I Prefer

It's saddening when even pastors are immature and worldly.

2 young pastors expressed that they don't "prefer" to preach on Saturday. Probably because of the smaller size of audience and that they were being criticized on their sermons.

Usually I would stand on the side of the pastors when people criticize sermons, but even before I heard that there are criticism on their sermons, I already find their sermons to be problematic and unbiblical. I am actually glad that somebody finally told them because they think they were great and a bit too prideful of their sermons.

One of them preaches sermons with no conclusion, share way too much about his experience and his limited knowledge instead of using the Bible as the groundwork. MOre than half the time he has good intention but his sermons are confusing and he doesn't give Biblical conclusion. There is not authoritative God-view in his sermon. The same can be said for the other one.

The other basically preaches post-modernist sermons. Very dangerous. I hope he knows what the heck he's doing with these sermons. Actually it's bad either way. If the sermons are intentional then there is something wrong with his theology. If he doesn't then he is basically dumb and not know what the heck he's talking about.

Most church goers can't detect these things for several reasons:

• falling asleep during sermon
• not paying attention during sermon
  
• poor Biblical knowledge and base
• poor theology
• haven't heard much sermons or talks outside of their own church
• poor spiritual life
• worldly view
• disconnection from God

and etc...

I still remember one time I asked a slight younger brother about the sermon and he complained about presentation, on how the pastor was speaking softly one moment and then loud the next. I was really asking about the content of the sermon. Judging presentation is shallow. I wonder if that's all that he remembered from the sermon, that there were too much crescendos and descendos. What about the content?

I got the same disappointing commentary after a fellowship talk also, but this time by a deacon who I thought highly off. Yeah, the deacon commented also on presentation and how there should be small group reflecting. That was the deacon's only comment. I was wondering, "What about the stuff that the speaker was talking off? Was there reflection?" I wonder if these people are in state of denial and made these shallow comments because they were embarrassed that they weren't really listening carefully or do they really only care about plain "presentation."

I also don't like this mentality of complaining about presentation. It reminds me the trend of a lot of school kids blaming the teachers for not teaching the class well. The trend is epidemic. There are bad teachers everywhere, I believe there are only a small number of really good teachers, then like 50 or more percent of average teachers (good) and then like 20% bad teachers. But from the way you hear Hong Kong kids speaking on teachers, you would think 90% of the teachers are bad at teaching.

As for the preferences.

Do you really get a choice I would like to ask them back?

Yeah, I prefer to be 6'8" with a built like Lebron James and IQ of 180.

Pastor Statistics

Pastors today are faced with more work, more problems, and more stress than any other time in the history of the church. This is taking a frightening toll on the ministry, shown by the statistics below:

Pastors:

• Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention in their churches.

• Four thousand new churches begin each year, but over seven thousand churches close.

• Fifty percent of pastors' marriages will end in divorce.

• Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.

• Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.

• Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years. Ninety percent of pastors said their seminary or Bible school training did only a fair to poor job preparing them for ministry.

• Eighty-five percent of pastors said their greatest problem is they are sick and tired of dealing with problem people, such as disgruntled elders, deacons, worship leaders, worship teams, board members, and associate pastors. Ninety percent said the hardest thing about ministry is dealing with uncooperative people.

• Seventy percent of pastors feel grossly underpaid.

• Ninety percent said the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be before they entered the ministry.

• Seventy percent felt God called them to pastoral ministry before their ministry began, but after three years of ministry, only fifty percent still felt called.

• Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.

• Almost forty percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry.

Pastors' Wives:

• Eighty percent of pastors' spouses feel their spouse is overworked.

• Eighty percent of pastor' wives feel left out and unappreciated by the church members.

• Eighty percent of pastors' spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.

• Eighty percent of pastors' wives feel pressured to do things and be something in the church that they are really not.

• The majority of pastor's wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.

Pastors' Children:

• Eighty percent of adult children of pastors surveyed have had to seek professional help for depression.

Pastors' Relationship With the Lord:

• Seventy percent of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant, or mentor.

• Ninety-five percent of pastors do not regularly pray with their spouses.

• Eighty percent of pastors surveyed spend less than fifteen minutes a day in prayer.

• Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.

Reason for clergy shortage? Just ask why pastors leave churches

A growing challenge in many denominations is finding enough pastors to serve the churches that are vacant. More people are leaving the ministry ranks (through resignation or retirement) than are joining them. In my own denomination, the Christian Reformed Church, plans to start new churches are repeatedly scaled back because we can’t find enough qualified pastors to start these new churches. Our denomination is having a hard enough time finding enough pastors to fill vacant churches, let alone finding pastors to start new ones. Why the shortage of ministers?

Several years ago, consultants Alan and Cheryl Klaas were hired by the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) to investigate this issue. They were tasked to find the root causes of the clergy shortage that many denominations are facing. The problem they uncovered was unexpected (to them) and troubling. The reason for the drop-off of new ministry recruits matched the reason for an increase in people leaving ministry: the conflict, criticism, and ill-treatment that has become an all-too-common aspect of ministry life. What follows is an excerpt of an article in the Baptist standard:

“[This research study] was intended to be a traditional recruitment and retention study,” Klaas said. For example, he thought he’d be recommending changes on issues like seminary communication with potential students.

“We wondered if students got good services, if seminaries were recruiting the right people,” he explained. But in the end, the Klaases concluded the problems are 20 percent institutional and 80 percent behavioral.

“The fundamental finding is that people beating on each other is the main issue,” Klaas said.

One telling statistic from the Klaas study is the decrease in the numbers of pastors’ kids who become pastors themselves. Klaas estimates that pastors’ children made up about 40 percent of seminarians in the 1950s and ’60s. It’s a much different picture now at the two seminaries in the denomination Klaas was working with. Last year, pastors’ children made up only 5 percent of seminarians at one and 17 percent at the other.

The bottom line is that churches need to do a better job at caring for and supporting their pastors. Another way of looking at it — from the vantage point of the pastors themselves — is to say that pastors need to do a better job of caring for and supporting themselves (through training, taking time off, participating in support groups, etc.). Instead of sitting back and hoping that the church will do it for you, create a plan and insist on the church’s support for you to take the steps you need to care for your physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened in my case, had I done this. I tried to do it, but was not clear enough about what I needed, or insistent about getting the funding to get help. To be honest, I don’t think I really understood what I needed or how badly I needed it until it was too late. Don’t make that mistake.

Used

As a PK, I got no problem with serving with my heart and soul, but something often crosses my mind and it's that I might be "used."

I am not talking about being "used" by God, but about being "used" by people and their schemes.

Being put into difficult serving positions because as a PK, some people actually think that I am the "extra" part of church or the "extension" of the pastor, and not a regular brother or sister who has feeling, can get hurt, would complain and etc. PKs, in their eyes, can be "compromised" (and that is a nice word at that). At times I do know that I am being used. Being put into tough situation or serving positions that no one else wants to do, do the dirty work, not being treated honestly and etc. But I just do it anyway. Because I can see the ultimate good, and what I can do in those situation.

Some people might think I am stupid for doing all that, doing so much for so little in return, but my reward is not here. Some people, and in my case, the leaders and even some pastors would choose ministries and serving positions that get a lot of exposure and "rewards". Some of these serving positions require very little work but get great recognition. Some of the important dirty work are outsourced to others.

What are those earthly "rewards"?

Positions that would give them cult following. Positions that are prestigious like chairperson of this and that committee (where in some cases the actual work is given to the other "lower" members). Positions with uniform. In ministries that are fun and thus people would join and have fun and be happy and love the person in charge who also have a lot of fun. Nothing wrong with having fun, but using it also along line with making a following is wrong.

Actually this personality cult following trend is just utterly wrong and disastrous to the growth of church. It is very harmful and has a profound effect on current and future leadership of this church.

The people who are in leadership position is using this stupid and wrong strategy. It creates so much relationship/people problems, setbacks and dilemmas. And the worst thing is that the younger ones following the same strategy thinking that it is the "right" way to go.

Unity

Guys, the "HEAD" is GOD! Not individuals. We are suppose to make people into fans of God, not fans of other sinful human beings.

God unites us, by following God, we are united. When we follow people, we will be divided, and actually that's the situation right now. We are divided because we are following people.

The theme is still simplicity.

I don't like how church is becoming more worldly in its operation and under the table deals and relationship, people getting used and etc.

It is just not what it is suppose to be.

This church is really a mess. There are so many core problems mainly with its culture that will continue to create problems. The structure is weak. There is way too many unhealthy relationships. A disorderness that is continuing to cause problems and misunderstandings.

The worst is that there is a tradition of manipulation and influence. Things are not in the open. There are backdoor deals, things are not in the open, people are afraid of responsibility and those with titles are unmotivated and incapable of doing anything.

And looking around, there are hardly any good quality leaders who are not (intentionally or unintentionally) grounded and uncorrupted by the world. Really. There is a shortage. I have no idea how in the world we can set things right and clean up this messy system we have here.

It's like a malfunction machine. The left hand can't coordinate with the right hand, the left foot doesn't communicate with the thigh. The right foot has a secret deal with the neck but doesn't know what the left leg is doing while the left index finger is trying control the right shoulder. Uuur. What can you do here? It's getting better but I am seeing a decade project and I am being optimistic (hoping that no shit happens in between and a lot of shit is happening as of now).

There is also a lack of respect for clergy and a tradition of incapable and irresponsible deacons who...I don't know what to say about them. Some of them are just bad, selfish people. People that you wouldn't even hire for work. The finance is a mess, for over a year we have been getting inaccurate budgeting. Urr. We need an extra pastor and for some strange reasons we still haven't after 2 years! Some of the deacons are just lazy. Some are manipulative. The ones who have good intention are not too mature, not too grounded in the faith (worldly) or the Word, naive and just being manipulated or are too afraid to stand up.

I just don't know what is going on. Can they live with themselves? Can the divine ray of God just blast us with truth and knowledge? We really need that. Just wake us up. I don't know how the deacons just can't lead. We ened leaders. I find myself pushing one of the deacons to hold meeting for something we have to do and I have been asking and pushing and reminding the deacon for like at least 4 months. What the heck is going on? What do they think they are doing exactly? They have to lead. Lead by example. Do they know Jesus? Jesus lead by doing it, walking the talk, serving others. Some deacons hers just think they are CEOs or something and their roles is to tell people to do work. NO No NO. Lead by serving. Lead by doing. Do the talk. not just talk and no work.

People have channel vision. Get a wider church perspective. There is also an addiction with control. All these leaders are like power thirsty or something. They just need to control others. Need to raise up a bunch of followers, a bit like Mao Zedong's personality cult.

Can we just do what Christians at church are suppose to do. Serve God? Not ourselves. Not to build personality cult like Mao but fanfare for God. Love God, your alligence to God, not your favorite person at church or the guy who makes you feel the best or spoil you.

All these diseaes. What can we do with them.