The Preacher's Lament

My sister called me yesterday. Her minister had put something in their church newsletter that she thought I'd appreciate. It was something called "The Preacher's Lament." I laughed and then I listened. Sometimes we need to lighten up, we church-y folk. So here I share it with you. Have a laugh on me, but then look honestly at yourself and your church and see if there might need to be a change.

THE PREACHER'S LAMENT
Adapted from "The Public Employee's Lament"
by James H. Dearmore, www.gospelweb.net
Original Author Unknown

(Just a joke, folks, but quite a lot of truth in it!)

If I express myself on a subject, I'm trying to run things.
If I'm silent, I'm dumb or have lost interest.
If I'm often at my office (preparing messages), why don't I get out and learn what's going on.
If I'm out when they call, why am I not tending to business, or studying for a message.
If I'm not at home at night, I'm out having a good time.
If I'm home, I'm neglecting important outside contacts and activities.
If I don't agree with persons, I'm bullheaded.
If I do agree, I don't have any ideas of my own.
If I don't do what I'm requested, I'm a very poor pastor or minister.
If I do agree, well, that's what I'm paid for.
If I give someone a short answer, I'm "too big for my britches."
If I attempt to explain the pros and cons of an issue, I'm a know-it-all.
If I'm well dressed, I think I'm a big shot.
If I'm not, I'm a poor representative of my office.
If I'm on the job a short time, I'm inexperienced.
If I've been there a long time, It's time for a change."

--- Adapted by Webmaster from "The Public Employee's Lament."

"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, The Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding." --- Isaiah 40:28.

Give your preacher a hug for me this week!  This is Pastor Appreciation Month...

We Must be Doing Something Right

This Sunday is Homecoming at my church - that is, the church I serve. My home church has homecoming in the spring. Waxhaw UMC is celebrating 125 years of ministry this Sunday. The church is getting excited. We've collected memorabilia and invited former pastors and members to join us. We've advertised. We've planned. Now the time is near, and it's electric.

My church suffers, as most mainline denominations do today, from a concerning amount of attrition currently. The church is trying to stay on top of things. The council is adding new initiatives and undergirding old favorites. Everyone wants to remain a vital, healthy congregation. As I've been involved in looking into the past glory of this place, one idea keeps hitting me: "We've made it this far, and God has always been faithful when we are faithful." I fully believe that if we are acting in God's will and plan for us, this church will last another 125 years.

Then THAT led me to think, all the people wringing their hands and asking, "Is this the end of the institutional church?" should remember that through incredible persecution, scandals and other trials, the church of Jesus Christ has endured for centuries, even millenia! In the seventies they said, "God is dead." Then the Jesus freaks were born. In the period of "Enlightenment," even with the rise of secularism, the faithful still turned to the church for help and hope. Now, today when our cultural climate is becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity, I look around at all the nay-sayers and I don't buy it. God hasn't brought us this far only to leave us stranded now. 

Is this the end of the church as we know it? Maybe. The church wasn't always what we see now. But the faith, the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ, will remain until the end. Jesus says, "So you, too, must keep watch! For you don't know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them." (Matthew 24:42-45, NLT) It doesn't matter whether or not we have a building or a budget. We are still called to do God's will and to be the hands and feet of Christ. We are to stay active and faithful, while we care tenderly for all God's children. What storms are going on around us cannot shake our faith; in fact, they should only strengthen our resolve to be what we were created to be - God's image to the hungry and hurting world. Look where God is working and join him. This is what's important, not numbers on a page. John the Baptist's disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Are you the Messiah...or should we keep looking...?" Jesus told them, "Go back and tell John what you have heard and seen - the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the Good News is being preached to the poor." (Matthew 11:2-6)