With football season approaching, I began to think about coaching, management, and pastoring.
As a manager of a team of people in my automotive days, I always told my crew that I thought of my self as their coach. I was not just the guy that made the schedule and gave the orders, but that I was there to help them any way that I could. If it was to work on a car with them I would do it, if it was to teach them I would do it, if it was to protect them from upper management or an angry customer that was my job too. Not sure if that made me a good manager or not, but it was my style, it was what I strived for.
I began to think about this same concept when it comes to pastoring. The definition of a pastor, is that of a shepherd. One who cares for the flock and feeds them. Often times in churches today the pastor is the one that preaches, teaches, makes decisions, and leads the music; basically he does most everything. In some churches it is set up this way, in other churches it just happens this way. Pray for those pastors, for their work load must be quite large.
Now, what if, we structured it a bit different? What if the pastor was the shepherd? What if the pastor DIDN'T preach every Sunday? What if he didn't have to lead the music? What if he didn't make every decision? What if he didn't teach, counsel, visit, and do all the things that most pastors do? What if he was "just" oversaw those that did all those things? What if the pastor was like a football coach? What if he chose the starting quarterback - the guy making the decisions with his input. What if he chose the trainer - the guy counseling others? What if he chose the offensive line coach, the defensive coach, the quarterback coach - you know all the folks within a church that were doing all the "specialty" training? What if he made personnel decisions and then let the people do their jobs? This point is important because if we had this type of structure our churches might be a bit more effective. The head coach is part of the team, yet he's separate from the team. The head coach can lose a game with a bad decision, but he rarely ever wins a game, as that's what the team does.
I'm sure there are churches structured like this, I've obviously not been to every church. Maybe more than I even know of. However, in my experience this design has not been something that I've seen very much of. Perhaps it should be attempted.
Now I'm not saying one way is right, or one way is wrong, or that everyone should do these according to my suggestion. This has nothing to do with anything more than just thoughts on a page. But let's consider this shall we? Let's be willing team mates and help out our pastors. Pastors let's not be selfish or prideful and "allow" others to take on some tasks, trust me if you get enough folks doing things you'll be so busy "coaching" them that you wont have time to do those very things anymore.
There's no rule that says you have to preach on Sundays. There's no rule that says it's all on your shoulders. Statistics say that 40% of pastors suffer from burn out, perhaps this would ease that pain.
Again, just something to consider from all sides of the conversation. Why can't a church be a team? Why can't there be unity like a team on a mission? Consider such things..........and ask God how you can get involved to help out your team.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Do I Stand Corrected?
Do I stand corrected? I do!
A few hours after my blog and show this morning, Hillsong made a public announcement, on the issue of their stance on homosexuality.
In this world today, news is entertainment, and one must be careful when reading, reporting, or sharing the news. I did my homework, I looked up the references to the quotes, and felt that the information I was presenting was as true as I could find it to be. Perhaps it was true, and perhaps social media and the sharing of the "blog" about the worship leaders has forced the Hillsong church to finally choose a side. Is social media that powerful? It can be........... / However no matter if it was true, or is true, from the mouth of the involved party comes clarification.
This statement is found on the Hillsong website, which means it's not just news, it's from their very mouth, and I stand corrected, and for this I am grateful.
Here is the link: http://hillsong.com/media-releases/hillsong-church-statement-by-senior-pastor-brian-houston/
Their stance on "all are welcome" is exactly the point I was trying to make in my last blog. So this is awesome.
I stand corrected and I am grateful for that, it is truly our job to teach and disciple with love those that are seeking the truth. I have always believed that if you sincerely search for truth there is only one place that the road will take you, and that is to God.
I felt it was fair and honest to share this, (even though I only write like one blog every six months), as soon as I saw it. As I mentioned before, I'm pretty successful at sinning, and if my entire last blog was based on a lie, then SHAME ON ME! I'm not even waiting to "see how it plays out", this is their statement, I will take it, I will believe it, I will be thankful for it, I will pray for them, I will apologize for not doing ENOUGH homework on my last post, and I will sheepishly go hide in the corner of embarrassment for being duped by Internet "news".
I still pray for those two boys, I hope they receive some good biblical teaching in love and in private, I hope they learn that God's will is not a set of "rules" but a way of life that leads to life.
A few hours after my blog and show this morning, Hillsong made a public announcement, on the issue of their stance on homosexuality.
In this world today, news is entertainment, and one must be careful when reading, reporting, or sharing the news. I did my homework, I looked up the references to the quotes, and felt that the information I was presenting was as true as I could find it to be. Perhaps it was true, and perhaps social media and the sharing of the "blog" about the worship leaders has forced the Hillsong church to finally choose a side. Is social media that powerful? It can be........... / However no matter if it was true, or is true, from the mouth of the involved party comes clarification.
This statement is found on the Hillsong website, which means it's not just news, it's from their very mouth, and I stand corrected, and for this I am grateful.
Here is the link: http://hillsong.com/media-releases/hillsong-church-statement-by-senior-pastor-brian-houston/
Their stance on "all are welcome" is exactly the point I was trying to make in my last blog. So this is awesome.
I stand corrected and I am grateful for that, it is truly our job to teach and disciple with love those that are seeking the truth. I have always believed that if you sincerely search for truth there is only one place that the road will take you, and that is to God.
I felt it was fair and honest to share this, (even though I only write like one blog every six months), as soon as I saw it. As I mentioned before, I'm pretty successful at sinning, and if my entire last blog was based on a lie, then SHAME ON ME! I'm not even waiting to "see how it plays out", this is their statement, I will take it, I will believe it, I will be thankful for it, I will pray for them, I will apologize for not doing ENOUGH homework on my last post, and I will sheepishly go hide in the corner of embarrassment for being duped by Internet "news".
I still pray for those two boys, I hope they receive some good biblical teaching in love and in private, I hope they learn that God's will is not a set of "rules" but a way of life that leads to life.
Lunch with a Pharisee Show RE:cap (8-4-15)
A "Hillsong church" worship leader has come out of the closet and is planning to marry his gay partner. I say we pray for these brothers, we pray that someone will come along and love them enough to show them the truth. Obviously the Hillsong church is more concerned with being popular, than with taking an unpopular stance on a very popular subject.
I dislike it very much when "christians" point the finger at gay folks and condemn them to hell, to me telling a sinner that he is sinning is like telling a dead man that he is dead. Well then again, it is exactly the same. What we should be sharing with the sinners is NOTHING other than the way to life, through Jesus. Nothing more, nothing less. Who am I to point out their sins, as I myself am a pretty successful sinner. However, (you knew it was coming), the bible clearly states that we are to teach other believers what sin is, and the results of it. And if they don't listen? We are to expel them and leave them over to their sins. This is exactly what God does. When we deny him, he is the perfect gentleman and leaves us alone, which means we are free to sin about the country.
The problem with this scenario of the Hillsong brothers, is that their own church doesnt love them enough to tell them as believers that their choices are sinful, and that sin leads to death. Sometimes physical, sometimes spiritual, sometimes eternal, but always death. Somebody's gotta love these brothers enough to show them the statistics on the gay lifestyle, and that those numbers prove what God said, "the wages of sin is death". Somebody has to love them enough to tell them the truth even if it costs millions of dollars. Millions of dollars is of course what Hillsong stands to lose by making a stand. Millions of dollars is the price tag that has been put on these boys' life. What do you think their life is worth to God?
Paul said to "expel" the wicked person, and yes he was talking about believers. Non believers? never expel them, eat lunch with them like Jesus did. In this case the wicked is the Hillsong church, NOT the two men. Don't twist the two, or confuse the two,they are being "coddled" by their church that what they are doing is OK. I personally believe it's time for all the God loving, God fearing churches in the world to expel Hillsong from their communities. No music, no messages, no attention, and most of all no money. This is probably more important than boycotting a President that says "gay marriage is OK". Well in the eyes of man it is OK, and our President is a man, but in the eyes of God it's not OK, and Hillsong is supposed to represent the eyes of God.
Here's the link to the story: http://standupforthetruth.com/2015/08/hillsong-worship-leader-announces-his-upcoming-homosexual-marriage/
It's not personal Hillsong, but then again it is, while your making crappy self centered worship music, collecting a ton of money, and looking super "hip" on TV, the world is dying........
(this is the subject matter that we discussed on the "Lunch With A Pharisee" show this morning, your input, comments, and thoughts are welcome now as they are during the actual show. You can catch the "Pharisee" show Tuesday mornings at 11am eastern time on 3R-Radio.com )
I dislike it very much when "christians" point the finger at gay folks and condemn them to hell, to me telling a sinner that he is sinning is like telling a dead man that he is dead. Well then again, it is exactly the same. What we should be sharing with the sinners is NOTHING other than the way to life, through Jesus. Nothing more, nothing less. Who am I to point out their sins, as I myself am a pretty successful sinner. However, (you knew it was coming), the bible clearly states that we are to teach other believers what sin is, and the results of it. And if they don't listen? We are to expel them and leave them over to their sins. This is exactly what God does. When we deny him, he is the perfect gentleman and leaves us alone, which means we are free to sin about the country.
The problem with this scenario of the Hillsong brothers, is that their own church doesnt love them enough to tell them as believers that their choices are sinful, and that sin leads to death. Sometimes physical, sometimes spiritual, sometimes eternal, but always death. Somebody's gotta love these brothers enough to show them the statistics on the gay lifestyle, and that those numbers prove what God said, "the wages of sin is death". Somebody has to love them enough to tell them the truth even if it costs millions of dollars. Millions of dollars is of course what Hillsong stands to lose by making a stand. Millions of dollars is the price tag that has been put on these boys' life. What do you think their life is worth to God?
Paul said to "expel" the wicked person, and yes he was talking about believers. Non believers? never expel them, eat lunch with them like Jesus did. In this case the wicked is the Hillsong church, NOT the two men. Don't twist the two, or confuse the two,they are being "coddled" by their church that what they are doing is OK. I personally believe it's time for all the God loving, God fearing churches in the world to expel Hillsong from their communities. No music, no messages, no attention, and most of all no money. This is probably more important than boycotting a President that says "gay marriage is OK". Well in the eyes of man it is OK, and our President is a man, but in the eyes of God it's not OK, and Hillsong is supposed to represent the eyes of God.
Here's the link to the story: http://standupforthetruth.com/2015/08/hillsong-worship-leader-announces-his-upcoming-homosexual-marriage/
It's not personal Hillsong, but then again it is, while your making crappy self centered worship music, collecting a ton of money, and looking super "hip" on TV, the world is dying........
(this is the subject matter that we discussed on the "Lunch With A Pharisee" show this morning, your input, comments, and thoughts are welcome now as they are during the actual show. You can catch the "Pharisee" show Tuesday mornings at 11am eastern time on 3R-Radio.com )
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