It Works Both Ways

I had an assistant pastor recently ask me if I was interested in serving the church in some capacity.

I said:

"Yes, of course. Just text me at this number. Then, I'll send you a QR code to my website so you can fill out the contact form on the last page. Please list all available openings and I will have a member of my staff get back to you as soon as possible."

And?

IN GOD THE SON,
bluto

He wants a higher horse.

No, just a church where the elders haven't sold out to secularism.

Your whole post wreaked of pride. Do what you will with what I shared.

I actually don't need my own. I'll just borrow the pastor's.

There are plenty to be had. I've got a used one I don't use anymore.

That was a rather snide response. You could have either offered to serve or declined and given your reasons. Since you are not happy with this church, why are you even there?

I don't know. It's pretty much the same response you get when you simply wish to give praise and encouragement to your pastor for a job well done.

"Just get on the website, fill out this contact form, and someone will get back to you." Huh?

Now, you may be thinking that a pastor of a 10,000- member congegation would be waaaaaay too busy to shake the hand of a lowly parishoner like me. And you would be right.

But I've seen this phenomenon in churches with only 57 people! The pastor is typically "protected" from the low-lifes in his congregation, no matter how many people are in the church. What's weird is that the assistant pasors typically have the same "I'm-too-busy" attitude.

Thus, the introduction into your church of modern corporate gatekeepers, such as websites, contact forms, QR codes, and apps. It's all designed to keep you at arms-length.

So, how far down the ladder does one need to go to receve spiritual guidance within the church? Parishoner #56?

Ha, sorry for all the spelling mistakes. I've been using Grammarly for so long, I forgot how to write on my own.

Yeah, ween yourself off Grammarly for posting on casual forums, Youtube, etc. so you can practice proper grammar on your own. Use Grammarly if you are publishing something or for work.


🧦

Hmm confused.. is this just being funny? Came off as funny The flip side.. what Churches do is up to them. I remember when God started to really move with in the Church (were talking decades ago) and then man (or in truth the enemy) started to take advantage of that and would sue them.

I LOVE the lord.. just thank you Father for taking me as I am and never once saying a word about it. Never seem to have that problem with world. Oh but with Christian's many times.

Volunteering to lead a small group or some other capacity should be a simple process.

In my experience with a megachurch, it was sometimes a daunting challenge that would go overlooked by pastoral leadership.
Other times I saw members of denominational churches ,who were strongly opposed to church doctrine, considered for leadership roles. For instance, a RC guy was pointed out, brought to the attention of administration. Then I was considered the problem. Problems happen, but no good deed will go unpunished, as the saying goes.

If I can offer the OP a suggestion, keep in mind that the pastor depends on those he delegates authority. Try to get aquatinted and keep communication open.
That way you will learn about him and the position as he will you. I understand your humor. It can be a bit annoying dealing with forms and questionnaires. I personally get annoyed with talking to computers at grocery stores.

If pastoral communication is a deal breaker, then I would seek a small church of like faith. There are more of those to choose from.

I think it is funny.

Am I wrong? Please use scripture to condemn me. No opinions.

Or get bigger boots.

Now that you have clarified things, this is a very sad situation which could have easily been avoided, had the church leadership decided to simply follow the NT patter established by God. Here are my observations (and you need not respond):

1. God never intended one man to be "the pastor" therefore He gave the churches a plurality of elders, and one was not above the others. The Bible calls that " a presbytery" since prebuteros is the word for elder. Even Presbyterian churches do not have this as you would expect. And most evangelical churches simply ignore this.

2. One man could not possibly "shepherd" 10, 000. And even if there were only 57 members, you would need at least 5-7 pastor/elders to really provide actual spiritual guidance on a personal basis. Some would be self-supporting while others may need compensation for their efforts (which is also biblical).

3. Any church which shuns sound Bible doctrine should be left alone. No one can fix that problem.

4. If a man says that he is "too busy" (probably with administrative business) then he has failed already. He should be politely asked to leave. Paul was never "too busy" even though he was a very busy apostle. He was ministering to individuals as well as congregations.

5. Churches mistakenly think that "the pastor" should be totally focused on preaching from the pulpit. That is not correct. God has given various spiritual gifts and if there were several men in leadership one could have the gift of evangelism, another the gift of teaching, another the gift of oversight called "government", and so on. Then one man would not be the only minister of the Word. Elders are supposed to be "apt to teach" in general.

6. A "corporate" structure is not the same as a biblical structure. Any person should be able to pick up the phone and call one of the elders and ask for a face-to-face meeting if that is necessary. And the response should be almost immediate if the structure is biblical.

I think it's okay that you chuckled a little when you read it. That's what I was going for.

But there is a serious side to letting a local church devolve into a McDonald' s-like techtopia of QR codes, websites, kiosks, and apps.

Where has all the human connection gone?

It doesn't. And I commend the young assistant pastor for getting in my face about serving, as he should.

But that's really my point. When was the last time your pastor--or even an elder--made the first move to connect with you?

Since Stephen Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was published in 1989, pastors and church leaders have bought into the notion that connecting with church members on a personal level is a "quadrant-3 activity." In other words, we are merely wasting their time with our silly notions of wanting to better our lives, understand the bible better, or become more mature Christians.

Instead, we are told to shut up, sit down, and listen to a sermon once a week. If we simply do that, we will become mega-disciples in no time.

Don't know about you, but that hasn't worked well for me.