I feel her pain

This morning I read a blog post by a ministerial colleague of mine in a small United Methodist church in north central Oklahoma. She talks about the vision for ministry she has for her church and how she has begun to realize that she often sees herself as indispensable. This is problematic because, as pastors, we are subject to relocation after only a few years and ministry continues without us. Therefore, it is vital that whatever ministry visions we cast for the congregation be independent of us and that they continue when we are gone...This is the only way churches truly grow in ministry and strength in their communities. If every ministry activity is tied inextricably to the pastor, then every time a pastor leaves that ministry dies. This is not what we are about as the church.

I feel this friend's pain as she struggles with this issue. It seems that whenever we have an idea for ministry that we believe has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, the church thinks it's our job to get it done. We are, after all, paid to do ministry and they are signing the checks. It is getting more rare for members of the congregation to actually sign on to do the lion's share of the labor to get a ministry rolling and running. However, with that said I have to also say that we - the pastors - must also learn patience. God does not work along our timetable and we may need to wait for the timing to be right for God. Once we plant the seed of an idea in the church it may take longer than we expect to germinate and sprout a ministry. Our church members are good people with jobs and families and lots of things to do...They may not be as enthused or committed to an idea from the get-go. They do get it eventually, if we stand back and let God do God's work. It's really amazing what can happen in a church if we let God set the pace.

I have recently (for over a year now) been planting seeds for a ministry concept in my church. I have been impatient about getting it started and frustrated by the lack of commitment from the laity. Well, wouldn't you know it, God finally generated some interest in some people and they came to me with this great idea - "Can we do this, pastor?" Of course they can do it! I don't care whose idea it was - if this is what God wants then get started. What's great about this scenario is that now the idea is completely theirs and they will make it work - It won't matter if I am involved or not; it won't matter if I get re-appointed or not - this ministry will continue with or without me. I may don't get any "credit" for it, but God gets the job done. That works for me!

I guess what I'm really saying is that it's tough for a pastor to stand back and wait and watch. We want to be the "head cheese" sometimes; that's why we went to seminary and that's why we put up with the endless interviews and paperwork for the Board of Ordained Ministry. Now we are the "experts" and it's our charge to get the church fired up about ministry. The reality is that real-life doesn't work that way and seminary didn't tell us all that. In the real world people move slower than we'd like and our ideas aren't always the best fit for every church and we need to be humble enough to be flexible. "Ministry of humble service" - maybe that's a term we did learn in seminary. "It's not about me, it's not about you, it's all about God" - Maybe that's not a revolutionary concept after all. For all our education, our experience, and our passion - we don't always have the best and only approach to a ministry problem and it is our challenge to stand aside while God does a better job than we could ever hope to do.

Amen! Shalom.