Pastor's Ponderings:
PASTOR PONDERINGS
“What a crazy time to be a pastor. The only thing you can be absolutely sure of is no matter what you do, or don’t do, church people will tell you that you did the wrong thing. If you ask the church to abide by your state’s health orders, you are bowing down to Caesar. If you ignore the guidelines, you don’t care if people die. If you express support for President Trump, you don’t care about character. If you disagree with Republicans, you don’t care about unborn babies. If you speak about racial reconciliation, you are pushing a far left agenda. If you don’t, you are a racist.”
Those comments were recently published by Geoff Surratt in an article published in churchleaders.com. This article was written to give pastors some kind of support and encouragement. So first let me tell you that as your Pastor, I have always felt that I have your 100 percent support. Many of you have sent private emails offering support and encouragement during these very trying times and I want to tell you how much those words mean during these times.
While this article was written for pastors, I believe that its message also speaks to you, the laity of the church as well. I also know that these are very trying times for you. Many of you have expressed the need to get back together as a community of faith, but also in a way that is safe for all concerned. So where do we go? How small will churches be when they return to in person worship? How small will we be? Where do we start?
Let me suggest that we get back to the five basic steps of the reformation. (1) Our faith is not based on what we think is right or fair or just. Our faith is based on a careful examination of God’s will as revealed in scripture. (2) We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ. There is no litmus test or political test. The sentence, “you can’t be a Christian if you (fill in the blank)” has no place in our church. (3) We are saved by the grace of God alone. A grace where black and white, rich and poor, Democrats and Republicans stand shoulder to shoulder “without God and without hope”. (4) Jesus Christ alone is Lord, Savior, King. Our hope is not some charismatic pastor, President, or political party. Our hope is in Christ alone. People will fail, God will not. (5) We live for the glory of God alone. We do not live to please people, to grow churches, or to obtain fame. Everything we do should be for the glory of God alone.
So yes, it is a difficult time to be a pastor. It is a difficult time to be a member of the church when you cannot come together as the body of Christ. But if we simply focus on being the best we can, doing the best we can for Christ, together we will come out of this pandemic a stronger church in this community.
Thank you for all that you are doing, thank you for all that you continue to do, and thank you for all that you will do in the future for your church.
Blessings,
Pete
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“What a crazy time to be a pastor. The only thing you can be absolutely sure of is no matter what you do, or don’t do, church people will tell you that you did the wrong thing. If you ask the church to abide by your state’s health orders, you are bowing down to Caesar. If you ignore the guidelines, you don’t care if people die. If you express support for President Trump, you don’t care about character. If you disagree with Republicans, you don’t care about unborn babies. If you speak about racial reconciliation, you are pushing a far left agenda. If you don’t, you are a racist.”
Those comments were recently published by Geoff Surratt in an article published in churchleaders.com. This article was written to give pastors some kind of support and encouragement. So first let me tell you that as your Pastor, I have always felt that I have your 100 percent support. Many of you have sent private emails offering support and encouragement during these very trying times and I want to tell you how much those words mean during these times.
While this article was written for pastors, I believe that its message also speaks to you, the laity of the church as well. I also know that these are very trying times for you. Many of you have expressed the need to get back together as a community of faith, but also in a way that is safe for all concerned. So where do we go? How small will churches be when they return to in person worship? How small will we be? Where do we start?
Let me suggest that we get back to the five basic steps of the reformation. (1) Our faith is not based on what we think is right or fair or just. Our faith is based on a careful examination of God’s will as revealed in scripture. (2) We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ. There is no litmus test or political test. The sentence, “you can’t be a Christian if you (fill in the blank)” has no place in our church. (3) We are saved by the grace of God alone. A grace where black and white, rich and poor, Democrats and Republicans stand shoulder to shoulder “without God and without hope”. (4) Jesus Christ alone is Lord, Savior, King. Our hope is not some charismatic pastor, President, or political party. Our hope is in Christ alone. People will fail, God will not. (5) We live for the glory of God alone. We do not live to please people, to grow churches, or to obtain fame. Everything we do should be for the glory of God alone.
So yes, it is a difficult time to be a pastor. It is a difficult time to be a member of the church when you cannot come together as the body of Christ. But if we simply focus on being the best we can, doing the best we can for Christ, together we will come out of this pandemic a stronger church in this community.
Thank you for all that you are doing, thank you for all that you continue to do, and thank you for all that you will do in the future for your church.
Blessings,
Pete
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------