Well, I'm back, I think. I vowed that I wouldn't let my blog go dormant. But, frankly, blogging has been the last thing on my mind since May. My Summer mission trips to NYC and France, vacation, youth pastor search, personal angst, etc., really got me out of sync. And, even more frankly, I've been really dry. So, here goes...
In our search for my ministry “replacement” I’m reminded of something I’ve been aware of for some time. There are those youth pastors who just don’t “get it”. Or else they don’t want to get it. In other words, they don’t understand why they’re failing; whether in their pastor’s eyes or in their board’s or parent’s or student’s eyes. They’re oblivious. I probe and ask these befuddled youth workers who feel victimized by their churches, “What have you done, or not done, to contribute to your church’s lack of confidence in your leadership?”
Hey welcome back Brent!
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to admit failure, but we do need to examine ourselves and own up to where we need to grow in order to be more effective in ministry (or find a different ministry).
Obviously there are two sides to every story, and you get that when you talk to the former churches. But when we face criticism even if we think it is unfair we need look for what God wants to teach us through that.
Do you think that sometimes the problem may be that in some churches pastoral staff are not afforded grace when they make mistakes? I'm talking about ministry mistakes, not moral ones. Another problem also is our own pride. We in our flesh have a tendency to circle the wagons and get defensive when we are criticized, and that just makes it worse.
What do you think?
Shane,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think I wrote that post to convict myself and to remind myself that I can't rest on the past. I must constantly be growing and striving and suppress my pride. I need to be ever more teachable.