Advice to Young, and Would Be, Pastors

The best advice I can give you any contemplating the ministry, or who has recently begun a ministry: Have something to fall back on.

We often go into ministry with lofty visions of parsing Greek words in sermon preparation, comforting the sick, helping the needy and so on. We have such lofty expectations that we do not think about what will come next in our lives. Not everyone who enter vocational ministry will be in the ministry their entire life.

I would advise a young college student who is planning a life in ministry to select an appropriate major, or minor at the least. When I went to college I was not planning on ministry, but many of my fellow students were. They majored in religion with plans for attending seminary after graduation. This is a mistake. If one is planning on attending seminary after college, major in something else while in college. If one is not planning on seminary, consider a double major or pick a minor that will help.

I am thankful that I have had something to fall back on after leaving (temporarily?) the ministry.

Be wise. Plan for life after the "professional" ministry. No one who is a Christian ever leaves ministry, but many leave the paid ministry.

Is this what the gospel is about?

Here is a snippet from an article in the local rag:

Officers were keeping an eye on a group of about five street preachers who were drawing a hostile reaction from some of the crowd.

When one speaker started railing against rap music, drugs and sex, some in the crowd starting throwing cigarette butts and pens at him.

"This is so wrong ... he's a false prophet and needs to get out of the street," said Tristin Pickens, an Elizabeth City State University student who traveled nearly three hours with friends to enjoy the festivities. "He can't say we are going to hell then cuss and call us whores and tell us we are going to die."

A downtown business owner who declined to give his name was upset that police didn't remove the group.

"Right now they are exercising their freedom of speech," Phipps said. "We're not going to let anything escalate ... that's what our guys are here for."

Halloween is a big deal here locally. Downtown is flooded annually by numerous party goers. Apparently some preachers thought it their duty to rail against the revelers.

As ministers of the gospel are we supposed to be so obnoxious that people will not even listen to us? I understand that Jesus said (in John 15:18), "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." Our message is often one of discomfort, as the Holy Spirit deals with whatever sin exists in someone's life. Is it our job to be the Holy Spirit?

I think one of problems, as a church, is that we try to usurp the role of the Holy Spirit. We are eager to condemn sins in the lives of others (smoking, drinking, dancing, whatever). We often ignore our favorite sins (gluttony, gossip, and whatever). In addition to what Jesus said above, he also said (in Matthew 7:3-5), "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

It's God's job to point out sin in people's lives, not ours.

Knowing Our Century: Part 2

Anymore, it really isn't enough to know our century. It's more like: "Do we know our decade?" I graduated from high school a mere decade and half ago. What worked in youth ministry in my day is met with looks of "Oh, please!" now.

A fellow blogger left this comment on the previous post: "One of my rules for living is 'When form supersedes function, we have lost our purpose.'"

A couple years ago, I went to the Servant Evangelism Conference in Cincinnati hosted by Steve Sjogren. In the early 80s, Sjogren was a missionary to Norway. We was struck one day when the Salvation Army band came marching down the street playing a tune. No one even bothered to look up as they did their duty to God.

In the late 1800s, the Salvation Army found it useful to send a band down the street. People would be curious and follow the band. When people gathered they would share the Gospel with them. That was a fantastic idea, in the late 1800s. No one paid attention any more. The form had outlived its usefulness.

I have been saying for years that there will never be another Billy Graham. Not because Graham was so special, but because his form of evangelism will no longer work.

Do we know our century? Do we know our decade?

Knowing Our Century

I am reading a somewhat interesting on the Reformation of the sixteenth century, entitled Reformation and Society in Sixteenth-Century Europe by A. G. Dickens. Chapter four concludes as follows:

"When Martin Bucer of Strassburg somewhat piggishly urged the Wittenburg theologians to get out into the world and preach [Martin] Luther replied in the pregnant words: 'We do that with our books.' He knew his century."

The printing press was a relatively new invention at the time. Literacy was on the rise even among merchant and laboring classes. People were eager to read. Luther sought to fill the demand by getting his message out. "He knew his century." He operated outside the normal way of getting one's message out.

The question we need to ask ourselves is: "Do we know our century?" Are we communicating the message in a way that our century understands? Are we communicating our message in a way that our generation is eager to receive it?

One of the problems that we often face in ministry is the battle between methods. Do we do what we have always done because it once worked? Or do we try something new to reach a new generation?

Our message must never change, but we often have to alter the way in which it is communicated.

Do we know our century?

Serving the Needy

Today, was our church's Sunday to serve a meal at the homeless. It always amazes me when someone from the church goes the first time. We try to take some kids or teens every time we go. Today, I asked the grandmother of one young girl if it would be alright if her granddaughter went with us. She said that it would be great because the granddaughter needed to see that part of life.

She went in wide-eyed. She jumped in mixing drinks (kool-aid) and serving the people.

I was walking through the sleeping room that had 70-80 beds crammed in it. My mom remarked how thankful she was to have what she had.

It never ceases to amaze me the power that serving Christ has on those who serve him.

B.A.L.M.

This is an interesting article from B.A.L.M., a ministry based in the UK. It is about ministry burnout. It describes what my wife and I have been dealing with for over a year now. I have wondered if there was a group/ministry with type of focus.

Hung Out To Dry Part 2

One thing I have discovered about the sinking of a ministry ship. It seems to be harder are my wife than on me. I have long thought that ministry is tougher on the spouse rather than one "in the ministry." I was paid to worry about the church.

A spouse has to have an outside job, especially if it is a small church. The spouse is usually "required" to do just about everything in the church from playing the piano, teaching Sunday school, leading women's (or men's) ministry, cleaning, or whatever else the parishioners want.

When things go bad, the spouse may face some difficult times. She or he may be attacked by members. She or he may be blamed for failure.

My wife has suffered mightily through our ordeal. She has carried a burden that isn't hers. I have never thought that she had any responsibility in what happened. She was a wonderful help.

To you ministers, protect your spouse.

Hung Out To Dry

Perhaps I am unable to this thing go, but it is still something that I deal with every single day. About a year ago, we shut down the church we had pastored for nearly four years.

Our denominational leadership left out to dry. Our leader told us, at one point, that he had put us on a "sinking ship." Did they help bail water? No. They poured more water into the "ship." They punched more holes into the hull of the ship.

When we arrived, they promised to pay all of our health insurance, which lasted about four months. They continually slashed our assistance. When we offered a plan to restart the church, we were told "no." When we wanted to change locations, so we could get a nicer location, we were told "no." (We did move.)

We were told to keep "anonymous" donors happy. A bunch of old, rich people gave the church money. These people did not attend the church. We had to keep the money happy. Who cares about what is best for the church and community we serve. We had to keep these "anonymous" donors happy. If their names were known, how could they be anonymous?

I just struggle with the way they hung us out to dry. This is something that has bugged me for a long time.

If you are in the ministry, or contemplating going into it, be careful. There are many deceptive leaders out there more concerned with the money than the ministry.

Haunted by Past Words

Have you ever been haunted by something you said or wrote?

I was transferring some files on my computer the other day. I ran across some of the files from ministerial education. One of those was a final exam that I had typed. I am not sure what the question was, but it had something to do with a call to ministry. Here is the answer:
The “call” to ministry is what sustains a pastor during the tough times. It is what separates the pastors who hang in and those that decide to go a different direction in their career. Ministry is not so much a career choice. If one is not truly called it will be difficult to sustain a thriving ministry over a long period. When a ministry is thriving there will be a certain amount of controversy and rough times. Those who are truly called will have the call to lean on when times get tough.

As I have struggled with my call to the ministry over the last 9-12 months, these words have haunted me. The sentence, "If one is not truly called..." cuts. Was I not called? I know for sure that I was called. What is happening now?

When I was sitting in classes taking in and spouting out ministerial theory, these things seemed easy. The reality is theory is great when things are going well, but theory goes out the window when things go bad. We can make bold predictions about how we will handle adversity when we are sitting in a safe classroom. When the slings and arrows are flying in trenches, those predictions are useless.

Empowered by God

My fellow blogger wrote about how God spoke through him to various people in a recent sermon. I won't retell it; you should read it.

It is a true story of God empowering a communicator. I have experienced the same thing. I have preached sermons that I thought were junk, but God used them in powerful ways. I have delivered sermons that I thought were great examples of oratory perfection that fell with a huge thud.

Another way that God has empowered me is through the fact that I have never been a good public speaker. I have always hated public speaking. In school given the choice between an oral report and a written paper, I would always choose a written paper. I even took speech class in college to try to overcome my fear of public speaking, to no avail.

The only thing I can chalk it up to is God's power filling my life. There is a cliche that goes: "God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called." It is awesome to God empower someone to do his work.

A Question About Ministry

I have been thinking a lot about this lately, considering my circumstance.

Does God call people to vocational ministry for a lifetime, a shorter time, or both?

I my denomination, ordination for a lifetime. I understand that all Christians are called to live a life of service to Christ their entire life. I talking about vocational ministry, or what is often referred to as pastoral ministry.

I have written about this before, here. I have known my share of pastors who are no longer pastoring, even though they would not be considered "retired." Most are middle-aged (late 30s to late 50s). Did God not call them for a lifetime?

I know for sure (beyond any doubt or second thought) that God called me to the ministry when he did. It was to serve as a pastor. I'm not doing that right now, and it's bugging me. I'm not dying to get back in the game.

This all sounds like the incoherent ramblings of weirdo, but that is where I'm at.

Knowing God's Will

This is something that has been bugging me for a while now. How do I know God's will? I have been thinking about this in reference to my job/career/vocation (whatever you want to call it).

Is something God's will because it happens? I don't think so. That would not make sense. Just because something happened does not mean God willed it. That would be stupid to think that. That would mean such horrible things as child abuse, murder and rape would be God's will.

How do I know God's will in reference to the ministry? I know my denomination is not going to ask me to plant a church in this town. The church where currently attend is great. The pastor talks about planting another church in town (ooh, ooh pick me, pick me), but that is all it is: talk.

My parents recently moved here, and the quickest way to kill them would be to move somewhere else.

I have always felt that I am where God wants me, but lately I've been struggling with that.

The Call

Describing the call to the ministry is kind of like describing marriage. When someone asks, "How did you know that God was calling you to the ministry?" is like when someone asks, "How did you know your wife was the one?" It's hard to answer either question. It usually boils down to the answer: "You just know." That often seems like a cop out.

All that said, I know that God called me to the ministry. I can look back on my life and see where he called me in high school, college and young adult life, but I was not listening. When I did finally answer "yes" to the call, I had starry visions of what being a minister was. I envisioned a small church that slowly but surely grew. Eventually it would become a large church. People with all sorts of problems would come to me and I would help them. It did not turn out that way. The church imploded. (Perhaps you heard the boom.)

Currently, I am not in ministry (in the formal sense). My wife and I are volunteering at the church we attend, and I have the opportunity to preach once in a while.

The thing I struggle with is this: What does the call mean? Am I called to be a pastor?

The pastor who married us pastored three churches over a ten year span, and is currently in evangelism. Another man I know was the pastor of one church for ten years, and is currently not pastoring. My former youth pastor is currently out of the ministry. One of my pastors when I was a kid is no longer pastoring. None of these men are anywhere near retirement age.

All of these men were called (or at least thought they were) at one point. What happened? Is God's call temporary? Does his will for us change over our life?

I wonder this, because I wonder where I am headed.

"Cram It"

(I know this title may be offensive to some. Get over it!)

Have you ever been force fed? I recall the "Lima bean incident of '99." For some reason of absurd parental power, I tried to force my three-year-old to eat a Lima bean. Needless to say, I got my fanny kicked by a three-year-old. Trying to force feed children, or anyone else rarely works. It accomplishes nothing other than to cause antagonism between the two parties. A stare-down ensues.

Why is it that some churches feel that it is their duty to cram the gospel down the throat of every person who comes through the doors?

My wife has heard associates say that they will never go to any church again because every time they have been to church they "cram it down my throat."

Whatever happened to building relationships with people? The church needs to show people who don't attend church that we are normal people. There is a stereotype that churches are only after two things: butts and bucks. Butts fill seats and inflate stats. Bucks line the pockets of the church.

Church, please, let's be real. Let's show people that we are normal. Let's quit trying to cram it down people's throats.