5 Reasons I would claim to leave the church
Thursday, June 19, 2008
One of our pastors read this post by Roger Mugs over at Opensource Theology and passed it on to all of us.
5 Reasons I would claim to leave the church
5. My pastor hasn't had a relationship with a non-believer in over 10 years
4. The leaders of my church are workaholics and I find it hard to believe they have a healthy relationship with the Lord when they don't have the time for their family
3. I'm sick of it being about one man. Be that the pastor, or the musician or whatever, I want to see them raising up other people and sending them out, content to have many small churches instead of one mega church
2. There are 1,000 people who attend my church. I know 50 and only care about 20 of them. I attend a small group to go deeper with those I care about, but I have no reason to remember the name of the guy whose hand I shake between worship and the sermon
1. There is no place to really do ministry, the leaders will not let go of control. I want to pray for people, bless people, watch out for people, be there for people. I want to be invited to do what the Lord has called me to do.
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The sentiments in this post are worth reflection. They speak to concerns we've had at Life on the Vine. Not that we're a big church or anything. These are just things we have had to think about and resist. I see #3-#5 as problems inherent in the professionalization that is necessitated at a mega church. I see #1-#2 evaporating once the church orients herself to incarnational presense and mission. So in relation to each of the 5 reasons here's my 5 comments - in 3 sentences or less. What are yours?
5.) At the Vine, we intentionally ask our pastors to be bi-occupational having a job in the marketplace, often part-time. We are therefore forced to get to know people in whatever marketplace we are in. In this way we model mission. This is harder for me now since my "other" job became a full time seminary professor three years ago. I must find other ways.
4.) The professionalization of the church organization creates an ethos among staff where "the onus is on us" to produce. Thus pastors get busy, performance oriented. Disbursed multiple leadership assumes we are only responding to what God is already doing, our task is to merely be faithful in all the things God brings to us each day. We are not paid/hired to produce goals, we are paid an amount that enables/frees us to do more of what God is already doing. This keeps church as well as family in perspective
3.) At the Vine, we deliberately mute the one man syndrome. For it gravitates everyone towards this one man's leadership (senior pastor roles are rarely given to women), charisma and vision. It saps all power into the center instead of dispersing it and multiplying it among the people and into the neighborhoods. In this way the one man senior leader position kills all missionalness. At the Vine, we have multiple pastors. The musicians set up off to the side. We gather on Sundays in a circle around the alter - and the cross - not focused upon a pastor.
2.) I'd say that twenty people is the maximum number of people you can really know and journey life together with. The task is to get to know them and make commitments together and inhabit a context together for ministry. It's hard enough for smaller churches to guide people toward this. I don't know how mega structures could do this.
1.) We try different things to empower people into leadership among our community. We have a college of preachers/lirturgists that trains these kind of leaders in our midst. But most of the focus should be on channeling ministry out among the neighborhoods with people that one comes in contact with. Of course, you learn this, as a way of life, through leadrship, discipleship and smaller missional order type relationships. We're struggling to get this moving at our church.
Posted by David Fitch | 2:09 PM
COMMENTS:
Great post! Number five is a big one for me. A pastor should be a model for others to follow, specifically in his relationships with non-believers. The question that I think about all the time is, How in the world can a pastor training believers to reach non-believers when he himself is not even rubbing shoulders with non-believers? It deeply bothers me that I know too many pastors that are have no relationship with non-believers. I would seriously consider leaving a church if the leadership was like that.
A couple questions I have in regards to being bi-occupational is:
1) How do you get everything done you need to get done when you are bi-occupational?
2) And when you are bi-occupational don't you seriously run the risk of doing number four (being a workaholic?)
5:13 AM
Great post, David. I couldn't help but read some of the points in reverse. That is, how many pastors feel pushed into those positions by congregations who demand market value or "shop elsewhere"? Just a thought.
As we begin our "church plant", my second job will be (as it has been for years) serving with YWAM. Thankfully, this work has me in the community daily, especially since the bookstore opened. I love it! Of course, neither job pays, so... gulp!
Peace,
Jamie
7:37 AM
Hey Dave,
You won't be surprised by my comment, but there is no question that 5, 4, and 3 are related to professionalization. But, I think the statistics reveal something else: under the professional model, with the pastor as one man, there is no affirmation for him to build and cultivate deeper friendships within the community--non-believer, *or* believer.
Under the professional model, he has to be all things to all men and must respect professional distance within the community. Here is a sad picture but appears to be on: here is the modern professional, one-man pastor model: surrounded by community--he's stressed by being all things to all men, stressed about family time, doesn't have any relationship with unbelievers, and doesn't have any immediate, deep friendships within his own faith community, either.
7:40 AM
Nice,
I wonder if pressing in to the church, that is not living well, by living well would have more effect than moving out to live well. I have started a community that fulfills the needs I see as lacking in my local minimega (1000) and we still are involved in our churches. What if your community was living against in the church setting as well as the world??
6:31 AM
David,
Wonderful thoughts.
I left and gave up ministry for some of the reasons you listed. I found as Jonah did that you can't run from God. When God has a purpose for your life then you have to complete it. I believe that every Christian should read this post and reflect. You do a fantastic job with your blog. Your blog is definately one of my favs. Keep up the great work and God bless your ministry and all you do.
1:45 PM
Thanks for the great comments all ... to speak to jeremy's questions ... you simply must have a different way about the ministry ... a ceryain resistance to more "work-making" organization ... a way of keeping ministry within the capabalities of a an established rythym of life .. something I think every Christain must do .. Sunday gathering must almst be able to run itself ...organically ... and because all ministry is bi-occupational ... there's room and budget in the church to always have two-three or four part timer pastors working together .. along with all other ministers of the church. Having said that ... it took me a while to learn this and I nearly killed myself trying to do bi-vocational ministry.
Blessings ..
7:05 PM
"Proving to be examples to the flock.." This is the killer for me. I've known many busy pastors, and while they are often examples of a moral life they are not examples of a well-lived and missional life. They have no time for family, and little time for friendship. I've known too many pastors who really have no friends at all. This if nothing else, should cue us to the reality that such churches are not biblical communities and therefore are not places of gospel wholeness. In such cases they function ok as business but are not really "ekklesial."
4:07 PM
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