Saturday, April 4, 2009

Lazy Reverends and Preachers

LazinessThe cornerstone of Christianity is the relationship between a Church and its congregation. It is lamentable that the Church administrators and ministers are no longer out and about shoring up the faith of the faithful. Those wanting and needing spiritual guidance migrate to the mega-churches hoping for spiritual guidance, but it is a futile gesture. Mega-churches are all about money. There is no way that a person can benefit from a relationship with the pastor of such churches. The sheer size of the congregation makes any personal spiritual guidance impossible.

Gone are the days when the pastors of the local churches greeted newcomers in their area to encourage attendance to their respective churches. By ignoring possible new church members, the resident pastors lose these people either to others or to no church at all.

The church Budget is always a concern at local churches, but if its pastor is out doing the things he needs to be doing instead of brooding about money, the chances are good that he would be able to inspire his flock to new heights. It might even slow the gradual decay of our society.

This is not to ignore the responsibility of the Christian to seek out the church of choice whenever he/she moves into a new community, but the odds are better that they will attend if the local pastors take a more proactive position. The chances for both old and new citizens to become part of a local congregation grow exponentially when the local pastors get to know these individuals. They may not secure a new member the first time they meet, but a continuing effort by the pastor will gain the confidence of the prospective member. Remember, there comes a time when everybody needs spiritual help and guidance. And in those times, they will remember who has been seeking fellowship with them.

Absent any other refuge, the person may just drift without ever receiving the spiritual guidance needed. A shameful situation like that is avoidable if our Ministers and Pastors were just doing their job. A church needs to fire a lazy pastor that is continually concerned about money. Remember churchgoers, if your church services sound like a board of directors meeting instead of a spiritual awakening, you need to corner your pastor and tell him.

I visited a church not many Sundays ago and we listened the better part of that service about the need for increased funding for the 'Missionary Fund', the 'Building Fund', the 'Alms Box' for the poor, and Church expenses. I noticed quite a few empty seats in that Church, and yet, this pastor was building a large new facility. I am not against any of the needs that he spoke about, but with that many empty seats, I could tell that tending the flock was not his long suit.

Do not be afraid to dispose of a pastor who is not serving your church well, or who is instead trying to build an edifice to his fund-raising skills. What we as a Christian nation need now more than ever are pastors willing to do the Lord's work. Those other matters will take care of themselves when a pastor takes it upon himself to tend the needs of his congregation. There is a great spiritual need in this country and Christians from all over need to pay attention to it.

Cheers,

-Robert-

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