Walk Away??

[wardpossy]

I have been a member of Our Church for three years and we had recently Replaced our asst. pastor/Youth pastor and every since we have gotten him I went from helping out on projects at the Church to where I am not asked to do anything, I feel Like I have been thrown away!! I have kinda said a few things in passing to our Preacher but he continues to say "everthing is nice" . We have been losing attendance, slow but declining, Why can My wife and I see it falling apart but NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING!!!! Can someone help me, This is driving me crazy, I love God and I use to Love our Church But My personal feeling are the new youth pastor wasnt lead by Christ but by a paycheck... What do I do Walk Awy????? i

 

[fluffy_rainbow]

Perhaps you have made an idol out of church and church activities? Is this youth pastor teaching things that are against sound doctrine? Is he offending members in large amounts? And instead of waiting to be asked to do something, why not step up to the plate and offer if you enjoy the involvement? I mean, perhaps this new associate pastor feels uncomfortable imposing on people and asking them for help. It might be a blessing to him if you stepped up and offered to donate your time.

 

[wardpossy]

Yes, I have tryed so much.. it is as if he feels threatened by my family, Our preacher pretty much sticks to the EVERYTHINGS GOOD SERMONS now, and as a christian I can say first hand it is a hard life, It is like when the new Asst. Started he has infected the whole church, We have went from 300 people on sunday morning to about 200, this decline has been over the past nine months since he came.

Thanks Jeff

 

[Crazy Liz]

It sounds like there are some real red flags. I don't know whether the new associate is to blame or not, and if he is, exactly why. I would suggest you try to avoid jumping to conclusions about that, but have a private talk with the senior pastor. Maybe take him out to lunch in the next town - somewhere where nobody from your church is likely to see you or overhear. Talk to him about your concerns, but try not to state your theories about what went wrong. Be open-ended, and see what he has to say. For example, tell him you used to enjoy serving by doing things like X, Y and Z at your church, but lately you have not been asked to serve and your offers to help have not been accepted. Why? Is there something you should know?

I would try to avoid mentioning the new associate. If the pastor brings him up, try not to focus the conversation on him the first time or two his name comes up. Draw the pastor out, rather than putting him in a position where he feels the need to defend his associate, and keep the focus on asking the pastor to help you develop your own ability to serve the church.

This way, you may come away with a perspective you haven't seen before. Think about it for a few days. If what you hear still doesn't sound quite right, there may be other ways to get a "reality check." But I would strongly suggest you make your inquiries in a way that is specifically aimed not to put the church leadership on the defensive, but to focus on your desire to serve the church. You may get completely different information this way that could actually be quite helpful.

 

[fluffy_rainbow]

I have to agree with what Crazy Liz has said. It may not directly be linked to the new Asst. pastor, but your concerns are valid nonetheless. Is it possible, since we all know we Baptists hate change ;-), that some members have left because of the change and not so much a change for the worse? I don't know, there are so many different things that could be going on here that all you can really do is have a heart to heart with your pastor and seriously pray about this.

 

[wardpossy]

bELIEVE ME I HAVE PRAYED SOOO MUCH OVER THIS, MY 15 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND HERE FRIEND USE TO HAVE A FIRE FOR CHRIST SOOOO MUCH, MY WIFE AND I HAVE SEEN THIS FIRE COME TO JUST A SMALL FLICKER... WE ARE REALLY BOTHERED BY THIS,THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS