- Mar 28, 2005
- 21,813
- 10,794
- 76
- Country
- New Zealand
- Faith
- Charismatic
- Marital Status
- Married
It is difficult to comment on a church while not being a part of it, but I can give some comments about my Presbyterian church which I have been a member since 1996, an elder since around 2010, and the senior elder since 2014. Over the time I have been there we have had a succession of ministers, and the last two were very controlling, and this caused an exodus of some long term members. For the last three years we have had no minister and have been an elder-run church. The ones who were the moaners and criticisers left and we were left with a smaller group of folks who considered our church as their family. It is that family attitude that makes my church a pleasant place to worship. I get to preach on a regular basis and I make sure that I am preaching Christ to them, pointing them to Christ. I wrote a book and preached on it, about why do we come to church and what we should do once we get there. I am up to preach this morning, and my subject will be intimacy with God. Knowing God personally as opposed to knowing about God.
When a pastor assumes power and authority in a church, this can cause major issues because he or she is assuming something that God has not given. A pastor's job is to point people to Christ, increase their faith in Him, and to assure folks of God's love for them and His plans and purposes for them. The pastor's job is to equip the folks and to enhance their callings and ministries so that every person is working within their particular calling in Christ. Where a pastor hogs all the ministry and tries to be all the five-fold ministries in the church, he burns out, and the folks become bored and disillusioned. People leave the church because they want to fulfill their calling in Christ and if they can't do it there, then there is another church down the road where they will be able to do the will of God for their lives.
I am blessed that the folks in my church have given me the freedom to exercise my calling in Christ. I am the senior elder, preacher, and treasurer and I know that these duties are what God wants me to do in my church. We have only around 30 members in my church, but it is a slice of heaven for me.
When a pastor assumes power and authority in a church, this can cause major issues because he or she is assuming something that God has not given. A pastor's job is to point people to Christ, increase their faith in Him, and to assure folks of God's love for them and His plans and purposes for them. The pastor's job is to equip the folks and to enhance their callings and ministries so that every person is working within their particular calling in Christ. Where a pastor hogs all the ministry and tries to be all the five-fold ministries in the church, he burns out, and the folks become bored and disillusioned. People leave the church because they want to fulfill their calling in Christ and if they can't do it there, then there is another church down the road where they will be able to do the will of God for their lives.
I am blessed that the folks in my church have given me the freedom to exercise my calling in Christ. I am the senior elder, preacher, and treasurer and I know that these duties are what God wants me to do in my church. We have only around 30 members in my church, but it is a slice of heaven for me.
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