The Burden of Church

After hearing the pastor at the conference admit that he didn’t love pastoring and dreamed about doing something else, I decided to investigate. Just about every time I got to spend one-on-one time with a pastor I really respect I asked them, “Do you enjoy what you do? Is this like … fun … for you?”

I’ve asked about ten pastors that question. One said, “Yeah! Absolutely! This is the greatest!” The other nine said, “No, not so much.” One confided, “I think God made me a pastor to make sure that I go to church. I wonder if I wasn’t a pastor if I’d go at all.” I totally understood what he was saying.

It’s not that any of these guys are complaining or throwing a pity party. Each is just admitting, “This is really tough. So often the work of the church is a real burden.” And I agree.

So why do I do it?

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Vince Antonucci

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comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you Ed for sharing your insights into the Church Growth Movement. I have my reservations with Church Growth models because it has done more damage than good in the Body of Christ. Over the years, western churches are more focused on results, formulas and processes with little or no emphasis on membership and church discipline. Pastors and vocational leaders are burnt out because they're overworked. I do believe that the Church Growth model is a catalyst to two destructive groups: The New Apostolic Reformation and the Emerging Church. Both groups overlap and have a very loose definition. They're both focus on contemporary worship, expansion of church brand (franchising), and mobilizing volunteering members as 'leaders' to grow their ministry. Little focus on biblical study, apologetics and genuine missional work with no agenda besides preaching of the gospel.
 
— Dave
 
comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for sharing such a good article. It is a great lesson I learned from this article. I am one of the leaders in Emmanuel united church of Ethiopia (A denomination with more-than 780 local churches through out the country). I am preparing a presentation on succession planning for local church leaders. It will help me for preparation If you send me more resources and recommend me books to read on the topic. I hope we may collaborate in advancing leadership capacity of our church. God Bless You and Your Ministry.
 
— Argaw Alemu
 
comment_post_ID); ?> Amen!!
 
— Scott Michael Whitley
 

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