Yesterday, in tears I wrote the following; How do I know I remained
called to the ministry when I seem to have failed so miserably over
the years? My oldest son resents the church to point I am not sure he
will ever return.
I have built the attendance up of the current church I serve, and
because of dumb christians do we are constantly losing members, is it
time to resign? However, most churches in the united states are in
the same mess, as my present church. I think if I resign from this
church, I walk away from full time ministry period; any suggestions?
So if quit ministry after 20 plus years what would I do?
I know during my rant on Wednesday I came off as a blubbering idiot.
I was an emotional mess, but I meant it as a serious question. How
can I honestly evaluate my calling, and know if I am the chief cause of
harm to God’s flock ? Because, if the shepherd is not caring for the
sheep then I am not called to be in full time ministry.
First, thanks to a very wise pastor Kent Wagner, who told me to have
an honest dialogue with my oldest son and ask if I am the problem.
That was an answer to our prayers. After a long and honest
discussion my son’s reply was; “Dad, you’r kind of self-centered, it's
not all about you. You are one the most real Christians I know. I just
hate church." Which does not make me feel great, helps me to know I
am not the issue! That frank reality is nourishment for the soul.
Back to my questions about ministry, what I believe drives us all to
despair is the utter madness of what we do! The madness is in the
fact what we do is etherial and often unmeasurable. If I worked in a
lumberyard and every board I cut was short, I would not work there
long. In ministry I have known faithful pastors of growing and
shrinking congregations.Biblically, both growth and pruning are signs
of God at work. ( John 15) Everything, I do in ministry is so
subjective. I have been in ministry since 1991 and I can not ever
remember having a Job evaluation. I do remember the conflicts,
losses and yes victories. But what measure is there if I am cutting
boards too short? I want an objective measure if I am failing, my Lord
and Savior, so I can get out of the way.
4,000 churches close their doors every single year. There
is less than half of the number of churches today than
there were only 100 years ago. 3,500 people leave the
church every single day.
As shepherds of the flock, we have to be a portion of the
problem.When the pain of ministry hits, how can we
channel the pain, into a healthy evaluation of our strengths and
weaknesses. Building on our strengths and lessening our
weakness.
▪ Churches with 45 people or less = 100,000 churches or 25% of all churches
▪ Churches with 75 people or less = 200,000 churches or 50% of all churches
▪ Churches with 150 people or less = 300,000 churches or 75% of all churches (http://pastormark.tv/2011/11/10/some-thoughts-on-church-size)
So 600,000 churches probably have a minimal staff. When
you have no one on staff, you end up evaluating your self. Revelation
12:10 states; Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have
come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and
the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and
sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been
hurled down.
Evaluating yourself gives the accuser an opportunity to set us up to
have an unrealistic view of our strengths. Also, Satan is excellent
at making us feel our failures are unredeemable. So, how can pastors
measure objectively, if it is time to leave the ministry for the health of
the flock? But the question must become am I effective and
growing for God’s glory?
Or have I fallen into unproductive habits? There has to be an
objective method to realistically evaluate our ability to win the lost
and to make disciples. What I am asking is what is it? How do we go
about it?
If I am the problem, what do ministers do in a next career? And how
do you go about finding what’s next? If I leave my role as a preaching
elder, I will always be an elder. I will always have a role in rescuing
the lost and feeding the Lord's sheep.
I have three immediate suggestions for an honest evaluation; First,
“It's dumb to compare.” Rick Warren I have started hating articles
like the current Outreach Magazine edition's front cover the 100
fastest growing churches. That is not a godly assessment of church
health, that is a worldly measure. Comparisons of attendance or,
church budgets are unhelpful comparisons in the search of objective
evaluation of effectiveness. Rick Warren in his conference states in
the number one measure of a healthy church is changed lives. In
small churches the number of people is smaller, so the bulls eyes is
smaller. So ministers may wrongly assume they are failing, if they do
no hit dead center with every shot! We must remember how Jesus
moved heaven and earth to save one sinner; me! If in a reasonable
period of time, you can find growth to Christlikeness in one member
in the flock, you are doing your job. If there is one new believer
because of your efforts then you are doing your job, so stay the
course.
I have been blessed with multiple retired pastors in my tiny
congregations. They have often kept me sane on the roller coaster we
call ministry. I notice many pastors are going to coaching to make
them more effective in their ministry. One problem I see is coaches
are not with the minister in a heated board meeting or the
devastating loss of a member, they are too far removed. We need
those closest to us to, “But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in
every way into Him who is the head — Christ.”Ephesians 4: 1
5Excerpt From: B&H Publishing Group. “The Holy Bible: HCSB Digital
Text Edition.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/R3REx.l
What is not objective is the constant cheer leading about how great
we are. That gets us nowhere, other than a prideful attitude. Yes, we
need cheers, but I must also be open to correction. The retired
ministers of my congregation are most helpful when they cheer me by
saying; you tackled a difficult subject homosexuality with both
grace and truth. The correction I value from them and others is
when they say; you were right on the issue but your tone of voice, and
your actions were ungodly.
For objectivity to happen we need older men who know the ministry
to speak truth in our lives in a kind way. So another form of objective
evaluation is to ask a retired pastor or Elder who will speak the truth
in love and kindness.
All leader need objective ways to grow. Hebrews 10:24,25 NIV And
let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and
good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the
habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as
you see the Day approaching. For the church to experience healthy
growth we must learn how to cut boards straight and true.
What I want, after a depressing season in ministry is a five second
Facebook quiz, that reassures me I am okay. But for real growth it
will take truth spoken in love over lifetime! Thank you for listening
and praying for me. Most of all thank you for being a voice of truth!
