Tag: Pastor

Awakening The Force

I am a huge Star Wars fan. I vividly remember when the first movie came out (Chapter 4 – A New Hope). It was the summer before I entered Junior High School. The first time I saw it was with my sister, brother-in-law, and infant nephew at a drive-in theater. That same week my brother-in-law and I would go to see it again but this time in an indoor theater. Chapter 4 through 6 will always be my favorite of all the Star Wars films. I have all the films on DVD except the most recent one which came out last year.

For my birthday this year, my youngest son gave me The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. So during this period of isolation, my husband and I decided to watch both of these movies. I love seeing some of my favorite characters once again, although they look a bit older. I was sad when Han and Luke died. As I watched these movies, I was reminded of the connection which others have made between the “Force” and the Holy Spirit. You can find endless books and articles which discuss the connection of themes between the Star Wars movies and the Christian faith. Intended, or not, they are strongly visible.

The title of Chapter 7, The Force Awakens, triggered in my thoughts the awakening of the Spirit in our lives. In this movie, we see one of the main characters becoming aware of a power within herself. The Force is always present. It runs through everything in the universe. Some individuals have an ability to harness the power of the Force and are trained how to understand it and use it. These individuals became known as the Jedi, an elite group which is called upon to overcome the evil actions of some leaders who take over the universe’s governing system. The Force has two sides, the good (or light) side and the dark (or evil) side. Here sets up the continuous battle between good and evil.

The character which I mentioned above, always had the power of the Force within her. In reality, the Force does not awaken but instead her awareness of the Force is what awakens. She is confused by the newfound abilities which she seems to possess. Only by conversations with one of the rebel leaders who has this awareness and with one of the Jedi Masters does she begin to truly understand this power and how she can use it to fight against the evil leaders.

Looking at this from the perspective of Christian faith, there are similarities between the Holy Spirit and the Force. But there are also some dissimilarities. Like the character from the movie, we must become awakened to the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Unlike the Force in these movies, the Spirit’s power is not limited to an elite group. Instead, the Spirit’s power is available to all people. Another similarity is that our awareness to the Spirit’s power must be awakened. This awakening can occur in a variety of ways but most common is through discussions with others who are aware of the power. Often the characters who are called upon to use the Force in dramatic ways are resistant at first and tend to want to rely upon their own abilities and the traditional methods. Individuals usually respond the same to the power of the Holy Spirit because the reality of this power is unnerving to us.

I wonder what would happen if more people were awakened to the power of the Holy Spirit. What if we had a group of individuals who used this power to strive for good within the universe? What if a group used this power to change the lives of others in a positive direction? Would we call them Jedis, or would we give them a different name? Would there people who would take the time to train them to use this power effectively and trust in it? Wait….. this may already exist. Could it be that we call this group of people, the Church? Could it be that there already exist individuals who we call pastors, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, vacation Bible school leaders, and elders instead of Masters?

It is time that we awaken the awareness of the force, the Holy Spirit. Are you aware of the Force within you? How are you utilizing the Spirit’s power in your life? How are you sharing this awareness with others?

One Person

A pitfall which can be a destructive force within the church is when everything revolves around one person—the pastor. When I was in seminary, one of my professors reminded the class of an important truth, he said that we had to be cautious about everything becoming about us as the pastor. We had been guided on all the important aspects of being a pastor. The importance of building relationships; effectively communicating the Gospel in actions and words; and walking alongside people as they began, continued, or finished their faith journeys were a few of these meaningful insights.

I learned that finding a connecting point with as many members of the congregation as possible was valuable. This did not mean everyone would like me but if I could find a way to connect with them in their lives, I could more effectively serve them as a spiritual support and teacher. Building relationships became important in my ministry alongside those who I had been called to serve.

My ability to communicate the Gospel in a manner which allowed people to incorporate it in their thoughts and lives was a gift that God has given me. This was identified by others before I made the step to attend seminary. Others pointing out this gift from God was one of the aspects of my recognizing the call God has placed on my life. My background in public speaking, which began in high school, enhanced the delivering of the Lord’s message on Sunday mornings. I also have a passion for, and some would say a gift for teaching.

Building relationships and communicating the Gospel became cornerstones to my ministry efforts. There were other areas of ministry which I was not the best at but these which I did possess became valuable in my work. I believe that these two cornerstones also endeared me to many members in the congregations which I have been blessed to serve. However, I was always mindful of the warning my professor gave me and my classmates in seminary. I would remind myself, and sometimes others, that I am called to serve with the people in a congregation for a relatively short period of time but they were called to continue to serve when I had been led elsewhere.

The issue that I see in some situations is that the pastor becomes beloved by members of the congregation. Why this creates problems is that when a pastor becomes beloved, it can be easy for that individual’s ego to become too powerful for her/him to manage effectively. This is only fueled when the congregation loves the pastor so much they fail to see the pastor’s warts. A pastor on a pedestal is bound to take a huge fall one day when their ego and the blindness of the congregation fails to keep the person humble.

Another issue which can arise is that members of the congregation can start abdicating their responsibilities as followers of Christ to the pastor. When there is not equal footing and responsibility within the relationships of the church, everything can easily become all about the pastor. The successes and the failures become the pastor’s. The effectiveness of the ministry is weakened due to the reality that no one person can possibly do everything needed. Pastors make mistakes like any other human being so when this occurs, and it WILL occur, if no shared ministry between pastor and members exists, the mistake can have devastating consequences.

When Jesus gave the Great Commission, it was given to a community of believers. There were apostles, teachers, merchants, fishermen, parents, children, families, farmers, lawyers, and all types of individuals with all forms of gifts and talents. Never was it intended that ministry should ever be about one person. The community of faith was designed to be a COMMUNITY which walked together, laughed together, cried together, learned together, and served together. Nowhere in Scripture does it indicate that one person, the pastor, should be the center of the community and the chief architect of ministry. I have never discovered the finding of an addendum where the Great Commission moved from being a community call to a one-person call.

It is not about the pastor. It is about a community of believers who have a leader who has been given the title of pastor working together to effectively communicate the Gospel to the place and time in which they live. Making ministry about the pastor, good or bad, is a way to destroy the potential ministry which can be done.

Pastor Crush

Why would someone choose to go into full-time ministry? This is a question that many people ask especially today. There used to be a time when full-time ministry, or becoming a pastor, was considered a noble aspiration. During the Middle Ages, it was considered an academic pursuit that was reserved for the wealthy who could afford to get a formalized education. The culture of today seems much different and many factors contribute to the less than lofty stature full-time ministry now occupies. So, why would someone choose to go into full-time ministry?

For me, I consider it to have been a limited choice. Why I state it in such a manner is because long before I would “choose” to enter full-time ministry, a sense of call was placed upon me. I come from a denomination which emphasizes the understanding of a call. The church culture in which I grew up, and would eventually seek ordination from, felt that every person has a call placed upon her or his life by God. Some are called to be teachers, some business leaders, some lawyers, some medical professionals, and the list goes on through every form of employment and volunteer opportunity that comes to mind. I was taught that each person has a call, or often multiple calls, placed on them by God. Just because God places a call upon a person, the person is not required to fulfill the call. In fact, many individuals pursue other courses in their lives. However, after years of resisting the call into full-time ministry, I chose to respond reluctantly in the affirmative.

General themes of why a person answers the call to full-time ministry exist. One of the reasons some give is a desire to help others on a daily basis experience the love of God. Another reason is to assist others in developing answers to their questions regarding their faith. Other responses might include a fulfillment in walking through life’s challenges with another person. For me, it was a strong desire to open for others the wonder of what a relationship with the Lord might mean in their life.

Whatever the answer to the question of why a person has gone into full-time ministry, a sad reality exists…the church is crushing pastors at a very alarming rate. What I mean by this is that in too many conversations with colleagues and those who have exited from full-time ministry, I have heard too often that the demands of the congregation and the denominational hierarchy crushed their passion and desire to continue in full-time ministry. Too often these demands distract the pastor from their role as a shepherd, teacher, companion, and spiritual leader. I would say that the demands actually prohibit the pastor from fulfilling these other roles. Yet, these are usually the roles which lead the person to enter full-time ministry.

Let me share a few examples of these demands. The first one which quickly comes to mind is the demand of being the referee. What does refereeing have to do with being a pastor? Well, it really should not have anything to do with it but often the pastor is the one expected to enter conflicts within the church and reduce or eliminate the conflict. Imagine being a parent who has over one hundred kids who have a tendency to enter squabbles over toys, control of the television, or who gets to play the Xbox next. This is often what a pastor feels like when trying to maneuver through all the he-said, she-said arguments which arise out of situations such as who decides what to serve at the Fall Festival Dinner.

Another example of the demands which crush a pastor is the endless amount of discussion and input from a variety of individuals in order to make a decision. Churches love to have committees to discuss and plan everything from what coffee to serve during fellowship time to what songs to sing during the Christmas season. While there is indeed value in seeking input from various voices and creating an atmosphere of participation among the members, these groups often get bogged down in details and personal opinions. These details and personal opinions frequently lead to the squabbles I mentioned in the above paragraph. The other issue which arises is that little progress is made in making a decision and it all is very time-consuming.

A third example which is too frequent is the financial stress the pastor absorbs. When it comes to church finances, the same story exists in some level in every church, there never seems to be enough money for anything. This leads to many different burdens placed on a pastor. One is the idea that a pastor should be the chief fundraiser of the church. Some members view it to be the pastor’s responsibility to find creative ways to bring money into the congregation and then lead those fundraising efforts as spokesperson and arm twister but do these things in a very unintimidating manner. The other side of the coin is that the pastor is often charged with the responsibility to reduce and maintain spending at the lowest level possible. The pastor is left to rely on volunteers and donated monies to accomplish all that needs to be accomplished from repairing the leaky flat roof to having weekly activities for youth from age 0 to 35. Of course the use of volunteer labor will also require being flexible and understanding that they have real lives so cannot accomplish what they commit to doing for four to sixteen weeks. Yet the pastor gets the blame when things are not done correctly and in a timely manner.

The list of examples can grow with each exhausted pastor with who you have the chance to speak. Horror stories and tears are in abundance as pastors tell of the demands placed upon them and the way in which they are often treated. Besides the personal anguish and abuse, yes, I will call it abuse, the issue that tears most pastors hearts the most is that they do not have the time or the energy to live out the passion which called them to full-time ministry in the first place. Every once in a while they are fortunate to see a glimmer of their call fulfilled in the life of another person but these occur like shooting stars at night which are fleeting and way too infrequent.

The congregations and denominations of the church are crushing the pastors who feel God calling them to full-time ministry. It is the congregations and denominations who are losing out on women and men who would love to shepherd, teach, walk alongside, encourage, and spiritually lead in the example of Jesus. Until the church wakes up to this reality and does something meaningful about it, you will continue to see pastors step out of full-time ministry, pulpits remain empty, and seminaries have fewer and fewer students.