Win/Win: Is it possible?
Imagine a system where we dared trust God enough to put the needs of others above our own. Imagine a church where we dared rejoice when others did well rather than choose bitterness and envy.
My dad told me that my being a pastor was payback for all the years he sat on church boards vocally opposing every benefit his pastor might receive. He fought against them having too much vacation, repairs to a parsonage or increases to match cost of living. "I was the guy who made their lives hell and now my son is a pastor."
Dad worked hard to make sure his pastors didn't receive more vacation than he did. He opposed training and conferences because his job didn't allow him additional training. Whatever he was stuck with he made sure his pastor could share his misery.
Ministry is odd. We juggle between idealism and providing for our families. We teach that God will supply all our needs while we pray that our cars will last another thousand miles and school loan payments are deferred again. (I remember those days very well. They were much different than my today.)
I cannot count all the guys I know who could not afford to stay in ministry. The young ministry couples I have counselled over the years who were at each other's throats over financial stresses is disheartening. I bet most of those situations were the result of influential people in congregations who were more concerned with limiting than they were with blessing. Their mindset is, "It's not fair for you to have something I don't have."
During my time in ministry I have heard, "that's not how it works in the corporporate world" too many times. I always am tempted to ask which corporate model the limiter is referring to. Is it Hewlett Packard, a company known for generously taking care of employees or is it AIG? Is it a corporation that dumps faithful employees just a year short of retirement benefits? No. I think it usually refers to the limiter's own corporate experience.
Do we really want to follow the model of corporate America? Wouldn't we instead want to represent Jesus well since we are His church?
I believe there should be no better place to work than the church of Jesus Christ. If you're hating working for your church it could be time to ask who the CEO is. If you don't see much evidence of the love and care of Christ, He's probably not the CEO.
I was called to work for Jesus, not a corporation.
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1 comment:
Wow – Brother – You Speak Truth
As a man who has seen and traveled in the circles of corporate men around the country who have been placed in those overseer roles you refer and as one who has hurt deeply over what I call one of the great disgraces of the American church – Men who for their status amongst the world are given overseer duties for the Body of Christ. Not only are some of these men not Spirit Filled but some are so secretly intoxicated with the pollution of the world they serve in, they are more qualified to belong under church discipline than church overseer.
“I have a Dream” when one day spirit filled men who are overseers of local congregations all over the United States will put down the current years “Compensation Survey Report for Christian Organizations” and instead of being anxious about were they fall – would sit down with the shepherds who solely rely upon the body of Christ for support and ask what are the needs for him and his family and make sure that they are listening and understanding them - and from there trust God to provide for them and not just tell him you will be given a certain amount because some generalized report says that is what you should be given
“I have a Dream” when one day spirit filled men who are overseers of local congregations all over the United States will force those who shepherd Gods people day in and day out to not feel obligated to be in a particular place each and every day just for the purpose of “how it looks” but to either be out and about shepherding the flock or getting alone with the head of the Church, Jesus, for a time of Spirit Filling.
“I have a Dream” when one day spirit filled men who are overseers of local congregations all over the United States …. I have dozens along the same line and I pray for those dreams to be manifested in a new Church Plant in New Orleans that God has called me to co-lead.
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