Pastor's Blog

A challenge to church leadership is knowing what to do.  I mean, just what should the church be doing?   Or to get more precise, what should my church be doing just now, right here?  The theological answer sounds like how our mission/ vision statement: worshiping God, loving one another and serving our world.

But once you get past this rhetoric, you hit the hard road of just how are you going to do all that.  Is the church to meet every need that comes its way?  Are we suppose to be responsive to every request that arrives?  Must we have a program for every age group, all the time?  Should we be supporting every missionary who calls?  How dare we not have a recovery group for every addiction, a cell group for every spiritual focus, a study group for every topic, a program for every age level, a ministry outreach for every opportunity, and an answer for every question?

Of course, we know this to be impossible.  No church ever has enough money, enough personnel, enough resources, enough volunteers, enough staff, enough time. . . sufficiency of anything to do everything.  None of us are expecting our church to meet every need surrounding it in the community.   We might hope that it could at least attempt to have something for everyone in its pews, although realistically  we recognize this as impractical.  But we do expect that our church will have what we need!  And there's the challenge.  Not in trying to do everything, but in attempting to focus on something.  The conflicts surface over the choices.  We know that no church can do it all, but we do insist that our church do our thing.  Leaders have to hold it all together while we tear it all apart.  Simply put: my church must please me, or else.

Usually we resolve options by simple power of influence.  The people with the most money, the highest positions or the loudest voices get their way.   Sometimes it gets settled through what is afterwards called dialogue and discussion, but in reality was an all out fight with the best debater winning.  Many call for a vote so that democracy can reign.  And of course, the pastor would like to do it his way too.  But all these approaches leave out something quite significant.   God!

When we realize that the church is the creation of God, the body of Christ and the dwelling of the Spirit, it makes a difference.   What we are to do must be determined by all of us learning to listen to God.  Then, without a vote we can reach consensus and without struggle we can become unified.   The Holy Spirit is here to lead us.  And what every local church will discover is that He has a purpose and plan for it.  The direction we take is not to be determined by surrounding needs, prevailing opportunities, personal or powerful influences, or majority votes.  God will equip us to do what He wants us to do.  And if we can't become spiritual enough to discern his leading, then we'll never be spiritual enough to do his will, once known.  So God often leaves his church in confusion and conflict until it learns that its spiritual life must be built before its spiritual impact can be both known and accomplished.   If we're still trying to figure things out, or doing just whatever. . . then we should wrap it all up for awhile and start to pray again.  That might just produce another Pentecost that turns our world upside down and us inside out.

David C. Slauenwhite

Today's consumer world makes today's church life extremely difficult.  When I select a hamburger, I get to choose type of bun, degree of burning the meat, kinds and amounts of toppings, to eat here or to go. . . and then I start on the drink: large, medium, small. . . oh yes, diet or regular.  Did I forget to tell you what kind?  Forget it, let's just go for water.  What?   With or without a lemon, with or without ice?  Oh yes, back to that size thing again, extra large please.

Now off to church I go.   What are my options?  Does this church do pre-prayer time or mid-service pastoral ministry or post-sermon altar calls?  What class of people attend?  Please describe the educational background of the pastor.  Is the building of modern or ancient architectural style?  Is the layout functional or traditional?  And can I park next to the door or shall I look for another church?

Of course, I assume you have a children's ministry program for my age level offspring.  Regardless of how many volunteer workers you can't get, you'd better have a full service ministry for each of babies, toddlers, pre-school, kinder garden age, elementary, junior level. . . . and naturally a special program for each of disadvantaged and disabled and disturbed and just plain demanding children.  A legally sound and insurance accepted liability/ screening and training of all children's workers is necessary.  Now I'd also like children present for some of the service, or at least until I'm tired of having them with me.  Does this church just dismiss at pre-sermon moment or is there a children's time or kids story/ sermon first?  And I need something in my children's hands to occupy them until dismissal as well.

Since my interest is primarily classical, I expect, even demand, that the worship will be a suitably dignified presentation that liturgically appeals to my rather sophisticated tastes.   Neither guitars of the present nor accordions of the past cut it with me.   Drums fit if they are of the type and play as appropriate in an orchestra, not a band.   Naturally, I do like variety, so occasionally you should not be surprised that I'm missing as I roam to another store in the mall. . . oops, I meant another church in the town. . . to check out their offerings.

Let's do a preacher checklist next.   Does he favor doing oratorical sermons, chatty conversational style, academic lecture approach, or a dramatic presentation with skits and clips?  Is he into Bible study or life need issues?  And of course, how long does he take?  I do like very thorough and thoughtful discourses that exhibit hours of research covering the topic biblically, theologically, historically and applying it psychologically as it relates to our current sociological condition culturally and politically. . . but done in fifteen minutes.

So, my choice of church is super-sized, but I'd really like for it to feel like a regular.  God bless us all, and me in particular.    See you Sunday, in some church somewhere in this town.

David C. Slauenwhite

What is the church best known for?  What is church really all about?  Why do you come to church anyway?   We all know that there are two sets of answers.   One is the idealistic and theologically sound, biblically proper answer.  It would go along the lines of worshiping God, loving one another and serving others.  (Which incidently is found weekly in our church bulletin in our vision statement and values)   But let's get honest for a minute and answer truthfully.

Often the church is known for bickering, small mindedness, power plays, religiosity. . . to name a few criticisms.   And it appears to be all about us.  We come to get, grumble, gripe and groan.  So why do we attend?   Well, it's a bit complicated.  We feel we should so we do.   Maybe we were brought up in the church and now we just can't leave it for sentimentality's sake.  Or perhaps we're just too scared of the sacred to risk walking out.  Often, it's simply habit and since it doesn't hurt to come, at least occasionally, we do the religion thing and hope it eventually pays off with a nice eternity in heaven.

Jesus said he would build his church.  It's one of his most famous and popular statements, at least to pastors.  We take comfort from it, that in spite of our failures and frustrations and against all the odds of opposition and criticism, God will do something with it all somehow.  So, we tend to tie together the church as we know it with the church as God describes it, hoping that the two are actually one.

But they probably are not.  Just because a group of people get together regularly, sing sacred songs, pray pretty petitions, shake hands all around and then listen to a long lecture (quaintly called a sermon), doesn't mean it's really church.  Doing Christian things doesn't make one actually a Christian.  This might be the biggest revelation of reality that most pew warmers don't want to hear. 

If Jesus is building his church, then is it really his church if he's not that prominent in it?   What about if the church is known for just about everything else except it's Christ-likeness?  And suppose the church is really busy with a lot of religious things but just doesn't seem to have much room or time for Jesus?  And if it's really all about us, then can it be even a little about him?

Church life would dramatically change for the good if Jesus was given center stage.  What if we sang to him instead of about him?  And how about praying together to him for his will to be done instead of praying individually about our needs.  What would happen if we heard his voice instead of critiquing his servant's message?  If Jesus were truly the center of church life and worship and service, maybe that would change all the other stuff we get so worked up about. 

But he won't get to be the center of the church until each of us gets out of the center first.

David C. Slauenwhite

A young ministry intern asked me, "What are your set days and hours for counseling appointments?"  It was a fair question, if learning the routine of a professional.  But it just doesn't work that way for a pastor.   I informed him that it happens as it happens.

People don't like to come to a pastor for counseling.  That feels too much like admitting a problem.  Rather, they just want to drop by for a chat, to ask a question, or to tell you what's happening in their lives.  It may be at anytime, anywhere.  In fact, it is likely to occur more often anywhere else than in your pastoral study during your regular hours.

And that's alright.   To be a pastor is to interact with people as they live, where they're at and when it happens.  It may not fit the professional or business model very well, but it is quite effective.  So pastors sort of meander along in their duties with an openness to anyone at anytime, responding to the needs that may be expressed in any setting.

This results in some very interesting encounters.  At the weirdest times and in the most unlikely places you often get to do the greatest things.  Just this week, on three occasions in various locations outside my office, I had unexpected chats (counseling sessions) with people who just happened to run into me.  Within minutes we dealt with troubling scenarios in their lives.

Not one of them would have wanted to trouble me with an office call or set up a counseling interview.   They'd rather work it out somehow.  Yet we happened to meet at an opportune moment, in which pastoral counseling happened, whether or not they realized it.  This is just how the Holy Spirit works: where we're at and in what we're doing, whenever and however.

As an aside: for pastors this can be awkward.  Parishioners who chance to see their minister standing around talking with someone, often assume he's just avoiding work at his office.  What an easy job!   A pastor has to face criticism sometimes for appearing to be doing nothing when in fact he's doing something very important that is his call and work. 

The spiritual life is not a neat and arranged affair.  It is a journey during which God may step in at any time and do something very different and unexpected, usually unplanned.  The Spirit will surprise us often with moments of eternal significance.  Our readiness to engage in spiritual interaction with God and his people will determine our blessing and benefit received.

We should live life and come to church with an anticipation that the Lord has something fresh and different and special for us, possibly just around the corner of our lives.  A blessing could come with the next encounter.  An opportunity to bless could be heading our way right now.  

I encourage you to be open for the Spirit to surprise you soon.  Why not look for it to happen?  Be ready to respond.  That unwanted interruption about to occur in your neat schedule could be God's call for you to give a blessing.   Expect surprises!

David C. Slauenwhite