Pastors Are Our Heroes

Within our great state of Georgia we have 3600 Georgia Baptist churches.  Approximately 1300 of those churches are led by bi-vocational pastors (they are also referred to as multi-vocational, tent-makers or partly funded pastors).  These are ministers who supplement their income by working outside the church to support their family and ministry.

They are plumbers, electricians, schoolteachers and bankers.  They are business owners, employers and employees.  They have certificates, diplomas, and degrees.  They work long hours, drive miles to and from work and then minister to their flock.  I personally know cabinet makers, system managers and school teachers who also pastor.

Our mission board data base lists them as bi-vocational, part-time and even volunteer.  I can only assume that "volunteer" means that some of these servants of God take no pay from their church.

My wife and I just spent a weekend at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove with many of these choice servants.  They face the same struggles, deal with the same issues and serve the same Jesus as "fully funded" pastors.   One thing these servants of God have in common with any other ministers of the gospel - they are CALLED.  The majority of these men pastor churches of 150 members or less.  Many of them less than that.

From conversations with many of these their biggest struggle is TIME and their greatest need is RESOURCES.  Time with family.  Time for study.  Time for ministry.  Their members get sick, have surgery and deal with problems just like any other church family.  After working a 40 hour (or more) week they preach 2 to 3 times.  This means in addition to their secular work schedule they still need time for sermon preparation and the prayer cover that goes with that preparation.

Under the leadership of Thomas Hammond the Georgia Baptist Mission Board is launching out with new marching orders.  "PASTORS ARE OUR HEROES, CHURCHES ARE. OUR PRIORITY AND GEORGIA IS OUR MISSION FIELD."  In this sense it gives new meaning to PASTORS ARE OUR HEROES.  These guys really are my HEROES.  It is truly a joy to know them and serve them.

Train Wrecks and other Pastoral Mistakes

It was my first Christmas. I was 6 months old and Santa brought me a Lionel train.  The truth is Santa brought my dad a Lionel train.  My first memories of that train was a few years later as I watched dad play with it.  By the time I was able to enjoy “my gift” repairs were already necessary.  

I still have parts of that train.  They are vintage.  It doesn’t work at the present.  Some cars are broken including the engine.  It is all packed away in a box.  With some careful and tedious repairs, it may run again.  I may be able to repair it myself but will probably need help and will definitely have to spend money.

Part of the problem is wear and tear.  The major problem is the result of misuse.  

I don’t know if you have any experience with model trains.  They can be fun.  Depending on the scale they run at different speeds.  

The temptation I had as a kid was to see how fast mine would run and especially around the curves.  At floor level a wreck had minimal damage, but mine was on a waist high table (waist high to my dad’s waist) thus the damage to some of the parts.

It has been my experience in the ministry and in working with pastors and staff that sometimes we try to see how fast we can make things happen.  We attempt curves at speeds that result in wrecks.  When we do there are damages.  Immaturity and model trains can be in conflict.  In the same way immaturity and churches can be in conflict.

There was the experience that I would have operating the trains at the recommended speeds.  Those experiences were fun and enjoyable.  

Leadership comes in different speeds.  There are times to open it up and there are times to slow it down.  Wisdom and discernment as well as wise counsel help to know when and how.  It has been my experience that there are those who want to poke along and there are those who like breakneck speed.  The problem is that when those speeds don’t work the leader takes the blame.

I cannot say what the proper speed is to move a church or ministry.  However, when you continuously are running off the tracks and crashing to the floor that should be a sign that things are moving at the wrong speed.tai