Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Maybe They Are Just Focused On The Wrong Stuff
The moral failures of a minority of pastors receive widespread coverage.
Our nation has marginalized the Christian faith.
Pastoral tenure has dropped significantly over the past few decades.
Some church members have a strong entitlement mentality.
Social media encourages criticism from a distance.
A few pastors have poor work ethics.
Pastors are often the scapegoats for fear and change.
There is a pervasive cynicism in our society.
There is a failure of some pastors in two key areas: leadership and emotional intelligence.
There are higher expectations today for pastors to be competent, even dynamic, leaders.
More churches are dying in America today.
Or maybe, just maybe they spend too much time focusing on external factors and not enough time becoming the people God wants them to be. Look at that list - 11 items - only one of which is about the pastor him/herself. The rest is about expectations or media or membership or something not the pastor. That, I think, is the problem.
This thing seems to assume that trust is given to the title - trust is never given to a title or position - it is given to a person. And it is given to a person becasue it is earned. It is just that simple. Thus, if you are a pastor and you are not trusted you need to ask yourself what you are doing wrong. Nothing else matters, really.
Now, we can discuss a presumption of trustworthiness coming with a position or title. In other words the world probably did used to presume a pastor was trustworthy until they blew it while now there is no such presumption. I think that has little to do with the list presented and much to do with gate-keeping functions. When I was a kid a person that aspired to be a pastor went through so much to get their that their character had been shaped or they had failed. Not anymore, any idiot can decide to "plant" a church and call themselves pastor regardless of education or character. I have more religious education than some people I have met calling themselves pastor.
I think you are looking the wrong place Mr. Rainer.
church pastors trust
