Through some recent challenges in ministry I have been encouraged to blog some of my thoughts and struggles. My initial reaction was, "Not gonna happen." The last thing that I want is someone from my congregation reading about some of the issues I am dealing with. Then I realized I could do this completely anonymously! We'll see how that works!
A little about me and the church I serve. We are a small church in a suburban setting. Due to some major indiscretions of previous ministers, the church has been left with a large building and debt, and a membership that doesn't fill it. In the time my family and I have been at this church, we have seen an increase of over 15% in attendance. People are growing in discipleship and in their faith. Unfortunately, despite this increase, there are still not enough funds to hire any additional staff. According to Barna, a church this size should have at least a FT preacher, a PT/FT secretary, and a PT/FT children's youth person. What do we have here? ME! I am fortunate to have volunteers helping me with many things, but since I am the only paid person, I am still the chief cook and bottle washer! The buck and the blame stops here.
Unfortunately, this means that in one moment I may have to deal with an upset person because of something that was said or done, and in the next moment I have to do a wedding for a family. I have to go from finding out someone is suicidal to teaching a Bible study. There are struggles that I see that I cannot share with anyone. I try to protect my wife as much as possible, but she often shares my burdens with me.
Lately I have really been focusing on shutting up long enough to listen to what God has in store for me, my family, and my church. I don't think I have gotten any clear answers yet, but I do believe that God will see us through this. I believe that we are challenged, tempted, tried, and I also believe that just as Satan was allowed to "sift" Peter and Job, we will go through times of sifting. God will allow Satan and his demons to do their thing, and Jesus' response will be the same as it was for Peter in Luke 22:32, "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail."
As I struggle with the challenges of being the chief cook and bottle washer in a small church setting, I trust that Jesus will be praying that my faith may not fail!
A little about me and the church I serve. We are a small church in a suburban setting. Due to some major indiscretions of previous ministers, the church has been left with a large building and debt, and a membership that doesn't fill it. In the time my family and I have been at this church, we have seen an increase of over 15% in attendance. People are growing in discipleship and in their faith. Unfortunately, despite this increase, there are still not enough funds to hire any additional staff. According to Barna, a church this size should have at least a FT preacher, a PT/FT secretary, and a PT/FT children's youth person. What do we have here? ME! I am fortunate to have volunteers helping me with many things, but since I am the only paid person, I am still the chief cook and bottle washer! The buck and the blame stops here.
Unfortunately, this means that in one moment I may have to deal with an upset person because of something that was said or done, and in the next moment I have to do a wedding for a family. I have to go from finding out someone is suicidal to teaching a Bible study. There are struggles that I see that I cannot share with anyone. I try to protect my wife as much as possible, but she often shares my burdens with me.
Lately I have really been focusing on shutting up long enough to listen to what God has in store for me, my family, and my church. I don't think I have gotten any clear answers yet, but I do believe that God will see us through this. I believe that we are challenged, tempted, tried, and I also believe that just as Satan was allowed to "sift" Peter and Job, we will go through times of sifting. God will allow Satan and his demons to do their thing, and Jesus' response will be the same as it was for Peter in Luke 22:32, "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail."
As I struggle with the challenges of being the chief cook and bottle washer in a small church setting, I trust that Jesus will be praying that my faith may not fail!
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