The PASSION Blog

This semester I have been doing a unit called Pastoral Care. It has been really good to take this time to reflect on what pastoral care is and also the role a Pastor plays in the church.

In one of our recent lecturers we looked at some statistics from a recent church life survey. Pastors were confidentially asked a number of questions on stress levels, burnout and life as Pastors. The results are very interesting.

• 1 in 4 was experiencing significant burnout and 1 in 2 said they were in borderline burnout
• 1 in 2 said they would burnout before retirement, often in the first 5-12 years of ministry
• 70% said they had lower self esteem than when they became Pastors
• 38% said they felt overwhelmed by the complexity of daily pastoral demands
• 90% said they worked more than 46 hours per week
• many experienced high levels of loneliness and low levels of intimacy in relationships

I find these figures very disappointing and they raise a number of questions for me. Is it time to rethink the Pastor’s role? Do we expect too much from a Pastor? Do we allow them to take on too much work in too many different areas?

One suggestion that a friend had a while back was instead of paying one person say $50,000 per year to be “The Pastor”, why don’t we pay five people $10,000 to undertake the various roles of a Pastor. One could preach and teach, one could do the counselor type role, one could do home visitation etc. In a sense it would be a pastoral team approach that shares the work load.

Another suggestion that fits in with the above approach is bi-vocational Pastors. The Pastor could work part time outside the church three or four days per week and then work for the church a couple of days. This would give them interaction with their local communities and give them time away from the demands of being a full time Pastor. Of course the workload would have to be shared with others.

Now these are only two suggestions, but ones that might need to be considered if we are going to help Pastors stay in the role long term. The figures above suggest that we are going to lose a lot of Pastors over the coming years and I think we need to think outside the box if we are going retain some of them.

Happy Father’s Day to all those dad’s out there. If you are a dad, I hope your day goes well and you have all your kids around you at some stage today.

I am planning a nice easy day at home with my wife and kids. I am a pretty simple guy so a few hugs, a card and sitting on the couch watching the footy later on will do me!

I came across this “alternate” version of the 23rd Psalm the other day. I think it is the one for people who are too busy. The real version is below it. Have a read of them both and see which one you relate to.

Psalm 23 (busy version)

The Lord is my Foreman, I shall not rest
He makes me mow down green pastures
He leads me to generators besides rapid waters
He wears out my soul
Even though I walk through the valley of relaxation,
I fear no chance of rest…
Surely busyness and pressure shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will run to and fro in the house of the Lord forever

Psalm 23 (from NIV)

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Our latest verse of the week went up today. It is on being flexible.

The description says, “Not setting my affections on ideas or plans which could be changed by God or others”

The memory verse is from Colossians 3:2, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth”.

The opposite is “Resisting change”.

One of the things I have been refelcting on lately is just what is Christian maturity.

Years ago I probably would have said that a mature Christian was someone who went to church regularly, paid their tithe, served in some form in the church, was a good citizen, and had a good Bible knowledge.

While these things might be the marks of maturity, I don’t think they cover it all. Here’s a few reflections that I have come up with. It is just a few thoughts and not meant to be an exhaustive list.

1. Jesus - this goes without saying that a mature Christian trusts in Jesus for their salvation. They also realise that it is important to share Jesus with other people in the way they are called to do it.

2. Steady - a mature Christian realises that while life has its ups and downs, they know that God is in control. They are not like a boat being tossed on the ocean. They seemed to be anchored firmly to Christ.

3. Stewards - mature Christians realise that all they own is God’s. It is less about paying the exact tithe and more about using their assets, time and gifts to honour God and play their part in expanding His Kingdom.

4. Answers - someone who is mature realises they don’t have all the answers. They can admit they are not expert on all aspects of doctrine and what the Bible teaches on every subject.

5. Faults - a mature Christian admits they are not perfect. They realise they have their struggles and don’t try to portray they have it all together all of the time. They understand they are human and they have faults.

6. Feeding - a mature Christians is someone who knows how to feed themselves spiritually. They allow others to feed them, but ultimately they realise that it is their responsibility to keep growing.

7. Themselves - someone mature has an understanding of who they are in Christ. They have a godly confidence in themselves based on who God says they are. Because of this they are free to be themselves.

So there you have it. My reflections on Christian maturity. As I said it is not meant to be exhaustive, but just to include some of the things I have been thinking about lately.

I was doing some background reading for an assignment recently and I had to look at the groups of people that were around in Jesus’ time. It was interesting reading about one of the main groups at the time - the Pharisees.

I found it interesting to read about what was important to them and why. Here are a few things…

• they were a strict religious group of Jews that numbered 6000 at the time of Christ
• they were lay people with many were middle class business owners or merchants
• they devoted themselves to the Law - which included the Law of Moses (first five books of Old Testament) and a number of other teachings that interpreted the law for everyday living (613 in total)
• they paid special attention to being ritually pure and had a number of very strict rules for washing themselves and eating the right foods
• they also had very strict rules on tithing, the Sabbath, divorce, taking oaths and their clothing and strived very hard to make they kept them all
• they distanced themselves from others who did not follow their strict rules especially in regard to ritual purity
• for the Pharisee their religion was not a profession, it was a way of life. They were deeply committed to following all the rules so they could be “right” with God.
• they wanted to be a holy nation and they believed that if Israel could be pure for a time, then the Messiah would come.

It was interesting that they saw Jesus as a threat. This was because He taught that it was not so much as what we did on the outside that made us right with God, but our heart attitudes towards God and others.

We see in Matthew 23 that Jesus reserved some of His harshest criticism for the Pharisees. They got so caught up in keeping the Law that they forgot the things that are more important to God like being just, showing mercy and being faithful (Matthew 23:23-24).

One of my favourite passages of Scripture comes from Matthew 11:28-30. It says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

At the heart of these few simple verses is an invitation. An invitation to come to Jesus and an invitation to live differently. Here are three things I love about this passage.

1. Jesus invites us to Himself - Jesus says, “Come to Me”. He invites everyone to come and get to know Him and spend time with Him. It is a personal invitation, but it is also to everyone. We see this in the “all who are weary”. In the preceding verse Jesus talks about the Father and the Son knowing each other intimately. Jesus is inviting us to that same kind of intimacy. The type He has with His heavenly Father.

2. Jesus Invites us to take on His yoke - In old style farming a yoke was used to join two animals together. Usually an older more experienced animal with a younger one. Together they partnered in the work. Side by side they would work, until the work was done. In this passage Jesus invites us to partner in the work He is already doing in the world. It is easy to get caught up in doing all kinds of “good” things, but Jesus invites us to be involved in His work. To put our hand to his plough. To put on His yoke.

3. Jesus invites us to learn from Him - Jesus wants to teach us a different way to live. He wants to show us the Father’s plan and how we can live it out. Jesus wants us to follow Him just He asked the first disciples to follow Him. He promises that He will be gentle and teach us from a humble heart. I don’t know about you, but that is my kind of teacher.

And what is th great promise from this invitation? Rest. Jesus promises us that we WILL find rest for our weary souls. Rest from trying to work it all out ourselves. Rest from all the striving and stress that this world throws at us. Jesus wants to give us the rest and peace that only comes from knowing Him.

If you would like to find this rest and peace that comes from knowing Jesus, please visit my “Peace with God” page here

Every now and then as Christians we use the term Body of Christ. For those who are not sure what this means I thought I would share briefly what that means. The term Body of Christ is used in three main ways in the Bible.

1. The body of Christ refers to Christ’s actual physical body ie the Body of Christ was placed in the tomb after His death.
2. Body of Christ also is used when taking communion or as it is sometimes known “The Lord’s Supper”. The bread or wafer we use is to remember Christ’s death. It symbolises Christ’s body that hung on the cross.
3. The Apostle Paul uses the phrase body of Christ when talking about the church. When used this way He was talking about all people who called themselves Christians all over the world.

I came across this post a while back on The M Blog. It was titled, “The top ten reasons for planting house churches”. At the time I found it quite useful so I thought I would share it on my blog. Enjoy.

1. Biblical – This was the normative New Testament pattern established by Jesus and the apostles and perpetuated by the early church of the first three centuries and in subsequent renewal, reform and revival movements throughout history. (Acts 2:46, 5:42, 20:20)

2. Exponential - To reach a growing world, we need to multiply, not just add. Current house church movements worldwide are outstripping more traditional church planting and church growth efforts.

3. Effective – The most effective method of evangelism is not growing existing churches, but planting new ones. House churches are the most easily reproducible form of church, and hence, are the most obvious choice for church planting.

4. Natural – House churches become part of the local community and easily tap into relationship connections, thereby more readily taking on an indigenous flavour.

5. People-Focused – They focus on relationships and the development of people spiritually, not on executing programs or projects.

6. Efficient – They are more mobile, flexible, and adaptable than conventional churches, especially in areas characterized by persecution and poverty.

7. Equal Opportunity – Because of their small, intimate and participatory nature, all believers have the opportunity to exercise their spiritual gifts during church meetings, and not just professional clergy or key leaders.

8. Unbounded – They are not limited by church buildings. Whatever use buildings may or may not have, history shows that they are not necessary for rapid church planting movements to start; in fact, they may be a hindrance. Although church buildings are not evil by any means, nor are homes in any way magical, the practical release of time, energy and money away from building maintenance, and into evangelism and discipleship, should cause us to rethink current practices.

9. Inexpensive – They are less expensive than traditional church, because no expensive buildings, programs, or professional clergy are required.

10. Immediate – It can start now, right in your living room. There is no need to wait for a gym to be rented or for a building program to be completed to begin a new church or for a full-time pastor to be hired.

Over the years one of my biggest struggles as a Christian has been attending church each week and going to all the extra meetings/events. This is because I am naturally someone who does not need a lot of social contact and I enjoy time alone to pray and reflect on things. I guess in many ways I am a bit of a loner.

In this post I want to share some of the things loners think and feel at times. I will make some comparisons between people who need to spend more time alone than most people and those who are naturally more social.

• At the end of a hard week at work a loner might long for the solitude of their home after spending so much time with people. Someone more social might be ringing friends to arrange a group movie night, a party or to go to a club or pub.
• If a loner plays a sport they might chose something like cycling, swimming or running where they can do it alone. A social person might chose a team sport as they enjoy the team aspects and the social contact.
• If a loner does some studies they might chose to do it externally where they can really focus on the learning and reflecting on the content. A more social person do it on campus as they enjoy the relationships and discussing things with others as they learn.
• If a loner is going through a hard time or a busy situation they tend to withdraw for a while. A more social person might ring some friends and talk about things. Unlike the loner, they desire to be around people.
• If there is an extra church meeting a loner might prefer a small group or prayer meeting. A social person might want to hold a quiz night or pot luck church dinner.
• After church a loner might like to catch up with one or two people or read the church newsletter in their seat. A more social person will be off catching up with everyone and arranging outings.

I hope you can see what I am saying here. We are all wired differently and some people need more social contact than others.  Some get energised from being around people all the time, while others get very tired and drained. Some delight at the chance of going to church and social events all the time, while others need to really mentally prepare themselves to even go to church once a month!

I believe we need to accept people as they are and realise that some people might be with us for a few months and then we might not see them for a bit. Some may even only come ocassionally. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are backsliding, less committed or falling away, they might just need a rest from all the social contact. They might just need to be a “lone ranger” for a while to recover!