Just had a visit from my favorite pastor, Arnold Hendrix. He's in a traditional Baptist church in Lower Alabama. He probably won't ever be invited to preach at Catalyst, or even the SBC Convention. But he's making a huge difference for God.
Thing is, Arnold's way of doing it is the antithesis of what the writer below is describing. He's creating programs and inviting people to help, to work, to do (Gasp!) church.
I'm thinking that just maybe everything isn't as black and white as what we often read on blogs trending to one side of the "Do church?" debate or the other.
I'm thinking that pastors who are passionate and love God and people can still find a way to do church AND nurture the passion and purpose in others. What say ye?
A Deconstructed Christian: Church - the ultimate mission killer
Thing is, Arnold's way of doing it is the antithesis of what the writer below is describing. He's creating programs and inviting people to help, to work, to do (Gasp!) church.
I'm thinking that just maybe everything isn't as black and white as what we often read on blogs trending to one side of the "Do church?" debate or the other.
I'm thinking that pastors who are passionate and love God and people can still find a way to do church AND nurture the passion and purpose in others. What say ye?
A Deconstructed Christian: Church - the ultimate mission killer
In my opinion, a pastor's job, their highest calling, is to nurture what God has put inside every christ-follower - a little seed of passion for what they are supposed to do in this life. That seed can grow and multiply, or it can be trodden into the earth. The passion likely has nothing to do with a church program, it is more likely a cry for something more, something bigger, something infinitely more precious. It could be a need to work with the homeless, to raise children, to care for the aged. It could be writing songs, creating art, playing sport, being a musician. It can be ministry in prisons, in schools, in shelters. Honestly, it could be anything. It could simply be inviting people over for meals or speaking to people in bars.
Whatever it is, it is precious because it is from God. It's a passion, a purpose, something that is designed to be fulfilled. The problem is, if that passion doesn't fit neatly into specific church-sanctioned activities, it gets pushed down by the busyness of church.
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Hello! It's Heather (the Deconstructed Christian) here. It's so nice to see you referencing my blog!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you - pastors can both "do church" and nurture. It's just that the nurturing often gets left behind in the "doing church" thing. I personally know people whose passion for mission outside the church walls has disappeared as a direct result of far to much "doing church" and nowhere near enough pastoral nurture. It's a very sad thing to see.
To those pastors who manage to strike a balance between the two, I salute you!