This past Sunday our church honored my Sr. Pastor, Shaun Sutton and his family, for being here at Fort Osage Nazarene for 20 years. It was awesome to listen to people share memories and express their gratitude for the influence he and his wife have had in people's lives.. This church is definitely blessed to have had Shaun and his family for this long.I have always been an advocate for long term investment into a community when it comes to pastoral ministry. To be honest, there is a small amount of pride I take when I tell people that I have served at my church as the youth pastor for 6 years due to the fact that the average stay is much shorter than that. It takes a long time to earn trust, build relationships, etc. However, for the first time I find myself considering the negative effects of such a long term investment.
If Shaun were to leave this church tomorrow, whoever replaced him would be in for absolute failure. No one could fill his shoes... Not necessarily because they would not be as qualified, relational, or intelligent, but because the community has become so emotionally attached to Shaun and his family that any replacement 'just wouldn't be the same.' So, my question is pretty simple: Can building long term friendships/relationships and becoming so deeply rooted into a community actually end up as a potential hindrance to the gospel?
Posts
Yes. Not because of the attachment and trust that is extended to the pastor but because in so many local churches in our tradition pastors lead and participate in everything.
ReplyDeleteMy answer is no for those local churches that thrive through lay leadership. Yes, those churches do exist even though they might seem like an urban legend at times.
It depends if they are building up and training up leaders from within. If they are, then they are like Paul and can leave knowing that Timothy was in charge and the people were in good hands. If they are not training up and building up from within, then yes, there can be a hinderance.
ReplyDelete