Hats Off to you Pastors!! May Jesus Christ be Praised!
Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times
and the strength of salvation Isaiah 33:6
I want to write an article that encourages pastors who are out there doing the hard work of the church. All we have to read about are the articles that warn about burnout. The articles that let pastors know they have all been living in a war zone are so depressing. They perpetuate discouragement saying there are so few of them left. My question is-Has anyone acknowledged the courage of those who have chosen to be in it for the long haul? Has anyone written about old fashioned commitment because that is what we do when we make our oath at ordination? Has anyone written about the call to duty and the strength of living with honor?
Even the current cultural climate has taken away the importance of living a sacrificial life. We have forgotten the ethics of Jesus. (But, that’s a soapbox for another time.)
These two years of ministry have been hell on earth. There’s
no denying that. Pastors have had the closest confidents turn on them because
of the difficult decisions of when to shut down and when to open the church for
in person worship.
Choirs and music have suffered at the hand of these
decisions too. Perhaps large congregations with multiple staff and as many more
opinions have suffered more than the smaller and more rural congregations.
Small congregations are used to conflict and struggle. Just staying open and
viable is a concern every year. Small congregations who have withstood the test
of times are the ones who have lived out adaptive leadership.
Hats off to you pastors who are still in your post. Hats off to you pastors who have planted your feet firm with your congregations. Hats off to you pastors who have not been swayed by the loudest voices but discovered what has been best for your little group in your unique place. Hats off to you pastors who have worked hand in hand with both the contrary and the compliance members of your leadership. Hats off to you pastors who have sought to find a way to make worship feasible and safe and fulfilling for all your people. May Jesus Christ be praised!
In 22 months more congregations have launched unimaginable
forms of ministry. Creativity soared beyond anything any pastor or church
leader could have planned for in advance. Hats off to the quick thinkers that
kept church alive in the most unusual ways. Take your under-pressure leadership
skills and dust off the rejections and pat the affirmations and move forward
into this new year with gusto. You now have a skill set that’s sellable. You now
have knowledge that’s shareable. You now have faith that’s unshakeable. You have
done remarkable work for the sake of Jesus Christ. It’s not about you or me or
even the members. It’s about the church of Jesus Christ and you have been
faithful to keeping her going against all odds.
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,… the things that God
has for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
Many of you, perhaps without knowing it, put disaster
management and Heifetz leadership into effect immediately. The three core
responsibilities of leadership are to provide-direction, protection, and
vision. During the discomfort and fear of the upheaval of this crisis it was
your responsibility to help people find a way to tolerate and live through the
storm. It was important to recognize the context of the values and belief
systems of the people you were guiding and leading. You were helping your
people move from status quo and being stuck to moving safely into the risk of new
ways of maneuvering while maintaining connections of faith and community. The
greatest risk was doing something new, and something not done before. The
hardest things you did with them was to determine the things that were essential,
and the things that were allowed to be left behind or undone. You were able to
break through the ‘right or wrong’ of things and help people to see a vision of
what ‘will or should be’. You were amazing! You also did the challenging thing
of making a few executive decisions of no and yes.
When your feelings got hurt, you withstood that. You went
back to scripture and listened to the story of Jesus being chased toward the
cliff. You turned around and realized it wasn’t really the people sending you
there it was their fears, their anxieties, their inability to adjust to the
unknowns and uncertainties of the world. You brought them hope Sunday after Sunday
and day after day. You kept the vision of a brighter day before them
And when you really got low and discouraged; when you really
thought you could throw in the towel you were reminded that this call to
ministry is not about power or control, or about feeling good and getting
affirmation; this call isn’t even about being popular and liked. Those were the
dark days. They were days that challenged. They were days that screamed-“Give
up!” But, you didn’t!
You remembered your vows were to Jesus to uphold his church
and you stood the test knowing how much he loves you. You have a toolbelt
filled with tested equipment for the storms that will come again. Trust
yourself and your dedication to the work of the Lord. It has not gone unnoticed.
Hold fast friends! Amen!!
Resources: The Practice of Adaptive Leadership Heifetz,
Grashow, Linsky. NRSV Bible
Thank you for this!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Blessings
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