The Shepherd and the Sheep; Who's Failing Who?

Have you ever moved? As an adult, has your career or other circumstance ever required you to pack up and start over somewhere else? My husband and I bought another house (in the same city as our old house) last year. Being a military brat, it was my first household move without a (paid-for) truck full of guys who come and stuff your junk into boxes, load it on a truck and reverse the process at the other end. I look back and chuckle, but it was mildly traumatic for me when my well-meaning father-in-law unexpectedly backed his truck up to my house and announced that he and his employees were there to help.

Well, here we ago again.

My husband and I are in the middle of an interesting transition (which you can read about here) to another church. I have to mention that this isn't just any church, it's the church I grew up in (or the closest thing to it for a moving military kid). One of the many (many, many) things on my mind through this whole process is the "career" of pastor. I've written about the responsibilities of the pastor before, but the way the job plays out in the life of todays clergymen (and women) and in our culture gives rise to concerns in my insides.

Several years ago, when my husband was offered the job as youth pastor at our current church, one of his mentors told him (who knows where he got this stat) that the average youth pastor stays at a church for only three years. That's not even long enough to see the freshmen graduate much less mentor junior high students successfully into adulthood. Nic and I have always been appalled by the frequent church-hopping that happens in our city, but pastors only staying for three years?

Nic and I have always considered ourselves "lifers" - we assume that we will be at the church God has brought us to for life unless God very clearly tells us otherwise. Attendance in any given body of believers should be considered carefully and faithfully. If conflict arises, resolve it. If sin arises, deal with it in grace and repentance. If you're "not happy with" some of the goings on, you remind yourself that church isn't about you and do what you think you need to to ensure that Jesus' body is honoring Him. I don't say this from a position of a perfect track-record, but I do say it from experience.

While the average Western Christian's view on commitment to a particular church is saddening, the cultural effect on the Western Pastor is even more disheartening. With the development of denominational networks and church job websites, a seminary graduate can climb the ladder in no time. Wait. What?

Therein lies our problem. Let's play a little fill in the blanks game here... Most young people graduate from Bible School and make their ___ (5, 10, 20) year career plan. [problem #1: needing a plan. As Francis Chan puts it, God didn't give Abraham a 5 year, much less a 20 year plan when he told him to pack up and move to a new land and that he'd become the father of nations.] Said student might think to themselves, I'll put applications in to be a/an ________ (children's, worship, youth, associate, small groups, interim, other?) pastor at a _________ (smaller, rural, less known, average, springboard) type church. [problems #2 & #3: The position and body one serves in cannot be seen as mere stepping stones on the path to career success] After I get some experience under my belt, I'll start looking at ______ (bigger, cooler, more trendy, more relevant, more Biblical, well-known, higher-paying) churches or a/an ______ (preaching pastor, head pastor, evangelist, traveling speaker) job that I really want. [problem #4: a pastor seriously wrongs their sheep when he even subconsciously considers them a bullet point on his resumé.]

First of all, pastoring is a calling. And no body of believers is a mere springboard for one person's career success. If a pastor doesn't think he is called to minister to young people, why would he think he has the right to take a job doing just that "in the meantime"? Doing a job God didn't design you for seems like a really quick way to get burnt out fast to me! Similarly, I find it interesting that exponentially more pastors are apparently "called" to wealthier and urban churches. If we measure by the number of clergy and their calling, it would appear that God cares very little about the communities and churches in less-hip or poorer areas. Thankfully, the Bible shows us that God's heart is for the marginalized. In fact, most of Jesus' ministry on this earth was focused on the blue-collar, poor and marginalized. It looks to me as if we need to reevaluate the term calling.

Secondly, I think we have shorted both pastors and congregations in the way we have defined their roles. Burn out often happens when a pastor doesn't pastor his family. This is his first ministry. Every pastor's wife and child knows their are time when we have to wait. But ensuring that he has time to spiritually attend to his family is the duty of the pastor. So where does the congregation fit it? Expectations. A church should expect their pastor to take time for his family in order for him to qualify to be their minister (see 1 Tim 2). Their expectations of him should be his best in home and ministry and the give-and-take (aka hard work and grace) that this entails. Also, the congregation should be expected to do their part. A great many pastors and youth pastors tucker out because they run like mad trying to fulfill all of the duties of the church. Instead, each believer should serve and grow in the unique gifts that God has given them. When we all pitch in, a pastor can help us grow (his job as shepherd) and ensure that we (the church as a whole) function to glorify God and further His Kingdom. (Eph 4 & 5, Rom 12, 1 Cor 12)

So now I ask you...how do you view commitment to a church? Why do you think Pastors move to new jobs (in or out of ministry) so quickly?

Long Awaited Summary of My Belief on Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Within evangelicals, there are varying beliefs on when a Christian receives or gets filled with the Holy Spirit. I recognize that this is a matter in which two people can believe very different things and still know the God of the Bible. My intention is to share the conclusions that I've come to and the Scriptures from which I draw them (not to argue, but because I was asked to share).

First off, I believe that a person receives the Holy Spirit when they get saved. He is a large part of their salvation and sanctification. I believe we receive him not just as a friend nearby, but I believe He resides in us. The argument remains that the New Testament believers received the Holy Spirit separate from their belief in the Son. Personally, I believe the reason for this is that for many, belief in Jesus came before He ascended and subsequently left the Holy Spirit as our constant counselor. As for those who would say this still happens today, to the best of my knowledge their only evidence is the initial use of Spiritual gifts such as tongues. Once the believer is saved and begins to grow however, they produce fruit and exhibit gifts of the Spirit as they participate as a part of the Body. Just because those gifts are not glaringly obvious like tongues, doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit isn't living and working in and through them. When a gift such as tongues or prophesy does show up later, I think it's very likely that they were either unaware that they had/even could have such a gift or they were not allowing the Spirit to work in such ways through them. Furthermore, as I will address later, not all believers speak in tongues and I think it would be wrong to suggest that all who don't are not filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13,14; 1 Corinthians 6:11,19,20, Acts 2, Acts 19:1-7 1 Corinthians 12:1-11,30,31)

I believe that the gifts of the spirit (including tongues) are for today. While scripture repeatedly talks about believers speaking in tongues, it nowhere says that we would continue to do so. Therefore, this became a sort of stumbling block for me. Not being raised in a community of believers that practiced this nor being so gifted myself, I had large doubts as to the legitimacy of this gift in today's context. Since then however, I have come to know and trust a couple people, pentecostal in upbringing and gifted in tongues who would never fake such a thing. Therefore my basis is largely experiential and therefore I cannot ask other believers to base their conclusions on this. I can however, point to the fact that it is not scripturally forbidden and there are places and times in which it can edify the body or further the kingdom. (1Corinthians 12-14)

I believe that the instructions for orderly worship should be upheld in our gatherings. For example, if someone speaks in an unknown tongue they had better know that there is an interpreter there. Both tongue-speakers and those who prophesy (or any other audible gift) should use their gifts in a non-distracting, orderly way (i.e. one at a time). This is not to say that one should worship God with restraint, but find a way that is in no way unedifying. I would venture to say one could give more glory to the Father by considering Him and His nature as he/she went about any of their tasks than they could by expressing praise in a way that causes others to stumble. (1 Corinthians 12,14; Romans 12)


I believe that God gives us all gifts and talents through His Spirit, but as unique parts of the body we will all have unique gifts. More specifically, I do not believe that a Christian who does not speak in tongues is any less Spirit-filled than the one who does. Also when the scriptures discuss the baptism of the Holy Spirit and doesn't mention tongues, the reader would have to make an assumption to believe that it did occur and therefore add something to God's Word that isn't there (in the case if Paul for example). (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Acts 9:17-19; Deuteronomy 4:2)

I would also like to make a side-note on denominations who do and don't believe in a separate baptism and the gifts for today. I believe that a lack of cooperation and understanding on issues that are not heaven-or-hell issues (foundational) has led to a pendulum swing in each extreme direction. What I'm trying to say, is that we could enforce church discipline (orderly worship) without banning those who participate in things that we don't necessarily understand but that aren't unbiblical. The lack of a willingness to deal with conflict healthily and Biblically has lead to groupings of people who do speak in tongues and groupings of those who don't...denominations. And denominations make me sad.