The Pastor's Dilemma

I am a pastor. I try really hard to live with integrity and to do, say and believe things that are right, not just what is expedient. But the world is a political place. Unfortunately, the church is just as political (maybe more political) as the world at large. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of doing the politically correct or practical at the expense of taking a costly stand for what is right.

Security, professional and political, may be the biggest obstacle for pastors. This security can lead to complacency, which is often a forerunner to apathy. Pastors, including myself, or just a few steps away from ministry death when we begin to worry about ourselves, our futures, or even our families at the expense of our ministries.

Here is our problem: We are so in love with our paychecks, our parsonages and our pensions that we often cannot do what is right.

• We need our paychecks. We worry about our employment and how we are going to make ends meet. We become consumed with all the same concerns that every other human faces. How will we pay the bills? Keep food on the table? Put gas in the car? Maybe even, keep up with the Joneses? When we are so concerned with the day to day and week to week issues of keep our heads above water, it is hard to keep our eyes on Jesus.
• We need our parsonages. I do not make enough money to make a mortgage payment. If there were no parsonage I don't know what I would do. I like my parsonage. It is large enough, adequate enough, comfortable enough and nice enough to keep me satisfied. And I need it. I need a place to live and to raise my family. God help me, though, when I become too needy, too worried about where I will live.
• We need our pensions. In my denomination, retirement from ministry is mandatory at age 70. I plan to live at least 10 years beyond that. I am going to need some money to live on. I need to keep my job so that my future can be secure. But it would be pathetic if I got so dependent on the prospect of that pension that I lost my prophetic voice in the meantime.

Sometimes I just need to remember some things that Jesus taught. He said not to worry about tomorrow. He said that he would meet my needs. May the Lord help all of us to be completely reliant on Him all the time.

Local Church Vision Plan

As our churches consider what it means to have a mission statement, or a vision plan, let me propose these steps.

1. A 'dream team' of leaders from both congregations should be appointed. This team will deal with the rest of this plan and offer proposals to the church councils of both congregations.
2. The 'dream team' will be charged with guiding the congregations (and other interested persons) through an analysis of the local church(es), it's needs, strengths and the desires of it's constituents. The dream team will also assess the needs- social and spiritual- of the churches and the surrounding community. Vision planning will result from these assessments and analyses. Finally, the dream team will set goals that will move us to accomplishment of this new vision.
3. The dream team will set action steps for the church to follow. These will include concerns in the areas of facilities and resources, spiritual life (including discipleship, ministry and fellowship) and programming.
4. The Church Council of each congregation will then receive, discuss and approve the mission/ vision statement, goals and action steps.
5. The Church Council will then become responsible for the implementation of the vision plan.