Warning...this is a rant! I just can't figure out some people. More on that toward the end...
At church today we had a guest speaker. He had been scheduled by the former pastor. My husband called & spoke with him to make sure he had the same doctrinal beliefs before letting him preach. He was a pretty good speaker. Apparently he comes in from Michigan once a year to visit family, and he has preached at our church before while doing so. That way his family gets to hear him speak. He is a children's pastor at his church.
He did the short kids' sermon before dismissing them to children's church instead of my hubby today. It was really good! He had a drinking glass and a bag of coffee beans. He asked each child what they liked to do for fun. As they told him things he would drop coffee beans into the glass. Then he asked what things they had to do that maybe weren't fun (like chores). He added more beans for that. He added in beans for school work and for a few other things. By that time the glass was pretty much full. He said that was their life and that it was full of lots of things.
He then talked about the first commandment: loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, & strength. (Mark 12:29-30) He used 4 golf balls for that. He tried to put the balls on top of the beans, but they wouldn't all fit. Then he mentioned the verse, "But seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and ALL THESE THINGS shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33) He picked up another glass (same size as the first) and explained to them that if they would learn to put God first...to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, & strength (adding the 4 golf balls to the empty glass) that God would add all the other things that fill up their life. He poured the coffee beans from the first glass into the 2nd glass and they maneuvered their way all around the golf balls filling the glass. It was a really good illustration!
I often find myself trying to fit God into my daily life. Instead, I should be fitting my daily life around God. I have to work on that. In all honesty...I got more out of his short children's sermon than I got out of his sermon for the adults. That sermon was like an 8th grade Bible class. It was good. You could just tell he's used to teaching Bible in the Christian School at his church.
As we were getting into our Jeep after church, my husband noticed that one of the ladies was very upset. He got out of our Jeep & went over to her to see what was wrong. Her husband was trying to console her as she told my husband that when she asked the lady with whom she takes turns teaching children's church if she'd be teaching next week, the lady told her that this would be her last Sunday at our church and walked off. She didn't give a reason. Neither she nor her husband has given any signs of being unhappy. They didn't tell anyone else. In fact, the men had a very short meeting after church and her husband was trying to get out the door when another man asked him if he forgot about the meeting. So, he came back in and stayed for the meeting. He never mentioned anything about leaving.
The former pastor told us before my husband became pastor that this couple was going to leave when he did. The thing is...they didn't leave when he did. They've stayed for almost two months and have been actively participating in things.
I understand that people switch churches. What I don't understand is why they leave without saying good-bye or explaining why they are leaving. I mean, if they are offended by something...why not just let the pastor know? Why pretend everything is fine and then sneak out?
I guess I'm just weird. We've never left a church without going to the pastor and explaining why we were going. I just think it's better to be open and honest about it rather than let people wonder. Wondering why can lead to a lot of gossip in a church. Being straight forward causes so much less stress.
My husband is going to call them and see if he can talk to them in person. Whenever a church switches pastors, you lose some people and gain others. The losing people always hurts and, when they don't tell you why they are leaving, it makes the hurt worse.
Okay, I've ranted about this enough. Just needed to get those thoughts out of my head. Maybe I can sleep now.
1 comment:
Bless you heart sweetie. We are in the "people business"... pastor, and pastor's wife. Don't take it personal. If after your husband tries to talk with them and they still want to leave and won't say why, you must leave it to God. My hasband and I took over as SR. Pastor over 11 years ago. It was very difficult. We had people come and go for quite some time. What we have found is that some people are people followers and not God followers. They follow the personality of the pastor. When that happens, they are looking for the pastor to make them happy. They are not relying on God.
I will keep you in my prayers dear sister.
God bless you.
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