achievement?
Key Quotes from Ken Shigemetsu:
“We can say that God loves us irrespective of what we produce yet for many of us our self esteem is still dependent on our success.”
“Greatness of a ministry shouldn’t be measured by its size but by the love it offers for God.”
“Within each of us we have a striving Adam or Eve, we have a soulful Adam or Eve. Our society puts a spotlight on the ambitious Adam or the ambitious Eve.”
“If you notice that a pastor down the street seems to be flourishing the way yours isn’t and you start to feel envy instead of joyous, that could be a sign that you’re pursuing something that God doesn’t have for you.”
“Sometimes we say that we’re doing it for the Lord but sometimes we’re also doing it for ourselves.”
“We’re not the primary builders of the kingdom. It’s Jesus and the Holy Spirit and when we realize that we can relax.”
“At any given time I can feel like there are 1008 chimpanzees jumping on my head so I find it really helpful to just sit and breathe deeply.”
“Sometimes when I’m sitting in silence in the presence of God I feel like I’m surrounded by this mysterious beauty that upholds me in love.”
“Most of the time my meditation doesn’t feel dramatic but when I’ve done 20 minutes I feel a bit more relaxed and aware of Jesus.”
“If a person will meditate for 20 minutes over six weeks on a compassionate God, they will be 100 times more likely to respond to someone who walks into the room with a disability.”
“My hope and prayer for pastors is that they would know God is alive and well in every part of their life.”
Links Mentioned by Ken Shigemetsu in the Show:
