Ministry & The Mundane
I know that many of you who read this blog don't often respond. The reason I know that is I've had countless numbers of you tell me things you saw here ... but you left no opinion. I also know that many of you who read this stuff are rooted deeply in your church ministry - whether paid by green dollars or by eternal ones!
Listen. Everybody's got opinions. So it's time some of you mute yelpers sound off.
I've been thinking about this topic lately, but didn't quite know how to address it. Maybe I can hammer it out, so here's what I'm wondering:
what is it about church and church life that frustrates you the most?
Since this is my keen idea, I'll start.
Perhaps my biggest frustration in church life is lack of spiritual maturity. So now I must already qualify my statement and offer the disclaimer that I'm not claiming to have fully arrived. No sir. What I'm saying is that for years as a pastor, I've noticed that there are so many people who operate in the church for ... literally ... decades ... and yet they still respond to situations in life as if they are spiritual infants.
A quick example: 5 or so years ago a friend of mine was in a leadership meeting with me. Many of our church leaders were there to hammer out some various leadership stuff. My friend, a worship pastor, asked this simple question, "What is worship?"
A lady, well respected, definitely dear in heart, and someone I personally loved, responded, "Well, worship is a time where you gather in God's house to be with your family and friends."
Would it bother you that this lady had been teaching Adult bible study for over 30 years, and was seen as a pillar in the life of the church? Here answer horrified me. For her, worship was nostalgia. Precious memories. How they linger. Dinner on the grounds. Sunday preachin'. Apple pie. This is what I'm getting at.
I see it in other areas. Tenured church members have their business dealings which are no different from any other non-believer. They treat church business as if there is no spiritual maturity involved. The respond to life pretty much the same ways a non-believer would.
I'll go so far as to say this: why is it that people who are the oldest in the faith often seem to emboy the greatest amount of spiritual immaturity.
Clarity called for once again: by "oldest" I'm not necessarily referring to age range. Sometimes, however, that has been exactly the case in my pastoral experience. Yet not always. I mean, there are people I've met who are 45 years old, and have been around the church since birth. And I see no real life change in how they approach kingdom work.
So that's me. Your turn. I mean it. Holler out.
And remember, the great thing about a blog is that you can make up a name and keep your anonymity!
posted by Jason Cruise @ 6:44 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I work with the youth group in our church. One of the things that frustrates me to no end is the lack of leadership that the church-going parents of our youth provide for thier children. It pains me to see the poor example that they are modeling for their kids.
For example, I approached a parent the other day and expressed how we've missed their boys in our Wednesday night youth program. He replied, "Well, the basketball coach has started having open gym practice on Wednesday nights and with the boys wanting to play next year, we feel kind of obligated to go." I wanted to say, "Oh, well Jesus Christ was stripped naked, spit on, tortured, beaten to the bone, and tacked up to a cross with railroad spikes just so that you could be saved from your hell-bound sinful state. I guess you don't feel too 'obligated' to Him."
These people are very close friends and I love them dearly, but I hate to see the patterns that are possibly being formed in their children. It is a result of the shortsighted, lack of spiritual maturity that you talk of. It's only the things that truly matter here on Earth that we will take with us into eternity. All of that other junk will fade away in the blink of an eye.
While those types of things are frustrating, I continue to be thankful for the ways the God has blessed our church and for the good things that happen. As long as the church is made up of fallible and sinful people, there's going to be problems, which is why I thank God for His grace and continual patience and longsuffering and for the times when we, as sinners, occasionally get something right.
OK -from a Lay person -life-long church goer of many generations of church goers. Served on EVERY church Office imaginable. Also approching old as dirt. Jason, here's the deal, here's why we need you (and all you professional Christians) -some people JUST DON'T GET IT. Oh they get the Church thing -we're good people doing good things and we belong to a Church and give money and serve on committies and teach and blah,blah blah and turn it off on Saturday night or Monday morning -and worry about the church building, might as well be Elks (not the animals). So we need the shepherds because someday, somehow -one day, in God's time -the light might just go on and just like any other sinners -even church goers will finally get it -get God, get the spiritual side of this. And when we do, and until we do -we need you guys -layity and professional alike. OUR job is to help each other get past the church -through the church -with the church - to Jesus.
See you in New Mexico
wil2hike@comcast.net
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