Would you stop going to your church if you don't like the pastor personally?

[JCFantasy23]

Looking at it from the other side, if I were doing or had done some things to cause people to consider leaving, I'd be really grateful if they'd try to communicate with me about it, and give me a chance to become aware and set it right. I'm not sure if you feel comfortable trying to do that.

Oh, people have tried to tell her. My mother set up meetings with her. The pastor was disturbed when she found out about a child being kicked out of church at night on the Wednesday WOW Event and hearing the child has been mistreated, but because of her friend being the one who did it, she didn't say anything. She knows a lot of this goes on, she just isn't trying to stop it.

When my mother expressed concerns, she started ignoring my mother -- and she also would tell what my mother told her privately in these meetings to her friend, causing gossip and others getting annoyed.

 

[Paidiske]

Well, that's totally not okay. I'd be inclined to leave, too.

 

[381465]

If she doesn't feel the need to address problems and make changes when people tell her, maybe dropping attendance will convey the importance in a way she'll understand.

 

[JCFantasy23]

.

 

[W Johnson]

No.

 

[rockytopva]

No.

Welcome to CF! Lovin' the first post!

 

[W Johnson]

Welcome to CF! Lovin' the first post!

Thanks. This is a big place. I guess what I meant to say is I have attended several churches in the past and never knew the ministers personally, so it wouldn't make any difference to me as long as the message is unaffected.

 

[Paidiske]

Things like the size of the church can make that very different. In a big church, with hundreds of members, there's no personal relationship with the person "in charge" and that's not so important. In a smaller church - say, less than two hundred - everyone knows the person in charge, and their ability to sustain personal relationships with their congregation is a key part of the health of the church. Most churches are actually in that smaller size bracket.

 

[Anto9us]

One never knows what one might do in a given situation.

I like our Lady Pastor that has been here for 2 years and will be here another year, she is extremely proficient in Hebrew.

I guess "a year at a time" is all we get in this system...
The former male pastor had his good points and bad points -- as humans do.

 

[redblue22]

I don't go for the pastor. Even if I did, the bishop changes them every so often.

 

[actionsub]

My mother and I have been attending our local Methodist church (me off and on) - she got heavily involved with the children's ministry and got to know the pastor well through that. We lost respect for her as a pastor with how she dealt with the children's ministry, showed favoritism, was unfair with treatment of people who helped with the church. However, her sermons are still fine - but my mother is now uncomfortable to attend, stating that even if the sermons are fine, she can't get as much out of the pastor's message anymore.

My mother recently became re-employed and will no longer be able to attend church service because of her working hours. As for me, I'm not sure whether to find another church or just ignore I've seen bad signs of the pastor and still attend this one since I'm used to it and liked the other people in the church.

Thoughts?

While I'm currently employed by a UCC congregation to run the AV and sound, I am currently considering relinquishing the job and the small stipend I receive due to my wife's discomfort with the new pastor and the changes she's made to the service, and returning to the UMC we used to attend. We've maintained involvement with the Methodists the whole time as it is, so leaving would not cost me very much.

 

[Maid Marie]

I'm in a similar boat. My response is to stay and pray for God's conviction and intervention. And then I attend friends' churches to worship in peace so that I can go back to the main church and work for reconciliation.

 

[HosannaMostHigh]

I have made the switch in the past. It's never easy though. As someone who has come to Methodism, there aren't many churches in my local area that reflect that denomination so now I just come in, sit down and don't get too involved because we're all flawed in some ways and not everyone can like everything that goes in within the walls of any given church.

I think you have to search your conscience and if the good outweighs the bad then perhaps think about staying on however if things are happening which for you are insurmountable then I would think about leaving. I have found a great church now so maybe these things happen for a reason? I wish you all the very best whatever you decide.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I have made the switch in the past. It's never easy though. As someone who has come to Methodism, there aren't many churches in my local area that reflect that denomination so now I just come in, sit down and don't get too involved because we're all flawed in some ways and not everyone can like everything that goes in within the walls of any given church.

I think you have to search your conscience and if the good outweighs the bad then perhaps think about staying on however if things are happening which for you are insurmountable then I would think about leaving. I have found a great church now so maybe these things happen for a reason? I wish you all the very best whatever you decide.

Acts 2.41-42 is a good guide to local church activities.

 

[ambc]

My mother and I have been attending our local Methodist church (me off and on) - she got heavily involved with the children's ministry and got to know the pastor well through that. We lost respect for her as a pastor with how she dealt with the children's ministry, showed favoritism, was unfair with treatment of people who helped with the church. However, her sermons are still fine - but my mother is now uncomfortable to attend, stating that even if the sermons are fine, she can't get as much out of the pastor's message anymore.

My mother recently became re-employed and will no longer be able to attend church service because of her working hours. As for me, I'm not sure whether to find another church or just ignore I've seen bad signs of the pastor and still attend this one since I'm used to it and liked the other people in the church.

Thoughts?

We used to have a bad preacher at my church. I always called him pastor Goebbels. (For those who don’t know, Goebbels was the Nazi propaganda minister.) The reason why I called him that is because he dislikes Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholics, and practically anyone who doesn’t agree with him.

I continued going because it’s my church, and I don’t want to leave it. Eventually, though, this pastor lost his job and we got a new one. I guess too many people were complaining about his bigotry toward other religions and Christian denominations, which he derailed in his sermons, so the church elders fired him. Thankfully, he no longer preaches at any Methodist church.

 

[dysert]

We used to have a bad preacher at my church. I always called him pastor Goebbels. (For those who don’t know, Goebbels was the Nazi propaganda minister.) The reason why I called him that is because he dislikes Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholics, and practically anyone who doesn’t agree with him.

I continued going because it’s my church, and I don’t want to leave it. Eventually, though, this pastor lost his job and we got a new one. I guess too many people were complaining about his bigotry toward other religions and Christian denominations, which he derailed in his sermons, so the church elders fired him. Thankfully, he no longer preaches at any Methodist church.

Good for you! I guess if you can stick it out longer than the pastor, that's the better thing to do. I'm not that patient, unfortunately.

 

[ambc]

Good for you! I guess if you can stick it out longer than the pastor, that's the better thing to do. I'm not that patient, unfortunately.

He was only there for six weeks, give or take, before he was fired. It wasn't that long, and I knew he would eventually lose his job if he kept being so harshly critical of other religions and Christian denominations.

 

[381465]

We used to have a bad preacher at my church. I always called him pastor Goebbels. (For those who don’t know, Goebbels was the Nazi propaganda minister.) The reason why I called him that is because he dislikes Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholics, and practically anyone who doesn’t agree with him.

I continued going because it’s my church, and I don’t want to leave it. Eventually, though, this pastor lost his job and we got a new one. I guess too many people were complaining about his bigotry toward other religions and Christian denominations, which he derailed in his sermons, so the church elders fired him. Thankfully, he no longer preaches at any Methodist church.

Yikes!
I thought it was bad enough when guest speakers would insult other denominations at my COG.
It's despicable.

 

[ambc]

Yikes!
I thought it was bad enough when guest speakers would insult other denominations at my COG.
It's despicable.

I've never understood why some Christians castigate other religions and denominations. Maybe it's because they fear views that differ from their own. As people of Jesus, our response to other religions should be to show love and set a good example.

 

[381465]

I've never understood why some Christians castigate other religions and denominations. Maybe it's because they fear views that differ from their own. As people of Jesus, our response to other religions should be to show love and set a good example.

Maybe.
I always viewed it as cult dependence.
Create cohesiveness through us vs them.
We've got the truth and others are lost.
When you have limited virtues to extol find fault with competition.