In the chaos of Squealer’s end of the year kindergarten party, Bruce caught my eye. His oversized build and beefy hands indicated a comfort level more accustomed to working outside rather than in. I joined him on the periphery of activity as one of the few fathers there for the school day party. Kadie walked up and introduced herself. She asked who he was married to and he mumbled a self-conscious reply that he wasn’t married.
We were saved from an uncomfortable silence by the announcement that the kids were going to scrap book some pictures that the teacher had taken throughout the year. The parents huddled around large pieces of construction paper and began putting titles, photographs, and stencils in their proper places on the paper. Since I had the camera (and Kadie has the artistic skills) I stood back and observed. My eyes and attention returned to Bruce.
Bruce was looking over his daughter’s shoulder and working on getting the “Kindergarten 2008-2009” title centered in the middle of the page. He then carefully stretched four strips of tape over each corner and said “Ok, now, umm…let’s get some of the pictures in place” he said hesitantly. As the only father at the table of moms, he looked clearly out of his element.
“That’s not right!”
My gaze shifted to a large, older woman standing next to Bruce. She was apparently a grandmother who was forced into the background as her daughter helped her grand-daughter. She was also the one who had made the beautiful end of the year cake for the class and obviously had an artistic gift. I’m unsure whether she was talking to Bruce’s daughter or to Bruce himself.
“You see, that’s double sticky tape. You don’t put it on the corners of the paper!”
Bruce looked confused. “But you have to tape the title in the middle of the page” he said, uncertainly.
“Here, let me show you” she said as she carefully peeled the tape off the paper. She then folded the tape back on itself and placed the tape behind the title so that the tape didn’t show at all. “There, that’s right, don’t you like that better?” Bruce’s daughter nodded hesitantly.
The large older woman then said (to herself as much as to anyone else) “Now, let’s see what’s next.”
Over the next half hour, Bruce stood off to the side while this woman worked on his daughter’s page. As they created an impressive work of scrap book art, Bruce was pushed closer to the periphery. He seemed tortured the whole time. His body language indicated that he desperately wanted to work with his daughter on the project, but he realized that the work would be much more beautiful if he continued to allow the woman to help.
My heart ached as I watched all this. Most single parents I know and think about are single women raising kids on their own. But few things can be tougher emotionally than for a single father to raise a daughter on his own. The emotional distance is so vast.
After the party I shook Bruce’s hand and told him that I hoped our kids were in the same class again next year. I’d love to get to know him better.
Showing posts with label Ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ministry. Show all posts
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Monday, April 06, 2009
Best Friends
I was helping my brother-in-law Sully install some new venetian blinds this weekend. We were hard at work, measuring, drilling, and hanging, when his six year old daughter Grace walked into the room clutching a piece of paper.
“Daddy, I have a list of my bestest friends.”
“Mmmm-hmmm” Sully responded through lips pursed closed around a pair of screws.
She read carefully: “Here are my best friends: God, Jesus, Mommy, Daddy, Scooter, Skeeter, and Squealer.”
“Run that by me again, Pea?” Sully said, never taking his eyes off the window.
I said: “God, Jesus, Mommy, Daddy, Scooter, Skeeter, Squealer!” Grace replied with some degree of aggravation. Then she stomped out of the room.
As she left, Sully turned to me and said “Isn’t that just like a good Southern Baptist, leaving the Holy Spirit off a list of your best friends.”
“Daddy, I have a list of my bestest friends.”
“Mmmm-hmmm” Sully responded through lips pursed closed around a pair of screws.
She read carefully: “Here are my best friends: God, Jesus, Mommy, Daddy, Scooter, Skeeter, and Squealer.”
“Run that by me again, Pea?” Sully said, never taking his eyes off the window.
I said: “God, Jesus, Mommy, Daddy, Scooter, Skeeter, Squealer!” Grace replied with some degree of aggravation. Then she stomped out of the room.
As she left, Sully turned to me and said “Isn’t that just like a good Southern Baptist, leaving the Holy Spirit off a list of your best friends.”
Monday, March 30, 2009
Boundaries
For the last several weeks, we’ve been undertaking the laborious process of converting ancient VHS and miniDV tapes to DVDs. We’ve never done this before, so it’s been quite the challenge. The power supply on our ancient videocamera (purchased in 1995) no longer works, so I bought a replacement on Ebay for $15.00. A small price for videos, unseen for over a decade. So we’ve been enjoying a few hours each evening watching these videos and explaining to the kids who all the strangers in these videos are.
What does this have to do with Ministry Monday? One of the video tapes was an extended recording of Scooter’s second birthday. We had it at a local park in Waco and it was full of the normal chaos, screams and frivolity associated with such locations. One amusing side note to this party is that on two occasions, I forgot that the camera was on and the viewer gets vertigo from me carrying the camera at my side as I walked around the park. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the microphone was also on and so you could hear every conversation that I had with various family members.
But at the time, I was pastoring Lone Oak, and we invited several church members to the party. At one point in the party, you could hear me earnestly talking with this church member about some significant issue. I don’t recall exactly what it was regarding, but you can hear him expressing disagreement with the way I had handled something. Then you can hear me responding. It wasn’t so much an argument as it was a discussion over a difficult issue. Watching this video these eleven and a half years later, I am struck by one inescapable question:
WHY AM I DISCUSSING CHURCH ISSUES WITH A MEMBER AT MY OWN DAUGHTER’S SECOND BIRTHDAY PARTY?!?!?
(Sorry for all caps.) Looking at the tape through the lens of a decade’s experience, I am reminded of a desperate need for boundaries between pastor and church. If I could go back and have a conversation with Pastor Taran, I’d strongly suggest that he take a look at the boundaries he had set with his church. The line between church and family was too much a blur. I wish the younger Taran had said to the church what God said to the sea “This far you may come, but no further.” I don’t blame the man for the conversation, but I would like to wack my younger self across his forehead and say “What were you thinking?!”There is a lack of self awareness among many good meaning, Godly, well-spirited people in the church as to this issue of boundaries.
Pastors should set them early and often.
What does this have to do with Ministry Monday? One of the video tapes was an extended recording of Scooter’s second birthday. We had it at a local park in Waco and it was full of the normal chaos, screams and frivolity associated with such locations. One amusing side note to this party is that on two occasions, I forgot that the camera was on and the viewer gets vertigo from me carrying the camera at my side as I walked around the park. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the microphone was also on and so you could hear every conversation that I had with various family members.
But at the time, I was pastoring Lone Oak, and we invited several church members to the party. At one point in the party, you could hear me earnestly talking with this church member about some significant issue. I don’t recall exactly what it was regarding, but you can hear him expressing disagreement with the way I had handled something. Then you can hear me responding. It wasn’t so much an argument as it was a discussion over a difficult issue. Watching this video these eleven and a half years later, I am struck by one inescapable question:
WHY AM I DISCUSSING CHURCH ISSUES WITH A MEMBER AT MY OWN DAUGHTER’S SECOND BIRTHDAY PARTY?!?!?
(Sorry for all caps.) Looking at the tape through the lens of a decade’s experience, I am reminded of a desperate need for boundaries between pastor and church. If I could go back and have a conversation with Pastor Taran, I’d strongly suggest that he take a look at the boundaries he had set with his church. The line between church and family was too much a blur. I wish the younger Taran had said to the church what God said to the sea “This far you may come, but no further.” I don’t blame the man for the conversation, but I would like to wack my younger self across his forehead and say “What were you thinking?!”There is a lack of self awareness among many good meaning, Godly, well-spirited people in the church as to this issue of boundaries.
Pastors should set them early and often.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Crazy, Crazy 2
I mentioned last week that Ed Young performed an exceptional service for ministry types (or frankly, anyone who deals with people) by identifying characteristics of crazy, crazy people. Here are 8-13. You can tell crazy people because:
9. They dress in the full uniform of the team they cheer for. Shoulder pads, helmet, the whole nine yards.
10. They always talk about their dysfunction. They marinate in their difficult kids, their loveless marriage, their awful job situation.
11. They have crazy pets. "If your cat is jacked up, you are crazy."
12. They answer the phone ‘mmmmyellow?’
13. After you finish speaking, they are the first people who come up to you, but the last ones to speak. That way they get your undivided attention.
What would you add to the list?
9. They dress in the full uniform of the team they cheer for. Shoulder pads, helmet, the whole nine yards.
10. They always talk about their dysfunction. They marinate in their difficult kids, their loveless marriage, their awful job situation.
11. They have crazy pets. "If your cat is jacked up, you are crazy."
12. They answer the phone ‘mmmmyellow?’
13. After you finish speaking, they are the first people who come up to you, but the last ones to speak. That way they get your undivided attention.
What would you add to the list?
Monday, March 09, 2009
Crazy Crazy
A few weekends ago, I attended the C3 conference at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas. Not having been previously exposed to Fellowship Church, or Ed Young I wasn’t sure what to expect. Our associate pastor asked me to go and I enjoyed it immensely. (Actually I enjoyed the preaching, the music wasn’t as enjoyable. But at least they didn’t paint anyone during the worship time).
One of the best sermons preached was by the aforementioned Ed Young. In his message, called “Crazy Pills” he distinguished between good crazy and crazy crazy. Good crazy he described as a focused passion on the positive things of faith. Tim Tebow and Jesus (natch) exemplify good crazy. But then he spent the rest of the sermon on crazy crazy people. By this he’s not talking about people who are clinically insane, or diagnosed with some particular disorder. Rather, those who can function just fine in society, but are in fact crazy crazy. He noted that there are a lot of crazy, crazy people out there and that most of them are attracted to churches.
This presents a problem for ministers, because they often waste their time working with, praying with, advising people who will in fact never change. Better to focus on those who are open to personal and spiritual growth. To more closely define the craziness he spoke about, he identified several characteristics of crazy crazy people. I’ll post his list this week and next. When he shared the list I thought “Yep, I’ve worked with him before.”
People who are crazy:
1. They have crazy eyes.
2 They are always playing the God card – ‘God told me to do this’ or ‘God told me you should do this’
3. They are constant name droppers
4. They always find a way to ‘one-up’ you – If you went to Olive Garden for lunch today, they will say ’ ‘Well, I flew to Tuscany last week on my private jet and ate a feast in a vineyard going back several centuries.’
5. They will blow up your phone. They will text you and email you all day long!
6. They ask for your advice. You spend time and energy and prayer preparing to give them the proper advice. AND THEN THEY DON"T TAKE IT!!!!!
7. They talk endlessly about themselves. Their conversations are scattered with I, I, I, me, me, me, mine, mine, mine.
8. They don’t have a filter. They speak whatever they think (and are proud of it!).
More next week.
One of the best sermons preached was by the aforementioned Ed Young. In his message, called “Crazy Pills” he distinguished between good crazy and crazy crazy. Good crazy he described as a focused passion on the positive things of faith. Tim Tebow and Jesus (natch) exemplify good crazy. But then he spent the rest of the sermon on crazy crazy people. By this he’s not talking about people who are clinically insane, or diagnosed with some particular disorder. Rather, those who can function just fine in society, but are in fact crazy crazy. He noted that there are a lot of crazy, crazy people out there and that most of them are attracted to churches.
This presents a problem for ministers, because they often waste their time working with, praying with, advising people who will in fact never change. Better to focus on those who are open to personal and spiritual growth. To more closely define the craziness he spoke about, he identified several characteristics of crazy crazy people. I’ll post his list this week and next. When he shared the list I thought “Yep, I’ve worked with him before.”
People who are crazy:
1. They have crazy eyes.
2 They are always playing the God card – ‘God told me to do this’ or ‘God told me you should do this’
3. They are constant name droppers
4. They always find a way to ‘one-up’ you – If you went to Olive Garden for lunch today, they will say ’ ‘Well, I flew to Tuscany last week on my private jet and ate a feast in a vineyard going back several centuries.’
5. They will blow up your phone. They will text you and email you all day long!
6. They ask for your advice. You spend time and energy and prayer preparing to give them the proper advice. AND THEN THEY DON"T TAKE IT!!!!!
7. They talk endlessly about themselves. Their conversations are scattered with I, I, I, me, me, me, mine, mine, mine.
8. They don’t have a filter. They speak whatever they think (and are proud of it!).
More next week.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Wednesdays are for Work (and Play)
Wednesdays will be Work or Play Day. I’ll attempt to find some bloggable material at the location where I spent the majority of my time, or from what I enjoy doing. Today, it’s all work.
A substantial reorganization was recently announced at our institution. It will involve the elimination of a few administrative positions and will rename several academic units across the campus. I don’t want to belabor the reader with the particular merits of the decision, but I do have a concern with how it was devised. The reorganization was developed by a small group of leadership and then announced to the larger campus in an email.
There are more similarities that you may think between communities of faith and academic institutions. One dysfunctional similarity is that a silo mentality can develop between leadership and the larger community. This mentality is especially strong in how leadership makes decisions and communicates ideas to the rest of the organization.
The situation plays out like this: out of a concern for negative feedback (or a feeling that feedback is unnecessary), leadership expedites the implementation process. When there is the predictable blowback after the decision is announced, leadership commends itself that it made the right decision and it was better to generate the feedback after the decision rather than before.
The primary problem with this thinking, is that it detaches the rest of the church or institution from the decision making process. Then when the organization depends upon the members of the congregation to carry it out, they often have nothing personally invested in the process and they don’t participate. By involving the congregation (or the rest of the organization) in the decision making-process, you get more buy in down the road.
A substantial reorganization was recently announced at our institution. It will involve the elimination of a few administrative positions and will rename several academic units across the campus. I don’t want to belabor the reader with the particular merits of the decision, but I do have a concern with how it was devised. The reorganization was developed by a small group of leadership and then announced to the larger campus in an email.
There are more similarities that you may think between communities of faith and academic institutions. One dysfunctional similarity is that a silo mentality can develop between leadership and the larger community. This mentality is especially strong in how leadership makes decisions and communicates ideas to the rest of the organization.
The situation plays out like this: out of a concern for negative feedback (or a feeling that feedback is unnecessary), leadership expedites the implementation process. When there is the predictable blowback after the decision is announced, leadership commends itself that it made the right decision and it was better to generate the feedback after the decision rather than before.
The primary problem with this thinking, is that it detaches the rest of the church or institution from the decision making process. Then when the organization depends upon the members of the congregation to carry it out, they often have nothing personally invested in the process and they don’t participate. By involving the congregation (or the rest of the organization) in the decision making-process, you get more buy in down the road.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Setting a Pastor's Salary
The salary for the position was negotiated among the Pastoral Search, Stewardship, and Personnel Committees and reflected all of the strengths and weaknesses of a multi-committee approach. Practically, the PSC advocated for a highest salary while the Stewardship committee advocated for a more affordable (from the church's perspective) amount. We knew that the amount of the salary would be quite a bit less than our previous pastor's package. This reduction was necessary for a couple of reasons. First, as I've noted, the experience level of the candidate was substantially less than our previous pastor. Our candidate had two years of experience verses the four decades of pastoral experience that his predecessor had. Second, the size of our church had contracted substantially. We averaged around 450 in attendance when our previous pastor was called compared to around 200 today.
So I sat down with the chairs of the two other committees. The Personal Committee chair was on the Pastor Search Committee, and the Stewardship Chair was Brother James. After an extended conversation, we settled on a salary that we felt we could take before the church. We based a good deal of our decision based on the salary range that the Kentucky Baptist Convention had developed. It’s gone now, but a similar comparison is located at the Lifeway website. There’s still an outstanding site on all these issues located at the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
(I’m intentionally leaving out the candidate from this discussion. When we raised a general salary figure for him he said “I trust that the church will be fair and compensate me at a level where I can support my family in your community.” Words that every PSC chairman hates to hear!)
So as a PSC, we then recognized that the challenge would be in educating the congregation about the strange beast that is the pastor's salary.
Most workers pay only ½ of their social security taxes with their employers paying the other half. But because pastors are self employed, they have to pay both sides of their Social Security taxes. In addition, when employees of a company pay for their own health insurance they are subsidized in part by their employer. That's why when you leave your job but must maintain your insurance, your COBRA payments are so substantial. For the first time you are paying for this insurance unsubsidized by your employer.
So when we presented the package it to the church, the first number we emphasized was the salary
Salary $XX,XXX
+ social security taxes *
+ a portion of insurance **
+ matching a portion of retirement benefits ***
+ car allowance (mileage)
Total Package: $XX,XXX
*We emphasized that the candidate was responsible for paying his taxes.
**We didn't feel it was wise to commit to paying for all of his health insurance, because the insurance rate continues to rise.
***We wanted to encourage him to set aside a portion for retirement, so as a church, we committed to match his funds up to a specified percentage of his salary.
So by listing salary first, instead of package, we tried to emphasize to the church that they should focus on the salary total, not the package total.
We also specified time for conducting revivals, for taking vacations, time for conference travel. We gave him flexibility in these, but require him to take 2 weeks of vacation a year. (So for example, he could take more than 2 weeks vacation, but have one less week of revival for the year.)
Some thoughts on pastoral compensation:
1. Get comparative numbers based on churches the same size. Use associational resources to help you with this. It also helps for the associational missionary to come in and discuss compensation with the appropriate committee.
2. Have a couple of committees put the package together. The more people you have invested in the process, the more voices you will have to explain the result when it comes up for a vote.
3. Commit to revisit the package every year. Some salaries are set when a pastor first arrives and then never get revisited. Then things continue until either he must bring it up, or he leaves because he could no longer afford to stay. The Personnel committee should examine the compensation of all church ministers every year.
Other thoughts??
(Back to main Pastor Search Committee Menu)
So I sat down with the chairs of the two other committees. The Personal Committee chair was on the Pastor Search Committee, and the Stewardship Chair was Brother James. After an extended conversation, we settled on a salary that we felt we could take before the church. We based a good deal of our decision based on the salary range that the Kentucky Baptist Convention had developed. It’s gone now, but a similar comparison is located at the Lifeway website. There’s still an outstanding site on all these issues located at the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
(I’m intentionally leaving out the candidate from this discussion. When we raised a general salary figure for him he said “I trust that the church will be fair and compensate me at a level where I can support my family in your community.” Words that every PSC chairman hates to hear!)
So as a PSC, we then recognized that the challenge would be in educating the congregation about the strange beast that is the pastor's salary.
Most workers pay only ½ of their social security taxes with their employers paying the other half. But because pastors are self employed, they have to pay both sides of their Social Security taxes. In addition, when employees of a company pay for their own health insurance they are subsidized in part by their employer. That's why when you leave your job but must maintain your insurance, your COBRA payments are so substantial. For the first time you are paying for this insurance unsubsidized by your employer.
So when we presented the package it to the church, the first number we emphasized was the salary
Salary $XX,XXX
+ social security taxes *
+ a portion of insurance **
+ matching a portion of retirement benefits ***
+ car allowance (mileage)
Total Package: $XX,XXX
*We emphasized that the candidate was responsible for paying his taxes.
**We didn't feel it was wise to commit to paying for all of his health insurance, because the insurance rate continues to rise.
***We wanted to encourage him to set aside a portion for retirement, so as a church, we committed to match his funds up to a specified percentage of his salary.
So by listing salary first, instead of package, we tried to emphasize to the church that they should focus on the salary total, not the package total.
We also specified time for conducting revivals, for taking vacations, time for conference travel. We gave him flexibility in these, but require him to take 2 weeks of vacation a year. (So for example, he could take more than 2 weeks vacation, but have one less week of revival for the year.)
Some thoughts on pastoral compensation:
1. Get comparative numbers based on churches the same size. Use associational resources to help you with this. It also helps for the associational missionary to come in and discuss compensation with the appropriate committee.
2. Have a couple of committees put the package together. The more people you have invested in the process, the more voices you will have to explain the result when it comes up for a vote.
3. Commit to revisit the package every year. Some salaries are set when a pastor first arrives and then never get revisited. Then things continue until either he must bring it up, or he leaves because he could no longer afford to stay. The Personnel committee should examine the compensation of all church ministers every year.
Other thoughts??
(Back to main Pastor Search Committee Menu)
Monday, September 08, 2008
Pastor Search Committee Questions
I will include here the pool of questions we prepared for Brother Rick. Some of these we devised, but most came from various other resources. Again, we asked about 70 of these, but in the course of the interview, Rick touched on answers to each of them. Also some of them we ended up not asking because we simply hit the high points of the Baptist Faith and Message and asked “Where do you agree and disagree?”
Our main goal was to be thorough on hitting the primary points. Certainly we may have gone overboard (as DD questions here). I think the main thing we wanted was to be able to answer anyone in the church who might ask us a question “Did you ask him about…..? or “What does Brother Rick think about …?”
Anyway, here’s the list. I would appreciate comments on other questions we might have asked, or (from our pastors out there) what are some of the stranger questions that you’ve been asked?
PASTORAL MINISTRY QUESTIONS
Ministry Experience
1. What have you learned in the congregation you now serve that will make you a better pastor?
2. Describe your weaknesses and your strengths.
3. Describe a ministry experience with the congregation you now serve that captures your greatest strengths.
4. Outside of normal vacation time, how many weeks per year do you like to be away from church doing ministry (revivals, missions, conferences, etc.) and study?
Philosophy of Ministry
5. What attracts you to Lakeview Baptist Church? How long would you like to stay at this church?
6. Describe your leadership style. To what extent are you self-directed in your ministry responsibilities?
7. Describe the mission of your present congregation. In what ways has your ministry influenced this mission?
Worship Leader
8. Describe a typical worship service for which you plan to lead. Do you use an order of service?
9. How do you balance worship so it addresses the needs of different age groups?
10. Have you felt the Holy Spirit leading you to change the service in any way once it has begun and how did you handle that?
Pastoral Care and Counseling
11. Recently, sexual misconduct and internet pornography within the church has become a more visible issue. What safe guards have you initiated to protect yourself and the church from such misconduct?
12. How do you view your role in visiting members and church guests (visitors)?
13. Do you have any restrictions on the performance of marriages? Describe your approach to marriage counseling.
14. What is your counseling philosophy?
15. Do you consider yourself a counselor? What type of counseling do you perform?
16. How do you equip church members to provide care to other congregational members?
17. Give us an example of a typical week of pastoral care activities.
18. As pastor you must be a leader and Lakeview Baptist Church has a history of following the pastor. How will you lead by example in the ministries of Lakeview Baptist Church?
Missions and Evangelism
19. What role does evangelism plan in your current church? (Worship, activites, etc.) Do you view some activities or services being more focused on evangelism than others? Which ones?
20. Some people believe a church can become too big. Others feel that every church should become as large as possible. What’s your view?
21. Compare and contrast outreach vs. soul winning.
22. What is your heart with regards to missions?
Staff Relationships
23. What accountability would be expected among staff members?
24. How comfortable are you in providing direction to staff members?
25. Who should be included in staff meetings?
26. How would you respond to other staff members who in your opinion are doing a poor job?
27. Describe how your management or leadership style affects your relationship with other church staff members?
28. When it comes to support staff, what is your policy with regards to church membership?
29. How do you relate to committees in your church?
Community Relations
30. What responsibility do you feel the church has to respond to the social problems affecting our community?
31. How do church politics on a local, state, regional, and national level figure into your ministry and time?
Personal
32. What motivates you as a pastor?
33. How do you cope with stress?
34. What spiritual disciplines guide your life?
35. Tell us about your devotional life.
36. Have you ever had a crisis of faith? And, if so, how did you work through it? What was learned?
Education
37. What skills do you bring to this position that you believe will serve you and the church well? How did you obtain these skills? How do you apply these skills to your work?
38. What are your intentions as far as continuing your education?
Congregation Life
39. What changes may be in store for our congregation if you become our pastor?
40. Describe your operational strategy during the first 6 months of a church. (How do you set goals, prioritize plans, define and evaluate success?)
41. What church structure do you view as best in helping a congregation to achieve its mission?
42. How have you approached the issues of finance and stewardship with your present congregation?
43. As pastor of a church, you have tremendous influence with that congregation. In your own words, could you explain or describe what that influence is?
44. How would you be willing to handle accountability from the congregation and do you have accountability partners that you meet with regularly? Who are they?
45. Coming from a much smaller congregation, how will you involve the body to help you meet its needs?
Preaching
46. Describe your routine process of preparing sermons.
47. Are there any topics you feel uncomfortable preaching about, such as finances or current moral issues?
48. How much time to you devote to sermon preparation?
49. How do you select sermon topics? Would you consider yourself a topical or exegetical preacher?
Christian Education
50. What is your role in Christian education?
51. What Bible study curriculum do you currently use for the different age groups within your church? How do you determine which to use?
52. What educational programs, other than Sunday School, do you emphasize?
Administration
53. What is the primary role of the deacon body? What responsibilities, priorities or boundaries should be the deacon body have in defining our church ministry?
54. What accountability should exist between the deacon body and the pastoral staff members?
55. Do you have a job description now? What parts of it do you feel confident about performing, and with what parts of it do you feel uncomfortable?
56. In what capacity do you work with committees, deacons, or church leadership and what role will they play in overall church decisions like personnel, vision, finances, and outreach?
Family Life
57. What things would you like the church to do to provide support to your family?
58. If you were to move here, what type of housing would you be looking for?
Questions about our Church
59. What do you see that you like about Lakeview Baptist Church?
60. Are there any concerns about which we have not asked, which might be of a sensitive nature for you or Lakeview Baptist Church?
61. Do you have questions about this position that have not been answered?
THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS
1. Describe the importance of Scripture.
2. Explain the biblical term “baptism of the Spirit.” When does this baptism occur?
3. What are your views on baptism by water?
4. Views on Calvinism?
a. How does the Bible relate the sovereignty of God to salvation?
b. What does the Bible teach about the extent of man’s depravity?
c. What does Christ’s atonement accomplish?
d. What does the Bible teach about the perseverance and preservation of believers?
5. What is the proper use of the Old Testament Law?
6. What is the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament?
7. How would you explain the Trinity? Why is it important?
8. What is your view of end-time or eschatological issues?
9. Do you believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin? What is the significance of your belief?
10. What is your interpretation of the biblical teaching on Hell?
11. What does the Bible teach concerning spiritual gifts? Please delineate your views about prophecy and speaking in tongues.
12. What is your view of divorce and remarriage? How strictly will you follow this view in practice?
13. What is your view of the phrase, “The bishop [pastor] then must be…the husband of one wife” (1 Tim. 3:2)?
14. Please explain your views on church discipline.
15. Many children who appear to be converted at an early age show no evidence of knowing Christ later. How do you handle children when they come to you for counsel concerning conversion? What is your advice to parents?
16. What is a useful plan for receiving new members into the church? What are prerequisites?
17. What are your views on styles of church music?
18. Who should direct the worship of the church? Why? Which methods of leading corporate worship are appropriate? Which are inappropriate?
19. What are your views regarding raising money for various projects within the church? Should the church solicit those outside the church?
20. What are your convictions about the local church and debt?
21. What does the Bible teach about women in ministry?
22. What does the Bible teach about how churches should make decisions?
23. How should a pastor and his church relate to other churches locally and to the larger Southern Baptist body? Do you feel comfortable cooperating with other denominations? Do you draw any lines?
24. What are the biblical responsibilities of elders? Are there any distinctions between elders, pastors, and overseers? If applicable, what distinctions exist between staff and non-staff pastors?
25. What are the biblical responsibilities of deacons? How are deacons and elders to relate?
26. What emphasis do you give to the leadership of fathers with their families, especially in terms of family worship? Do you personally engage in family worship with your wife and children?
27. Are you familiar with the term “missional”? What does it mean?
28. How do you see a difference between being a church planter and a pastor?
29. What does the Bible say about homosexual behavior? Can one be a Christian and a homosexual?
30. What version of the Bible do you preach from?
31. What is your view of the use of the altar for prayer during the worship service?
32. To what degree, if any, do you differ with the historical doctrinal positions of this church?
33. Describe several ethical principles that guide your work.
34. What special services do you conduct throughout the year?
35. What is the purpose of the Lord’s supper? Do you believe it should be open or closed, and how often should it be practiced?
36. Do you believe that there should still be revival meetings? How often?
37. Describe a personal experience that has significantly shaped your own theology.
38. What are your views on the following:
a. God
b. Baptism
c. Jesus
d. Salvation
e. The Holy Spirit
f. The Church
g. The Bible
h. Stewardship
(Back to main Pastor Search Committee Menu)
Our main goal was to be thorough on hitting the primary points. Certainly we may have gone overboard (as DD questions here). I think the main thing we wanted was to be able to answer anyone in the church who might ask us a question “Did you ask him about…..? or “What does Brother Rick think about …?”
Anyway, here’s the list. I would appreciate comments on other questions we might have asked, or (from our pastors out there) what are some of the stranger questions that you’ve been asked?
PASTORAL MINISTRY QUESTIONS
Ministry Experience
1. What have you learned in the congregation you now serve that will make you a better pastor?
2. Describe your weaknesses and your strengths.
3. Describe a ministry experience with the congregation you now serve that captures your greatest strengths.
4. Outside of normal vacation time, how many weeks per year do you like to be away from church doing ministry (revivals, missions, conferences, etc.) and study?
Philosophy of Ministry
5. What attracts you to Lakeview Baptist Church? How long would you like to stay at this church?
6. Describe your leadership style. To what extent are you self-directed in your ministry responsibilities?
7. Describe the mission of your present congregation. In what ways has your ministry influenced this mission?
Worship Leader
8. Describe a typical worship service for which you plan to lead. Do you use an order of service?
9. How do you balance worship so it addresses the needs of different age groups?
10. Have you felt the Holy Spirit leading you to change the service in any way once it has begun and how did you handle that?
Pastoral Care and Counseling
11. Recently, sexual misconduct and internet pornography within the church has become a more visible issue. What safe guards have you initiated to protect yourself and the church from such misconduct?
12. How do you view your role in visiting members and church guests (visitors)?
13. Do you have any restrictions on the performance of marriages? Describe your approach to marriage counseling.
14. What is your counseling philosophy?
15. Do you consider yourself a counselor? What type of counseling do you perform?
16. How do you equip church members to provide care to other congregational members?
17. Give us an example of a typical week of pastoral care activities.
18. As pastor you must be a leader and Lakeview Baptist Church has a history of following the pastor. How will you lead by example in the ministries of Lakeview Baptist Church?
Missions and Evangelism
19. What role does evangelism plan in your current church? (Worship, activites, etc.) Do you view some activities or services being more focused on evangelism than others? Which ones?
20. Some people believe a church can become too big. Others feel that every church should become as large as possible. What’s your view?
21. Compare and contrast outreach vs. soul winning.
22. What is your heart with regards to missions?
Staff Relationships
23. What accountability would be expected among staff members?
24. How comfortable are you in providing direction to staff members?
25. Who should be included in staff meetings?
26. How would you respond to other staff members who in your opinion are doing a poor job?
27. Describe how your management or leadership style affects your relationship with other church staff members?
28. When it comes to support staff, what is your policy with regards to church membership?
29. How do you relate to committees in your church?
Community Relations
30. What responsibility do you feel the church has to respond to the social problems affecting our community?
31. How do church politics on a local, state, regional, and national level figure into your ministry and time?
Personal
32. What motivates you as a pastor?
33. How do you cope with stress?
34. What spiritual disciplines guide your life?
35. Tell us about your devotional life.
36. Have you ever had a crisis of faith? And, if so, how did you work through it? What was learned?
Education
37. What skills do you bring to this position that you believe will serve you and the church well? How did you obtain these skills? How do you apply these skills to your work?
38. What are your intentions as far as continuing your education?
Congregation Life
39. What changes may be in store for our congregation if you become our pastor?
40. Describe your operational strategy during the first 6 months of a church. (How do you set goals, prioritize plans, define and evaluate success?)
41. What church structure do you view as best in helping a congregation to achieve its mission?
42. How have you approached the issues of finance and stewardship with your present congregation?
43. As pastor of a church, you have tremendous influence with that congregation. In your own words, could you explain or describe what that influence is?
44. How would you be willing to handle accountability from the congregation and do you have accountability partners that you meet with regularly? Who are they?
45. Coming from a much smaller congregation, how will you involve the body to help you meet its needs?
Preaching
46. Describe your routine process of preparing sermons.
47. Are there any topics you feel uncomfortable preaching about, such as finances or current moral issues?
48. How much time to you devote to sermon preparation?
49. How do you select sermon topics? Would you consider yourself a topical or exegetical preacher?
Christian Education
50. What is your role in Christian education?
51. What Bible study curriculum do you currently use for the different age groups within your church? How do you determine which to use?
52. What educational programs, other than Sunday School, do you emphasize?
Administration
53. What is the primary role of the deacon body? What responsibilities, priorities or boundaries should be the deacon body have in defining our church ministry?
54. What accountability should exist between the deacon body and the pastoral staff members?
55. Do you have a job description now? What parts of it do you feel confident about performing, and with what parts of it do you feel uncomfortable?
56. In what capacity do you work with committees, deacons, or church leadership and what role will they play in overall church decisions like personnel, vision, finances, and outreach?
Family Life
57. What things would you like the church to do to provide support to your family?
58. If you were to move here, what type of housing would you be looking for?
Questions about our Church
59. What do you see that you like about Lakeview Baptist Church?
60. Are there any concerns about which we have not asked, which might be of a sensitive nature for you or Lakeview Baptist Church?
61. Do you have questions about this position that have not been answered?
THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS
1. Describe the importance of Scripture.
2. Explain the biblical term “baptism of the Spirit.” When does this baptism occur?
3. What are your views on baptism by water?
4. Views on Calvinism?
a. How does the Bible relate the sovereignty of God to salvation?
b. What does the Bible teach about the extent of man’s depravity?
c. What does Christ’s atonement accomplish?
d. What does the Bible teach about the perseverance and preservation of believers?
5. What is the proper use of the Old Testament Law?
6. What is the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament?
7. How would you explain the Trinity? Why is it important?
8. What is your view of end-time or eschatological issues?
9. Do you believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin? What is the significance of your belief?
10. What is your interpretation of the biblical teaching on Hell?
11. What does the Bible teach concerning spiritual gifts? Please delineate your views about prophecy and speaking in tongues.
12. What is your view of divorce and remarriage? How strictly will you follow this view in practice?
13. What is your view of the phrase, “The bishop [pastor] then must be…the husband of one wife” (1 Tim. 3:2)?
14. Please explain your views on church discipline.
15. Many children who appear to be converted at an early age show no evidence of knowing Christ later. How do you handle children when they come to you for counsel concerning conversion? What is your advice to parents?
16. What is a useful plan for receiving new members into the church? What are prerequisites?
17. What are your views on styles of church music?
18. Who should direct the worship of the church? Why? Which methods of leading corporate worship are appropriate? Which are inappropriate?
19. What are your views regarding raising money for various projects within the church? Should the church solicit those outside the church?
20. What are your convictions about the local church and debt?
21. What does the Bible teach about women in ministry?
22. What does the Bible teach about how churches should make decisions?
23. How should a pastor and his church relate to other churches locally and to the larger Southern Baptist body? Do you feel comfortable cooperating with other denominations? Do you draw any lines?
24. What are the biblical responsibilities of elders? Are there any distinctions between elders, pastors, and overseers? If applicable, what distinctions exist between staff and non-staff pastors?
25. What are the biblical responsibilities of deacons? How are deacons and elders to relate?
26. What emphasis do you give to the leadership of fathers with their families, especially in terms of family worship? Do you personally engage in family worship with your wife and children?
27. Are you familiar with the term “missional”? What does it mean?
28. How do you see a difference between being a church planter and a pastor?
29. What does the Bible say about homosexual behavior? Can one be a Christian and a homosexual?
30. What version of the Bible do you preach from?
31. What is your view of the use of the altar for prayer during the worship service?
32. To what degree, if any, do you differ with the historical doctrinal positions of this church?
33. Describe several ethical principles that guide your work.
34. What special services do you conduct throughout the year?
35. What is the purpose of the Lord’s supper? Do you believe it should be open or closed, and how often should it be practiced?
36. Do you believe that there should still be revival meetings? How often?
37. Describe a personal experience that has significantly shaped your own theology.
38. What are your views on the following:
a. God
b. Baptism
c. Jesus
d. Salvation
e. The Holy Spirit
f. The Church
g. The Bible
h. Stewardship
(Back to main Pastor Search Committee Menu)
Monday, July 07, 2008
Mealtime Interview
As a significant part of our process, the interview over a meal was a necessary evil. It’s natural I suppose, to get to know someone over a shared meal, but in most cases it was painfully formal. In fact, with every candidate except the one we selected, the meeting felt more like an interview than a meal. We would talk with the candidate about the recently observed service and then ask a variety of questions that would tell us about the candidate.
We decided against scripting out questions in advance. We felt that it would be too artificial to try to go through and select certain questions that each of us would ask. This meal was the first opportunity for anyone on the committee (outside of myself) to talk to the potential candidate.
A couple of thoughts:
We decided against scripting out questions in advance. We felt that it would be too artificial to try to go through and select certain questions that each of us would ask. This meal was the first opportunity for anyone on the committee (outside of myself) to talk to the potential candidate.
A couple of thoughts:
- As I’ve mentioned before, we decided that every meal we would have a female member of the committee present. This decision invariably helped us afterwards when we discussed how the interview went.
- Candidates should always have questions for the committee. It indicates a lack of preparation at best, or a desire to accept any job opening that comes along at worse, when the candidate asks no questions. The candidate we eventually recommended to the church asked some very pointed and difficult questions, which was refreshing.
- One candidate had a detailed five step plan that God revealed to him that he was going to implement at Lakeview Baptist. I certainly endorse pastoral leadership and think that the pastor has the key leadership role in setting the vision for the church, but we were surprised that he had such a detailed view when he knew nothing about our church.
- We gained a lot of information simply by observing the candidate interact with his wife. We requested that (when possible) the pastor’s wife come to lunch with us. We weren’t so much interested in observing her (I am partial to the demands on the pastor’s wife) but we could more easily see how the candidate treated his wife. This was an area of critical importance to us. One candidate tensed up whenever his wife answered questions and he was clearly worried about what she might have to say. The candidate we eventually called was easy and relaxed as his wife asked us questions or answered questions of our own.
- We were also big fans of the waiter test. We watched closely to see how the candidate interacted with the wait staff at the restaurant. (Obviously, I have a soft spot for the wait staff!)
- The candidate we selected brought his kids (ages 5 and 2) to part of the meal. I would recommend against that, though in his case the kids were well behaved and didn’t detract from the atmosphere of the interview. But as a rule, I'd recommend getting a sitter (I know I did with MY kids).
Having his kids present certainly didn’t hurt his case when a random couple in the restaurant came up and complimented the candidate in front of us and said “What a fine family!” After the couple left we sat there in stunned silence. Then the candidate turned to us with a grin on his face and said “You have no idea how hard it was to plant that couple in this restaurant before we all got here…”
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Checking References
We consulted the references for all of the candidates with whom we made contact. Most candidates included three references, but some did not. From those we secured at least three references. We then divided up the references and had the committee members contact them. At times, some of the committee members knew one of the references and would speak with them. But in most cases, these reference checks formed the first impression of the candidate by the individual committee members. In our case, they were extremely important.
In almost every instance, contacting the references proved to be the most valuable part of the search process.
It provided us much needed perspective on the situation of the pastoral candidate and was illuminating on various occasions. The reference could generally speak on subjects that the candidate was less inclined to speak upon. The references could address any trouble at the church, or trouble in home life that the candidate might not have shared. Conversely, they could point to accomplishments or some other type of acclaim that the candidate might possess but not feel free to share.
We asked each reference the following four questions:
1. In what capacity have you known the candidate? This gave us a context for the information that we would be receiving. For example, in one instance all of the references were friends or other pastors. None of the references had ever heard the candidate preach before.
2. How would you evaluate his giftedness as a pastor, and in your estimation, what are his strengths and weaknesses? As might be expected, most all of the references were positive and offered numerous examples of strengths. Weaknesses were more difficult to ferret out. Some simply said “I can think of no weaknesses” which means that the reference was either disingenuous (unlikely) or didn’t know the candidate particularly well (more likely). One reference said that the candidate’s only weakness was that he cheered for the college football team of a neighboring state!
But some weaknesses were helpful. One reference said of a candidate that he struggled with feeling despondent and depressed with some regularity. Another reference shared that the pastor’s son had been involved in some illegal activities.
3. Is there any reason we should not call this person to be our pastor? We went fishing with this question, thinking that perhaps some reference might mention a deep secret that would preclude a candidate from the office of pastor. We gained no secret knowledge. The answer in every case was “Nope.”
4. Could you please give us another name that we can discuss this candidate with? We decided to ask for a “one off” reference. This allowed us to speak with people who knew the candidate, but not be limited to references that the candidate alone had chosen. The idea was that this would permit us to speak with someone else who knows the candidate well, but is not necessarily of the candidate’s choosing. I recommend using this question as it put us in contact with someone who usually felt more free to discuss the candidate.
(Back to main Pastor Search Committee Menu)
In almost every instance, contacting the references proved to be the most valuable part of the search process.
It provided us much needed perspective on the situation of the pastoral candidate and was illuminating on various occasions. The reference could generally speak on subjects that the candidate was less inclined to speak upon. The references could address any trouble at the church, or trouble in home life that the candidate might not have shared. Conversely, they could point to accomplishments or some other type of acclaim that the candidate might possess but not feel free to share.
We asked each reference the following four questions:
1. In what capacity have you known the candidate? This gave us a context for the information that we would be receiving. For example, in one instance all of the references were friends or other pastors. None of the references had ever heard the candidate preach before.
2. How would you evaluate his giftedness as a pastor, and in your estimation, what are his strengths and weaknesses? As might be expected, most all of the references were positive and offered numerous examples of strengths. Weaknesses were more difficult to ferret out. Some simply said “I can think of no weaknesses” which means that the reference was either disingenuous (unlikely) or didn’t know the candidate particularly well (more likely). One reference said that the candidate’s only weakness was that he cheered for the college football team of a neighboring state!
But some weaknesses were helpful. One reference said of a candidate that he struggled with feeling despondent and depressed with some regularity. Another reference shared that the pastor’s son had been involved in some illegal activities.
3. Is there any reason we should not call this person to be our pastor? We went fishing with this question, thinking that perhaps some reference might mention a deep secret that would preclude a candidate from the office of pastor. We gained no secret knowledge. The answer in every case was “Nope.”
4. Could you please give us another name that we can discuss this candidate with? We decided to ask for a “one off” reference. This allowed us to speak with people who knew the candidate, but not be limited to references that the candidate alone had chosen. The idea was that this would permit us to speak with someone else who knows the candidate well, but is not necessarily of the candidate’s choosing. I recommend using this question as it put us in contact with someone who usually felt more free to discuss the candidate.
(Back to main Pastor Search Committee Menu)
Sunday, June 01, 2008
A Love That's Stronger Than our Fears (V)
The evening after my presentation I had a conversation with Matthew, a student in my night class. Matthew is an excellent student who has displayed an intense interest in various bible classes I’ve taught over the last few years including two Bible classes (Pentateuch and the Gospels) and one theology (the Problem of Evil).
And he is also gay.
He was president of the Gay/Straight group last year and attended my presentation earlier in the day. Because of our past relationship, I wanted his honest opinion.
Matthew sighed and said that he was disappointed to hear my views. “But, you might as well think homosexuality is sinful, everyone else does” he said with some exasperation. I pointed out to him that I think homosexual acts are sinful, not homosexuality itself. His shrug indicated that he saw my response as a distinction without a difference.
Matthew continued wearily: “You may not believe this Dr. Taran, but I’m a Christian. I don’t believe that God would condemn someone for the way He had made them.” I felt that my role was to listen, and not debate, so I said nothing.
“Remember my friend Nathan?” I nodded. A week before, Matthew told me privately that he was going to miss a few class periods because a good friend of his, Nathan, was dying of HIV. Matthew had sworn to Nathan years before, when he was first diagnosed, that he wouldn’t let Nathan die alone. So Matthew went up to the nursing home for a few days until Nathan died.
“Nathan grew up in a fundamentalist church. And when he came out of the closet in high school, some of the people in that church said some pretty hate filled things to him. But over the last few years of our friendship, I shared with Nathan that there were some good, loving Christians out in the world. Just because he had encountered some vicious people who claimed the name of Christ, doesn’t mean that Jesus was that way.”
“Dr. Taran, because of my witness to Nathan, he came to know the Lord. I firmly believed that he died a Christian.” I shared with Matthew that I certainly hoped that was the case and then we were quiet. "Well, it's getting late. I'll see you later." and Matthew left the classroom.
So where does that leave me? Essentially where I started, but with perhaps more understanding of the outlook of certain homosexuals. I still think that homosexual actions are sinful, but as I told the group, we are all sinners. A person practicing homosexual activity can be a Believer just as an adulterer, glutton or liar can.
But God calls each of us to change….and that includes me. And I believe I’ve changed somewhat through this process. The title of this series has been (in addition to being cribbed from a Derek Webb song about torture) a reminder that we are called to go and be among the sinners, even when it involves overcoming a fear of how a group might treat us. Even when sharing the gospel in hostile settings, “the love of Christ compels us.” That is an ideal to live up to, and one I'm pretty miserable at following.
(With school beginning again tomorrow, I anticipate more time to finish out the extended series on our Pastor Search Committee. We'll see!)
And he is also gay.
He was president of the Gay/Straight group last year and attended my presentation earlier in the day. Because of our past relationship, I wanted his honest opinion.
Matthew sighed and said that he was disappointed to hear my views. “But, you might as well think homosexuality is sinful, everyone else does” he said with some exasperation. I pointed out to him that I think homosexual acts are sinful, not homosexuality itself. His shrug indicated that he saw my response as a distinction without a difference.
Matthew continued wearily: “You may not believe this Dr. Taran, but I’m a Christian. I don’t believe that God would condemn someone for the way He had made them.” I felt that my role was to listen, and not debate, so I said nothing.
“Remember my friend Nathan?” I nodded. A week before, Matthew told me privately that he was going to miss a few class periods because a good friend of his, Nathan, was dying of HIV. Matthew had sworn to Nathan years before, when he was first diagnosed, that he wouldn’t let Nathan die alone. So Matthew went up to the nursing home for a few days until Nathan died.
“Nathan grew up in a fundamentalist church. And when he came out of the closet in high school, some of the people in that church said some pretty hate filled things to him. But over the last few years of our friendship, I shared with Nathan that there were some good, loving Christians out in the world. Just because he had encountered some vicious people who claimed the name of Christ, doesn’t mean that Jesus was that way.”
“Dr. Taran, because of my witness to Nathan, he came to know the Lord. I firmly believed that he died a Christian.” I shared with Matthew that I certainly hoped that was the case and then we were quiet. "Well, it's getting late. I'll see you later." and Matthew left the classroom.
So where does that leave me? Essentially where I started, but with perhaps more understanding of the outlook of certain homosexuals. I still think that homosexual actions are sinful, but as I told the group, we are all sinners. A person practicing homosexual activity can be a Believer just as an adulterer, glutton or liar can.
But God calls each of us to change….and that includes me. And I believe I’ve changed somewhat through this process. The title of this series has been (in addition to being cribbed from a Derek Webb song about torture) a reminder that we are called to go and be among the sinners, even when it involves overcoming a fear of how a group might treat us. Even when sharing the gospel in hostile settings, “the love of Christ compels us.” That is an ideal to live up to, and one I'm pretty miserable at following.
(With school beginning again tomorrow, I anticipate more time to finish out the extended series on our Pastor Search Committee. We'll see!)
Monday, May 26, 2008
Tornado
Friends,
Kadie and I have been on vacation (and will be throughout this next week) so I've been away from internet access. I was stunned to find out that the tornadoes that hit Colorado this last week struck the area around Cornerstone Baptist Church in Windsor. Cornerstone's pastor is Dave Samples, an occasional commentator on this blog. Please keep him and Cornerstone Baptist in your prayers as they minister to a reeling community. I enclose a recent email he sent out:
Dear Friends,
The days have been moving very quickly as our church and our community digs out from the rubble left by the tornado. Words just can’t express the level of destruction that our community has survived. The fact that the largest amount of destruction happened within a few blocks of our church has given all of us at Cornerstone a great ministry of care.
Cleanup of the Cornerstone campus began Saturday morning at about 10:00 once we were given permission to return to the property. Access was limited and controlled by the National Guard but I believe that everyone who attempted to reach the church on Saturday morning was allowed in. The work went quickly with the Colorado Disaster Relief Team being the first on the scene. They did some clean up of the parking lot area including the removal of a light pole that had fallen in the middle of the parking lot. The Disaster Relief Team left our facility and made their first stop at the home of one of our neighbors who happen to be elderly. The older couple was attempting to clean the debris from their yard and they were extremely grateful to the have the help of the team. The Team has chainsaws and was able to take out some trees and moved a great deal of debris very quickly. As the Disaster Relief Team moved out…our guys and girls from Cornerstone moved in and spent the day cleaning and making temporary repairs to our property. We are thankful to Excel Energy who stopped by and turned on our electricity on Saturday afternoon. We are also grateful to the “CO CAT” Company who assisted us in boarding up and tarping the places where the roof was missing. They did a lot of work absolutely free of charge. Someone was set up by McDonald’s giving away free lumber which we used to board up windows. I don’t even know who that was but—we are thankful. As the church building was being repaired, others were moving out into the community helping with cleanup and tree removal. Several chaplains from our church as well as the disaster relief team were walking the community and meeting needs. It’s interesting that within the past year at least five of our members have undergone disaster relief training with our state convention. It’s amazing how God has prepared us for this event.
Our property is the center of the disaster relief and clean up effort. We have fire, police, medical, and a Salvation Army feeding unit all working from our church. This is giving our church great exposure in terms of meeting needs and reaching our community. It’s rare to see any news about the Windsor tornado without seeing a shot of our church building. Fox 31 carried a feature on our Sunday morning worship service this evening. Worship went well today with 249 worshippers. The testimonies were very moving in each service. God is truly doing a work in us and through us.
One of the needs that have been identified is for childcare while parents are cleaning and repairing. Liz Simper is working to put something together to meet this need. Contact her if you would like to help.
My apologies to those of you who have yet to get a return email or phone call. I have much to do in the way replying to communication. It’s amazing how much accumulates when you don’t have electricity.
Blessings upon you!
Pastor Dave
(Taran: Pray for the church and her pastor. Pray that God's grace will be channeled through their efforts. Look for updates at Dave's blog.)
Kadie and I have been on vacation (and will be throughout this next week) so I've been away from internet access. I was stunned to find out that the tornadoes that hit Colorado this last week struck the area around Cornerstone Baptist Church in Windsor. Cornerstone's pastor is Dave Samples, an occasional commentator on this blog. Please keep him and Cornerstone Baptist in your prayers as they minister to a reeling community. I enclose a recent email he sent out:
Dear Friends,
The days have been moving very quickly as our church and our community digs out from the rubble left by the tornado. Words just can’t express the level of destruction that our community has survived. The fact that the largest amount of destruction happened within a few blocks of our church has given all of us at Cornerstone a great ministry of care.
Cleanup of the Cornerstone campus began Saturday morning at about 10:00 once we were given permission to return to the property. Access was limited and controlled by the National Guard but I believe that everyone who attempted to reach the church on Saturday morning was allowed in. The work went quickly with the Colorado Disaster Relief Team being the first on the scene. They did some clean up of the parking lot area including the removal of a light pole that had fallen in the middle of the parking lot. The Disaster Relief Team left our facility and made their first stop at the home of one of our neighbors who happen to be elderly. The older couple was attempting to clean the debris from their yard and they were extremely grateful to the have the help of the team. The Team has chainsaws and was able to take out some trees and moved a great deal of debris very quickly. As the Disaster Relief Team moved out…our guys and girls from Cornerstone moved in and spent the day cleaning and making temporary repairs to our property. We are thankful to Excel Energy who stopped by and turned on our electricity on Saturday afternoon. We are also grateful to the “CO CAT” Company who assisted us in boarding up and tarping the places where the roof was missing. They did a lot of work absolutely free of charge. Someone was set up by McDonald’s giving away free lumber which we used to board up windows. I don’t even know who that was but—we are thankful. As the church building was being repaired, others were moving out into the community helping with cleanup and tree removal. Several chaplains from our church as well as the disaster relief team were walking the community and meeting needs. It’s interesting that within the past year at least five of our members have undergone disaster relief training with our state convention. It’s amazing how God has prepared us for this event.
Our property is the center of the disaster relief and clean up effort. We have fire, police, medical, and a Salvation Army feeding unit all working from our church. This is giving our church great exposure in terms of meeting needs and reaching our community. It’s rare to see any news about the Windsor tornado without seeing a shot of our church building. Fox 31 carried a feature on our Sunday morning worship service this evening. Worship went well today with 249 worshippers. The testimonies were very moving in each service. God is truly doing a work in us and through us.
One of the needs that have been identified is for childcare while parents are cleaning and repairing. Liz Simper is working to put something together to meet this need. Contact her if you would like to help.
My apologies to those of you who have yet to get a return email or phone call. I have much to do in the way replying to communication. It’s amazing how much accumulates when you don’t have electricity.
Blessings upon you!
Pastor Dave
(Taran: Pray for the church and her pastor. Pray that God's grace will be channeled through their efforts. Look for updates at Dave's blog.)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A Love That's Stronger Than our Fears (IV)
Several questions were generated by my review:
Why are Southern Baptists in particular so anti-homosexual in their views?
Several students asked me about what I thought of the Bishops Spong and Robinson.
The faculty advisor of the group asked me why homosexuality is considered a worse sin than adultery. “Jesus teaches that divorce is equivalent to adultery and we have many people who attend church that are divorced. Why are homosexuals treated differently?”
Some questions about how homosexuality is treated in the Bible.
Providing an odd ending to the meeting was a young man, who had never before attended this group. (He rminded me of Elihu). He said “All of you are missing the key question in this discussion: What about Jesus? You have all missed this point!” The faculty advisor replied “Those are your questions, but not the ones we are discussing today.”
I then told him that this setting was not the proper venue for a theological discussion just as one would not go to an accounting club meeting and ask everyone to talk about the exclusivity of salvation in Christ. He then turned to (on?) me and said “You’ve been doing nothing but dancing with words throughout this meeting. You are dancing around the most important issue of all!”
I replied “I am greatly insulted that you say I’m doing nothing but dancing with words. I carefully chose the words I’ve used and I am offended that you would characterize my discussion as dancing.
Mostly because I told you earlier that I’m Southern Baptist and I do not dance.”
Tomorrow, a final post script on the discussion.
Why are Southern Baptists in particular so anti-homosexual in their views?
Several students asked me about what I thought of the Bishops Spong and Robinson.
The faculty advisor of the group asked me why homosexuality is considered a worse sin than adultery. “Jesus teaches that divorce is equivalent to adultery and we have many people who attend church that are divorced. Why are homosexuals treated differently?”
Some questions about how homosexuality is treated in the Bible.
Providing an odd ending to the meeting was a young man, who had never before attended this group. (He rminded me of Elihu). He said “All of you are missing the key question in this discussion: What about Jesus? You have all missed this point!” The faculty advisor replied “Those are your questions, but not the ones we are discussing today.”
I then told him that this setting was not the proper venue for a theological discussion just as one would not go to an accounting club meeting and ask everyone to talk about the exclusivity of salvation in Christ. He then turned to (on?) me and said “You’ve been doing nothing but dancing with words throughout this meeting. You are dancing around the most important issue of all!”
I replied “I am greatly insulted that you say I’m doing nothing but dancing with words. I carefully chose the words I’ve used and I am offended that you would characterize my discussion as dancing.
Mostly because I told you earlier that I’m Southern Baptist and I do not dance.”
Tomorrow, a final post script on the discussion.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A Love That's Stronger Than our Fears (III)
(Sorry for the delay. I shouldn’t start a series during finals week and right as our pastor search nears its completion).
After my review of UnChristian (see here and here) I addressed the Gay/Straight group with some suggestions for how Homosexuals and Evangelicals could move forward:
First, both sides need to recognize that there is a wide range of response to homosexuals in the Christian community. At one extreme are those who both welcome and affirm homosexual behavior (certain mainline denominations, certain individual churches). At the other extreme are those churches who neither welcome, nor affirm (numerous fundamentalist churches who set aside the sin of homosexual acts as particularly heinous).
So there is not one set response of the church to these issues. A more helpful approach is one that welcomes all to worship and bible study, but does not affirm all expressions of sexuality. Indeed, I think that the response most closely aligning with Scripture is to welcome all homosexuals, as we welcome all adulturers, drunkards, gluttons, liars, ones who lust and ones who are consumed with pride. We welcome them all, but affirm none of these individual sins.
Our stance should be welcoming, but not affirming. (Completely cribbed from Stanley Grenz’s excellent work by that same name).
A second suggestion is that homosexuals and evangelicals can dialogue on these issues. But only if we offer one another honest dialogue. Platitudes merely mask over the genuine differences between these two groups. As I told them, “I need to be able to tell you unashamedly that homosexual actions are described as sinful by the Bible and are therefore immoral. And you need to be able to tell me just as honestly that you consider my perspective to be bigoted and also immoral.”
As Christians, we must lovingly and honestly share the full measure of the gospel with others.
A third suggestion is that homosexuals and Evangelicals need to avoid stereotyping one another. There is a great quote in UnChristian by a Christian who is talking to an angry homosexual. This man had been deeply wounded by past actions of the church. He talkes about the anti-homosexual hatred that flows from the mouths of some so-called Christians. Finally the Christian said “Let’s make a deal. You don’t assume that all evangelicals think like Pat Robertson and I won’t assume that all homosexuals are pedophiles.”
Stereotyping reduces people to caricatures and objectifies them. As soon as we stereotype people, they can become objects instead of creatures made in the image of God.
Lastly, we can work together in some areas of common ministry. The evangelical church, by and large, has done a miserable job of ministering to AIDS patients. We can work with those suffering from HIV. We can also work to end non-religious workplace discrimination against all people, including gays.
Note that on other issues (e.g. same sex marriage, advocating homosexuality in public schools) we agree to disagree and may even work against one another in certain instances.
5. Lastly I shared with them that people don’t go to hell because they are homosexuals. Everyone sins and that no one goes to hell because of what they do or who they are. People go to hell only because of what they do with Jesus.
After my review of UnChristian (see here and here) I addressed the Gay/Straight group with some suggestions for how Homosexuals and Evangelicals could move forward:
First, both sides need to recognize that there is a wide range of response to homosexuals in the Christian community. At one extreme are those who both welcome and affirm homosexual behavior (certain mainline denominations, certain individual churches). At the other extreme are those churches who neither welcome, nor affirm (numerous fundamentalist churches who set aside the sin of homosexual acts as particularly heinous).
So there is not one set response of the church to these issues. A more helpful approach is one that welcomes all to worship and bible study, but does not affirm all expressions of sexuality. Indeed, I think that the response most closely aligning with Scripture is to welcome all homosexuals, as we welcome all adulturers, drunkards, gluttons, liars, ones who lust and ones who are consumed with pride. We welcome them all, but affirm none of these individual sins.
Our stance should be welcoming, but not affirming. (Completely cribbed from Stanley Grenz’s excellent work by that same name).
A second suggestion is that homosexuals and evangelicals can dialogue on these issues. But only if we offer one another honest dialogue. Platitudes merely mask over the genuine differences between these two groups. As I told them, “I need to be able to tell you unashamedly that homosexual actions are described as sinful by the Bible and are therefore immoral. And you need to be able to tell me just as honestly that you consider my perspective to be bigoted and also immoral.”
As Christians, we must lovingly and honestly share the full measure of the gospel with others.
A third suggestion is that homosexuals and Evangelicals need to avoid stereotyping one another. There is a great quote in UnChristian by a Christian who is talking to an angry homosexual. This man had been deeply wounded by past actions of the church. He talkes about the anti-homosexual hatred that flows from the mouths of some so-called Christians. Finally the Christian said “Let’s make a deal. You don’t assume that all evangelicals think like Pat Robertson and I won’t assume that all homosexuals are pedophiles.”
Stereotyping reduces people to caricatures and objectifies them. As soon as we stereotype people, they can become objects instead of creatures made in the image of God.
Lastly, we can work together in some areas of common ministry. The evangelical church, by and large, has done a miserable job of ministering to AIDS patients. We can work with those suffering from HIV. We can also work to end non-religious workplace discrimination against all people, including gays.
Note that on other issues (e.g. same sex marriage, advocating homosexuality in public schools) we agree to disagree and may even work against one another in certain instances.
5. Lastly I shared with them that people don’t go to hell because they are homosexuals. Everyone sins and that no one goes to hell because of what they do or who they are. People go to hell only because of what they do with Jesus.
Following these points, we had a discussion that led in some interesting directions. I’ll summarize it tomorrow.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
A Love That's Stronger Than our Fears (I)
**Note, I'm tired of thinking about PSC stuff right now, so the next few posts will cover an experience I had this week***
Last year I was asked to speak at a Gay and Lesbian support group on campus. The faculty advisor is an agnostic, but understands the importance of faith in the lives of people (particularly in our section of the South). The topic she asked me to address was what the Bible teaches about homosexual acts After much prayer and no small degree of anguish I accepted, knowing that my views would run counter to those of the members of the group as well as the advisor. But the students were respectful and though some (obviously) challenged my readings of the texts, the conversation was quite courteous.
A couple of months ago she asked me to come back and give a book review of a recent Barna book called UnChristian (a book that Benjie is also currently working through). This book presents research showing what outsiders (nonbelievers) think of evangelical Christianity. One chapter of the book shows that outsiders perceive Christians as being fundamentally anti-homosexual. Because of this perspective, the faculty advisor asked me to come by and review the work.
With everything else on my plate, I was less that receptive to going back. Last year’s presentation required a lot of preparation and mental energy that I wasn’t sure I would have. Some friends at church advised against going telling me “It is a set up, a trap!” But after much prayer and thinking about how to respond, it was my brother Bartolo who crystallized it for me. He asked me a simple question “Would Jesus go to their meeting?”
Without hesitation I knew the answer, he would. And if he would, then I obviously would need to do so.
I hate it when Bartolo gives me sound advice...(at least it doesn't happen too often ;)
Last year I was asked to speak at a Gay and Lesbian support group on campus. The faculty advisor is an agnostic, but understands the importance of faith in the lives of people (particularly in our section of the South). The topic she asked me to address was what the Bible teaches about homosexual acts After much prayer and no small degree of anguish I accepted, knowing that my views would run counter to those of the members of the group as well as the advisor. But the students were respectful and though some (obviously) challenged my readings of the texts, the conversation was quite courteous.
A couple of months ago she asked me to come back and give a book review of a recent Barna book called UnChristian (a book that Benjie is also currently working through). This book presents research showing what outsiders (nonbelievers) think of evangelical Christianity. One chapter of the book shows that outsiders perceive Christians as being fundamentally anti-homosexual. Because of this perspective, the faculty advisor asked me to come by and review the work.
With everything else on my plate, I was less that receptive to going back. Last year’s presentation required a lot of preparation and mental energy that I wasn’t sure I would have. Some friends at church advised against going telling me “It is a set up, a trap!” But after much prayer and thinking about how to respond, it was my brother Bartolo who crystallized it for me. He asked me a simple question “Would Jesus go to their meeting?”
Without hesitation I knew the answer, he would. And if he would, then I obviously would need to do so.
I hate it when Bartolo gives me sound advice...(at least it doesn't happen too often ;)
Thursday, April 03, 2008
How to Sabotage Your Church
Bob Perry is the President of the Organizational Health Associates with extensive experience troubleshooting congregational conflict. Perry, in the vein of the Screwtape Letters (except without all the demons), wrote a recent article called “How to Sabotage Your Church” In this article, he offers advice in how to disrupt the unity and cause division in your local church. He then offers some guidance for church leaders confronting these issues.
He writes that if you really want to sabotage your church, then do the following (I added the last two thoughts):
1. Threaten to leave the church. (the spoiled brat syndrome).
2. Threaten to withhold your offerings. (Using stewardship to manipulate others)
3. Create unhealthy triangles. Involve third parties in your conflicts with others. When you have a conflict with another, instead of continuing to work on the problem, recruit allies and marshal your forces to destroy the other.
4. Sow negativism – fostering a “here we go again” whenever problems or issues arise. Instead of keeping unhealthy criticism to oneself, you should make an effort to call others and share with them your negative attitude as well.
5. Become the “clearinghouse” for complaints. That is, become the one to whom people go to express their negativity, realizing that you will cultivate and encourage their negative spirit through listening to and affirming their views.
(I add two more)
6. Avoiding confrontation at all costs. Any problems will recede and finally go away if we simply ignore them and pretend that they don’t exist.
7. Centralize power in the hands of one. A sincere church leader will never misuse sole authority.
Other suggestions?
He writes that if you really want to sabotage your church, then do the following (I added the last two thoughts):
1. Threaten to leave the church. (the spoiled brat syndrome).
2. Threaten to withhold your offerings. (Using stewardship to manipulate others)
3. Create unhealthy triangles. Involve third parties in your conflicts with others. When you have a conflict with another, instead of continuing to work on the problem, recruit allies and marshal your forces to destroy the other.
4. Sow negativism – fostering a “here we go again” whenever problems or issues arise. Instead of keeping unhealthy criticism to oneself, you should make an effort to call others and share with them your negative attitude as well.
5. Become the “clearinghouse” for complaints. That is, become the one to whom people go to express their negativity, realizing that you will cultivate and encourage their negative spirit through listening to and affirming their views.
(I add two more)
6. Avoiding confrontation at all costs. Any problems will recede and finally go away if we simply ignore them and pretend that they don’t exist.
7. Centralize power in the hands of one. A sincere church leader will never misuse sole authority.
Other suggestions?
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Why Behind the Tradition
I've noticed an interesting dynamic at work at my home church, Lakeview. I suspect it plays out in most other churches as well. As I’ve outlined before, I had a mixed experience with our previous pastor. Although he was more autocratic than I am comfortable with, he was benevolent in how he exercised his authority.
Over the thirteen years he was pastor, the church took on his image. One example is how he emphasized the importance of love and reaching out to all people regardless of race or socio-economic status. The church has embraced that mind set, a mind set that it definitely didn’t have before his arriva l. But it is fascinating to see how the church has continued on in his absence.
After six months in which one staff member and two members of the congregation shared the pulpit (not at the same time), we called an interim pastor to the church. He is in his seventies, but full of energy and with decades of pastoral experience. But most of all, he meets the most important rule for the interim pastor: Primum non Nocere.
After he arrived, he noticed something unusual. Our previous pastor didn’t like to pass offering plates. We’ve had offering boxes at each exit for as long as I’ve been a member. When the topic would come up, our pastor would quickly say “We thought about it carefully and made that decision so that we don’t interrupt the flow of the service.” Although there were some who disagreed with the practice, it was never a big enough issue to become divisive. Our new interim simply asked the deacons, the staff, and some of the church leaders is they wouldn’t mind passing the plates again (leaving the boxes at the entrances for those who preferred that method). He found that no one opposed the i dea of the offering plate.
So last Sunday, with little fanfare, he preached a sermon on tithing and we passed the plates. I heard no opposition or grumbling about the plates after the service and our tithe was over twice our normal average.
No real major point to this I suppose, except that as a church member, it would probably be a good iddea to revisit the "whys" of our church traditions. If we do something merely because we've always done it that way before, it should be revisited. I’m also intrigued by how willing a church is to follow their pastor, even when, at the end of the day, they aren’t particularly in agreement with him on an issue.
After six months in which one staff member and two members of the congregation shared the pulpit (not at the same time), we called an interim pastor to the church. He is in his seventies, but full of energy and with decades of pastoral experience. But most of all, he meets the most important rule for the interim pastor: Primum non Nocere.
After he arrived, he noticed something unusual. Our previous pastor didn’t like to pass offering plates. We’ve had offering boxes at each exit for as long as I’ve been a member. When the topic would come up, our pastor would quickly say “We thought about it carefully and made that decision so that we don’t interrupt the flow of the service.” Although there were some who disagreed with the practice, it was never a big enough issue to become divisive. Our new interim simply asked the deacons, the staff, and some of the church leaders is they wouldn’t mind passing the plates again (leaving the boxes at the entrances for those who preferred that method). He found that no one opposed the i dea of the offering plate.
So last Sunday, with little fanfare, he preached a sermon on tithing and we passed the plates. I heard no opposition or grumbling about the plates after the service and our tithe was over twice our normal average.
No real major point to this I suppose, except that as a church member, it would probably be a good iddea to revisit the "whys" of our church traditions. If we do something merely because we've always done it that way before, it should be revisited. I’m also intrigued by how willing a church is to follow their pastor, even when, at the end of the day, they aren’t particularly in agreement with him on an issue.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
A Death
A colleague’s 30 year old daughter died this week and the funeral was this morning. During the process of grieving with a colleague in a loss of this magnitude, I was struck again with how unusual the pastoral ministry is. As a pastor, I grew accustomed to hospital visits and to spending time with grieving families during highly emotional situations. But most people aren’t experienced with these types of situations. For many, hospital visits and trips to the visitation time at the funeral home are necessarily awkward and simply to be endured. Although these times bring devastation into the lives of people, I think it is their rarity that causes people to respond in surprising ways.
Shortly after speaking to the colleague I was asked by another coworker “How did he sound?” I struggled for a moment before answering. I’m still not sure what answer they were looking for. Another colleague was angry because someone in the College of Business found out about her death before he did. “They are in a completely different college and I am in his own department. That’s not right!” I told him that shocking news like this can be difficult to direct.
I am convinced that one reason why people so often say the wrong things to those who are grieving is because there is no right thing to say. It is a reminder of the tremendous power that death holds over our society.
Most often, the best response is the response of Job’s friends when they first arrive on the scene of the mournful Job. “They sat with [Job] on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a wordto him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.” Job 3:13. Job’s friends take a lot of heat for their subsequent diatribes, but it was their silent suffering alongside Job that gave them credibility in his eyes for their later conversation. Sometimes silent presence can be a tremendous source of comfort.
Please pray for my colleague and his loss.
Shortly after speaking to the colleague I was asked by another coworker “How did he sound?” I struggled for a moment before answering. I’m still not sure what answer they were looking for. Another colleague was angry because someone in the College of Business found out about her death before he did. “They are in a completely different college and I am in his own department. That’s not right!” I told him that shocking news like this can be difficult to direct.
I am convinced that one reason why people so often say the wrong things to those who are grieving is because there is no right thing to say. It is a reminder of the tremendous power that death holds over our society.
Most often, the best response is the response of Job’s friends when they first arrive on the scene of the mournful Job. “They sat with [Job] on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a wordto him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.” Job 3:13. Job’s friends take a lot of heat for their subsequent diatribes, but it was their silent suffering alongside Job that gave them credibility in his eyes for their later conversation. Sometimes silent presence can be a tremendous source of comfort.
Please pray for my colleague and his loss.
Monday, February 04, 2008
DeMarcus
His enormous, black hands began to tremble as he took out a pencil to write down my email address on a sheet of paper. We were in my office, sitting down across from each other with only my desk between us. DeMarcus had come down from our Hebrew class to follow up on a few questions he had asked in class. He’s a large man, about mid-thirties, who's led a difficult life. DeMarcus was involved in various criminal activities as a teenager before coming to faith in Christ.
He didn’t have the patience to excel in his college classes and ditched them for a career in construction. When the hurricanes came to the coast, he traveled throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama working hard. But he felt God calling him into the ministry and was now a pastor in a local African-American Baptist church.
DeMarcus is one of the top students in my class, but in my weaker moments he pushes my patience. Every teaching point I raise brings a question to his lips. He asks some questions that are at least tangentially relate to the topic at hand “Did the High Priest have a rope attached to him on Yom Kippur?” “”What does amen really mean?” “What’s the difference between seraphim and cherubim?” Other questions matter much less in our Hebrew class “Why do preachers raise their hand when they baptize someone?” “How often does the Bible say we should partake of the Lord’s Supper?” “Did Isaiah and Micah know each other?” I’ll patiently (and at times impatiently) explain that this class isn’t a at a seminary and we need to stick to the subject at hand (although when the subject involves Hebrew participles and construct nouns, I too am tempted to wander).
When he came into my office I took the opportunity to hear his story and find out a little about him. He explained to me why this class is important to him.
“You see Doc,” he began uncomfortably, “in the Baptist churches of my tradition there aren’t many of our pastors who have any education beyond High School. That’s one reason why I came back to finish up my degree. I study hard because I have to face the congregation. And every Sunday morning, when I’m standing in that pulpit, I have to get it right!”
His voice found new intensity at this last phrase. I told him I understood, and then he left the room.
I often wrestle with the fact that I’m not teaching at a Christian institution. I grow weary at times of keeping my light under a bushel. I suspect that often, I too pepper Him with many frivolous questions about my “secular” job and why I’m not working somewhere else.
But once in awhile Christ allows me to see a glimpse of Himself working through me. And that’s gratifying.
He didn’t have the patience to excel in his college classes and ditched them for a career in construction. When the hurricanes came to the coast, he traveled throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama working hard. But he felt God calling him into the ministry and was now a pastor in a local African-American Baptist church.
DeMarcus is one of the top students in my class, but in my weaker moments he pushes my patience. Every teaching point I raise brings a question to his lips. He asks some questions that are at least tangentially relate to the topic at hand “Did the High Priest have a rope attached to him on Yom Kippur?” “”What does amen really mean?” “What’s the difference between seraphim and cherubim?” Other questions matter much less in our Hebrew class “Why do preachers raise their hand when they baptize someone?” “How often does the Bible say we should partake of the Lord’s Supper?” “Did Isaiah and Micah know each other?” I’ll patiently (and at times impatiently) explain that this class isn’t a at a seminary and we need to stick to the subject at hand (although when the subject involves Hebrew participles and construct nouns, I too am tempted to wander).
When he came into my office I took the opportunity to hear his story and find out a little about him. He explained to me why this class is important to him.
“You see Doc,” he began uncomfortably, “in the Baptist churches of my tradition there aren’t many of our pastors who have any education beyond High School. That’s one reason why I came back to finish up my degree. I study hard because I have to face the congregation. And every Sunday morning, when I’m standing in that pulpit, I have to get it right!”
His voice found new intensity at this last phrase. I told him I understood, and then he left the room.
I often wrestle with the fact that I’m not teaching at a Christian institution. I grow weary at times of keeping my light under a bushel. I suspect that often, I too pepper Him with many frivolous questions about my “secular” job and why I’m not working somewhere else.
But once in awhile Christ allows me to see a glimpse of Himself working through me. And that’s gratifying.
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