As you read, note the big container of salt next to this....you may need to take this with a grain or two or more. I am sure we are all familiar with the saying, "If at first you don't succeed ...stir stir again" or something like that. ;) So tell me...How do you think ministry should be "performed" in the church? Should it be done individually, should some help out and not others...should we all be involved?? Is it just the pastors who should be involved in "programs"? (after all they are paid for that ....right???) I hope you know I am saying this tongue in cheek, Hmmmm. Hard to tell when I am typing. Everyone (Pastors) have different job descriptions with in the church. Some preach, some teach, some administrate, some lead worship, some lead children youth etc.... When some event is going on, say dessert theatre...should they (Pastors)all be involved? Hmmm, I don't see that in my job description, guess it is not my responsibility. The way I sometimes see it, is if people in the congregation see the pastors doing stuff (volunteer stuff) , they will be involved too.... hmmm or will they??? Those of us who work in a church can complain just as well as those who don't....be you pastor or janitor. Maybe attitude is the problem....not just mine either, trust me I know I have one, we all do to some degree. Don't we? Trust me, we do! I guess only you can answer for yourself. Life should not be just bitch and then die. It seems it is just our nature to complain. Maybe we watch too much news on TV and figure there is not a lot of good going on in this world so why should I let there be any sunshine in me at work or home for that matter. There is a lot of good going on in the world and in the church, having said that there is a lot of &$%^ going on in the church and in the world also. Attitude is a big part. Let's face it, God never promised us a rose garden, not here on earth...and if He did there are thorns in it so watch it. A few months ago when I first started blogging, I mentioned about not complaining or gossiping for a day. Obviously one day can make a little difference (in a lifetime), kind of like one grain of salt on my baked potato. It might add flavor to the smallest possible bite, but after that the added flavor is gone. I am not just talking to you who read this blog and fall into this category , I am writing this to remind me it is a daily thing that needs to come to mind or we will just continue where we left off the other day. Just like the drug addict who goes one day without ( how would I know, hmmm) in order to make a difference in himself, one day won't do anything without a 2nd, 3rd etc right up until the end. Feel free to call me on it when I complain without reason (Oh never mind, I forgot about tomorrows blog on the sacred cow issue). After all this digressing, my opinion on ministry is that when there is something going on and it is not in your realm of work of ministry...you make it your realm and support what the other pastor is doing. It's not about US after all, it is about what God wants of us. We work in the church, and if we can't support each other in what we do (whether we agree with or like the other person or not) then we are fairly useless to the people outside the church because we are no different...it is ME, ME, ME. There needs to be give and take, not take and take, (that's just obvious) and not give and give either (that's just burnout). Well I think I have stirred the pot enough, but I did bring a big container of salt with me....oops I think it's empty now. Hmmm good thing we are salt of the earth right????....course I think in the Bible (Matthew 5), it talks about salt being usless when it has lost its saltiness....well, not quite useless, it is good enough to be thrown out to be trampled on by others.
5 comments:
mike, we are all called to ministry, but as i get older i am beginning to think that not everyone's ministry is inside the church building.
we all need to support and encourage each other in all ministries - sometimes financially, sometimes verbally and sometimes hands-on.
from where i stand i would say that our church is very blessed to have pastors that are there for each other's programs and events.
i believe that most of our family's ministry is within our churches walls, but i also think that might be changing for our family in the future.
I agree we need to support and encourage one another in all ministries.
I think church as a whole has changed a lot over the years and will change a lot more over the next generation.
As blogs go - everyone is entitled to their opinion, so here goes. What I read is you believe all pastors, whether or not in their "ministry field", should be supporting/helping with other ministry fields. I believe the support/encourage part is great - everyone needs to be on the same page. Physically helping is verging on impossible(in the church I'm a member of anyways). Why would we want to water down the effectiveness of "specialists" (so to speak) having them run helter skelter to every program/function the church puts on. There are full church functions where all (majority) pastors play a role which is great, but surely you must want your pastors to be highly focused on their departments, I know I do. I have a close friend in Florida that heads up the Childrens Ministry Dept of a church of 10000 people-he is ultra focused and needs to be to keep things moving, how the music dept is operating can't even enter into his realm of thinking, not that he doesn't care, pray and support as needed. I realize my church is not that size, but I feel confident saying our church has a similar philosophy of striving for excellence for Christ in your role and sometimes that means not being able to help with every kids camp or music morning. I don't believe that's selfish - ME ME ME, but rather with the right spirit it's working the most effectively you can for the Kingdom.
I think that this is selfish and ignorant to possibly expect pastors to be at every event. do YOU go to every event.. Guess Not, since I noticed several references to you NOT going to church at all. so where does the right to judge come from? This blog is a total turn off for the church you actually work in (if I understand what I've read here, that you work in a church). All this talk about being on the fence is doesn't ring true. Are you bragging? Either that, are a wolf in sheeps clothing is writing a blog. It seems this blog is trying to extract a pity party from readers. As for the mask, talk about telling people this blog author is NOT to be trusted, it sounds like a bragging point. What a serious turn off for Christianity, for churches, and for ministry. I pity the staff you work with, shaming them with this blog. I stumbled across this blog, and now I am sorry I did. If people want to disrespect the people they work with, at least have the decency to do it PRIVATELY. But for someone who keeps claiming to be a Christian... untolerable. I hope enough people in your church read this, and know how you feel about their place of worship.
Thanks for your comments. I don't agree with you (July 20th comment)but that is why we all have our own opinions. I would appreciate that you at least leave a name next time. Anonymous comments show up at church in the collection plate sometimes, and those get thrown away.
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