Do you remember meeting your mate? Perhaps, looking back, there is an awareness that God had been cultivating your life; grooming you for the right person. God matched you with another. A person who had like interests and challenges you, like Jack Nicholson, someone who "makes me want to be a better man."
It is good to approach ministry in the same view as marriage; that there is an expectation that God will use it to impact your life, the churches' life. There should also be the same thoughtful preparation; building a relationship of trust to commit toward devotion and faithfulness. You must be able to look at a potential partner and understand and know them well enough to make a reasonable assumption of how they match your goals. You must understand yourself well enough to give them a chance to make the same decisions. When two parties come with a romanticized idea of what the relationship will be, anyone can see the trouble ahead. Maturity requires that you know them, you know yourself, and you let them know yourself.
The author of "Confirming the Pastoral Call," Joseph Umidi, notes that there is a significant crisis of a "haphazard approach to matching the church's needs with a pastoral candidate's strength and calling. It only results with disillusionment and unfulfilled expectations. Many pastors are disillusioned by the expectations of ministry. Many parishioners are unfulfilled by the limitations of their pastors. It is pointed out that 1 in 6 of pastors quit each year, and many due to these disillusionments. Also, the author refers to research by George Barna finding that the average tenure for senior pastors has decreased from seven years to four years. This only compounds the problem of unfulfillment when the research concluded that the most effective and enriching church ministries are those that are led by pastors who have invested at least six years in the same church community.
Two main parties to blame for the degradation of pastoral ministry is 1) an unrealistic church and 2) a disillusioned pastor. Occasion for problems stem from expectations that were not communicated before staff was hired. This book sounds an alarming stat; often, when pastors are forced out, it is because of a conflict with a small power clique and it was a problem before they were hired . The point comes across in this: "The majority of these pastors felt that the church's leaders had been deliberately dishonest during the interview..." The same is said for pastors who also were hired without real scrutiny. This isn't a cause to be paranoid, but, rather a chance to be aware of what expectations each party might have that is hindering God's purpose.
The search for the right pastor does not always end up with everyone feeling the peace of God in their heart. But, every search must continually be made by people who are willing to prayerfully examine their own expectations. This doesn't mean just the search committee. When you encounter criticism spilling out, accept that it merely reveals that our hearts were already full of expectations that had taken up space within us. Often, it is only because we didn't think about them.
This is the main point of the chapter. Be honest as a church and as a candidate. Everyone in the church contributes to the health of the church. Each of us has our own expectations. Often, we hide them from ourselves. We'll let the 'leadership' make the choices, not because we trust them, but because we can absolve ourselves of responsibility. We need so seek responsibility ourselves. Prayer is the first way. Have you been a responsible member of Hinson? Are you praying about this as much as others? Prayer should be the main identity of us all. Secondly, be involved even if it is just being informed. This practices accountability for yourself and for the leadership.
A quote I encountered recently says, "Every man blames fate for his misfortunes in life, but when he will accept full credit for a hole in one." It is never easy to know God's will in a matter. You can only make choices knowing God well. Many times the people want the popular choice, like Saul, when God's heart requires a David. Come to know God well and look through his heart.
This process of examination and searching might dredge up some anxiety and guilt, or maybe resentment and frustration. This chapter can't conclude until you deal with this. It will be a process of examination, discovering expectations and dealing with them. Don't let fear force you to stifle your discoveries. I urge you to read the next chapter to find out how to move forward with these expectations.
It is good to approach ministry in the same view as marriage; that there is an expectation that God will use it to impact your life, the churches' life. There should also be the same thoughtful preparation; building a relationship of trust to commit toward devotion and faithfulness. You must be able to look at a potential partner and understand and know them well enough to make a reasonable assumption of how they match your goals. You must understand yourself well enough to give them a chance to make the same decisions. When two parties come with a romanticized idea of what the relationship will be, anyone can see the trouble ahead. Maturity requires that you know them, you know yourself, and you let them know yourself.
The author of "Confirming the Pastoral Call," Joseph Umidi, notes that there is a significant crisis of a "haphazard approach to matching the church's needs with a pastoral candidate's strength and calling. It only results with disillusionment and unfulfilled expectations. Many pastors are disillusioned by the expectations of ministry. Many parishioners are unfulfilled by the limitations of their pastors. It is pointed out that 1 in 6 of pastors quit each year, and many due to these disillusionments. Also, the author refers to research by George Barna finding that the average tenure for senior pastors has decreased from seven years to four years. This only compounds the problem of unfulfillment when the research concluded that the most effective and enriching church ministries are those that are led by pastors who have invested at least six years in the same church community.
Two main parties to blame for the degradation of pastoral ministry is 1) an unrealistic church and 2) a disillusioned pastor. Occasion for problems stem from expectations that were not communicated before staff was hired. This book sounds an alarming stat; often, when pastors are forced out, it is because of a conflict with a small power clique and it was a problem before they were hired . The point comes across in this: "The majority of these pastors felt that the church's leaders had been deliberately dishonest during the interview..." The same is said for pastors who also were hired without real scrutiny. This isn't a cause to be paranoid, but, rather a chance to be aware of what expectations each party might have that is hindering God's purpose.
The search for the right pastor does not always end up with everyone feeling the peace of God in their heart. But, every search must continually be made by people who are willing to prayerfully examine their own expectations. This doesn't mean just the search committee. When you encounter criticism spilling out, accept that it merely reveals that our hearts were already full of expectations that had taken up space within us. Often, it is only because we didn't think about them.
This is the main point of the chapter. Be honest as a church and as a candidate. Everyone in the church contributes to the health of the church. Each of us has our own expectations. Often, we hide them from ourselves. We'll let the 'leadership' make the choices, not because we trust them, but because we can absolve ourselves of responsibility. We need so seek responsibility ourselves. Prayer is the first way. Have you been a responsible member of Hinson? Are you praying about this as much as others? Prayer should be the main identity of us all. Secondly, be involved even if it is just being informed. This practices accountability for yourself and for the leadership.
A quote I encountered recently says, "Every man blames fate for his misfortunes in life, but when he will accept full credit for a hole in one." It is never easy to know God's will in a matter. You can only make choices knowing God well. Many times the people want the popular choice, like Saul, when God's heart requires a David. Come to know God well and look through his heart.
This process of examination and searching might dredge up some anxiety and guilt, or maybe resentment and frustration. This chapter can't conclude until you deal with this. It will be a process of examination, discovering expectations and dealing with them. Don't let fear force you to stifle your discoveries. I urge you to read the next chapter to find out how to move forward with these expectations.
Great thoughts, Jason! Thank you for being such a leader in our home. I love you! Margie♥
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