A newly accepted pastor needs to know what he's getting into! Orientation is the order of the day, telling it like it is, though this may seem to be a tall order, it's Job One, or he'll be wasting his time and energy on the futile. The serenity prayer is in order: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference! Nothing in an established church body will change overnight-- there are too many powers that be! We must acknowledge the de facto leaders as well as the leadership of the body for it is hard to kick against the goads, as Jesus told Paul in Acts 26:14, HCSB, meaning it's difficult and vain to fight God's will. Just like in everything else, we all need to know our limitations and how the Lord uses us. But we are all change agents used by God for His purposes and plan and need to make ourselves available and prepared, for He will accomplish His will with or without our participation or cooperation. New ideas will ultimately be accepted if from God: Nothing can resist an idea whose time has come!
All new coming pastors need to realize the already-existing powers that be and respect authority figures in whatever capacity--this is a general principle of life. We should all be glad that Jesus is the Lord and in charge, not any certain micro-manager or contro-freak because pastor-driven or dictatorship churches are unbiblical. We need leaders, not rulers! There are limits to anyone's authority, for the biblical worldview teaches sphere sovereignty and domains or turfs of power and authority, and beware lest we violate God's order of things and the so-called powers that be. As new pastors bring new life to a church, hopefully, it isn't moribund and needs revival, because no church body is standing still--it's either growing, going somewhere, and alive or it is dying a slow death. Complacent churches are on the road to oblivion and are of zilch significance in the big picture of God's will and plan for a vigorous healthy church family.
We must realize the difference between the church, an organism, and any other organization or group: it's really a family and fellowship, not an organization. It should be comforting to all that when you're here, you're family so to speak. Note that the Catholic church operates as an authoritative organization rather than a fellowship with individual church autonomy. We are to question authority as our privilege: the slogan of the Reforms is appropriate, which says, "I dissent, I disagree, I protest!" We must learn to disagree without being disagreeable and never to be contentious, argumentative, divisive, nor judgmental. Whenever we feel slaves to church dogma or its leadership we have come full circle and are Catholics in effect. Protestants question authority as a tradition and are Bereans at heart checking things out for themselves, not just taking a pastor's word for it all the time. Trusting the pastor is earned, not part of the program or requirements for attendance and membership.
We will always encounter those fuddy-duddies who resist change and are stuck in a spiritual or worship rut, especially in denominational church bodies. That's why we always need the influx of new, fresh blood to give a new perspective, insight, and M.O.s to implement the ideas. In other words, visionaries are a rare commodity because everyone is a natural critic and fault-finder. The warning for a healthy church is not to become complacent or self-satisfied with itself but to realize as Martin Luther did upon his death, that he had only begun the work of reforming the church and the work must go on: that's why the Reforms held to the slogan "Semper reformanda," or always reforming from the Latin.
But change must come from within and everyone must work with the system, not as a revolutionary but a visionary. The book of Proverbs 29:18, KJV, says a lot, "Without vision the people perish!" We must have a plan, purpose, goal, or we will end up in nowheresville. The principle of synergy must be in effect as the only way to go: the sum of the parts together can accomplish more than the sum of the parts separated. Together, we can! It is times when disagreements happen that letting Jesus be the Lord is appreciated.
Any pastor coming in should have a heart-to-heart, man-to-man talk with the man or the leaders to see where they are really coming from--are they on the same page? It's not a job interview but a mission, calling, and vision interview. He is not a wannabe but a man on a mission called by God and deserves the church's blessing and prayers. We must never play the "Let's compare game!" and label a pastor or preacher or try to fit him into our categories, boxes, or preconceived notions, but God has called him individually and will use him for His purposes. When God has called someone, we might find ourselves fighting or resisting God if we resist his calling and vision! We must remember the wise words of Henry David Thoreau, "If a man doesn't keep pace with his companions, perhaps he marches to the beat of a different drum."
Bear in mind that at the beginning he is still honing his skills and finding his audience and where they are spiritually speaking. He may see something awry or even amiss that needs fixing in a broken system, but no one can even call something crooked unless he's got some idea of what straight is. Remember that he's come from somewhere else and sees things from a new perspective. It is important for the candidate to be straightforward and aboveboard about himself and let them see him for who he is, not someone they have imagined: WYSIWYG! What you see is [or should be] what you get! Let him be himself and not what he isn't.
What a church shouldn't be looking for is someone who is just an educated wannabe or man of learning, but a student of the Word who's matriculated in the school of Christ and knows the Lord (cf. Jer. 9:24). Real scholarship isn't how much one knows but how one uses and accesses information and data. He not only knows what he knows and what he doesn't know but knows how to find out information or whom to ask. It is wrong to appear pedantic or to flaunt his knowledge, training, or education; on the other hand, a pastor shouldn't preach down to the body nor insult their intelligence!
WORDS TO THE WISE ARE SUFFICIENT: let's heed the wise words of wisdom from Sir Francis Bacon, the founder of scientific empiricism: "Knowledge is power!" This is verified or taken from Scripture in Proverbs 24:5 that knowledge increases strength. We must harness knowledge, not become its slave nor let it make us feel we are a cut above others spiritually because of the spiritual gift of knowledge. A wise person knows his limitations and when to defer to others to make use of their expertise or learning, for no one has a monopoly on wisdom, the correct use of knowledge, and we can all learn from each other, even children. The abuse of power is dangerous, and so the real goal is wisdom or its right usage. Knowledge for its own sake is vain and puffs up one's pride, we must always have a reason for what we seek to know and not just want to know all the answers or to impress others. We are not to reject knowledge; that's not an option. "The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly [or trash!]" God's people can perish for lack of knowledge! (Cf. Hos. 4:1).
CAVEAT: CHRISTIANITY IS NOT KNOWLEDGE OF A CODE OR BOOK NOR EVEN ABOUT A GOD, BUT KNOWLEDGE OF A PERSON WITH A SUBSEQUENT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM: WE TURN OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GOD INTO KNOWLEDGE OF GOD BY TURNING CREEDS INTO DEEDS AND LIVING OUT OUR FAITH IN PRACTICE; HOWEVER, IT'S NOT ONLY NECESSARY TO HAVE THE RIGHT PREPARATION BUT THE RIGHT ATTITUDE AND SPIRIT! THERE IS A VAST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND GOD: WE USE KNOWLEDGE AND RELATE TO GOD AS A PERSON! (Proverbs 15:14, NIV).
In sum, let me close with a quote from Prov. 15:7, HCSB: "The lips of the wise broadcast knowledge, but not so the heart of fools." Soli Deo Gloria!
All new coming pastors need to realize the already-existing powers that be and respect authority figures in whatever capacity--this is a general principle of life. We should all be glad that Jesus is the Lord and in charge, not any certain micro-manager or contro-freak because pastor-driven or dictatorship churches are unbiblical. We need leaders, not rulers! There are limits to anyone's authority, for the biblical worldview teaches sphere sovereignty and domains or turfs of power and authority, and beware lest we violate God's order of things and the so-called powers that be. As new pastors bring new life to a church, hopefully, it isn't moribund and needs revival, because no church body is standing still--it's either growing, going somewhere, and alive or it is dying a slow death. Complacent churches are on the road to oblivion and are of zilch significance in the big picture of God's will and plan for a vigorous healthy church family.
We must realize the difference between the church, an organism, and any other organization or group: it's really a family and fellowship, not an organization. It should be comforting to all that when you're here, you're family so to speak. Note that the Catholic church operates as an authoritative organization rather than a fellowship with individual church autonomy. We are to question authority as our privilege: the slogan of the Reforms is appropriate, which says, "I dissent, I disagree, I protest!" We must learn to disagree without being disagreeable and never to be contentious, argumentative, divisive, nor judgmental. Whenever we feel slaves to church dogma or its leadership we have come full circle and are Catholics in effect. Protestants question authority as a tradition and are Bereans at heart checking things out for themselves, not just taking a pastor's word for it all the time. Trusting the pastor is earned, not part of the program or requirements for attendance and membership.
We will always encounter those fuddy-duddies who resist change and are stuck in a spiritual or worship rut, especially in denominational church bodies. That's why we always need the influx of new, fresh blood to give a new perspective, insight, and M.O.s to implement the ideas. In other words, visionaries are a rare commodity because everyone is a natural critic and fault-finder. The warning for a healthy church is not to become complacent or self-satisfied with itself but to realize as Martin Luther did upon his death, that he had only begun the work of reforming the church and the work must go on: that's why the Reforms held to the slogan "Semper reformanda," or always reforming from the Latin.
But change must come from within and everyone must work with the system, not as a revolutionary but a visionary. The book of Proverbs 29:18, KJV, says a lot, "Without vision the people perish!" We must have a plan, purpose, goal, or we will end up in nowheresville. The principle of synergy must be in effect as the only way to go: the sum of the parts together can accomplish more than the sum of the parts separated. Together, we can! It is times when disagreements happen that letting Jesus be the Lord is appreciated.
Any pastor coming in should have a heart-to-heart, man-to-man talk with the man or the leaders to see where they are really coming from--are they on the same page? It's not a job interview but a mission, calling, and vision interview. He is not a wannabe but a man on a mission called by God and deserves the church's blessing and prayers. We must never play the "Let's compare game!" and label a pastor or preacher or try to fit him into our categories, boxes, or preconceived notions, but God has called him individually and will use him for His purposes. When God has called someone, we might find ourselves fighting or resisting God if we resist his calling and vision! We must remember the wise words of Henry David Thoreau, "If a man doesn't keep pace with his companions, perhaps he marches to the beat of a different drum."
Bear in mind that at the beginning he is still honing his skills and finding his audience and where they are spiritually speaking. He may see something awry or even amiss that needs fixing in a broken system, but no one can even call something crooked unless he's got some idea of what straight is. Remember that he's come from somewhere else and sees things from a new perspective. It is important for the candidate to be straightforward and aboveboard about himself and let them see him for who he is, not someone they have imagined: WYSIWYG! What you see is [or should be] what you get! Let him be himself and not what he isn't.
What a church shouldn't be looking for is someone who is just an educated wannabe or man of learning, but a student of the Word who's matriculated in the school of Christ and knows the Lord (cf. Jer. 9:24). Real scholarship isn't how much one knows but how one uses and accesses information and data. He not only knows what he knows and what he doesn't know but knows how to find out information or whom to ask. It is wrong to appear pedantic or to flaunt his knowledge, training, or education; on the other hand, a pastor shouldn't preach down to the body nor insult their intelligence!
WORDS TO THE WISE ARE SUFFICIENT: let's heed the wise words of wisdom from Sir Francis Bacon, the founder of scientific empiricism: "Knowledge is power!" This is verified or taken from Scripture in Proverbs 24:5 that knowledge increases strength. We must harness knowledge, not become its slave nor let it make us feel we are a cut above others spiritually because of the spiritual gift of knowledge. A wise person knows his limitations and when to defer to others to make use of their expertise or learning, for no one has a monopoly on wisdom, the correct use of knowledge, and we can all learn from each other, even children. The abuse of power is dangerous, and so the real goal is wisdom or its right usage. Knowledge for its own sake is vain and puffs up one's pride, we must always have a reason for what we seek to know and not just want to know all the answers or to impress others. We are not to reject knowledge; that's not an option. "The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly [or trash!]" God's people can perish for lack of knowledge! (Cf. Hos. 4:1).
CAVEAT: CHRISTIANITY IS NOT KNOWLEDGE OF A CODE OR BOOK NOR EVEN ABOUT A GOD, BUT KNOWLEDGE OF A PERSON WITH A SUBSEQUENT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM: WE TURN OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GOD INTO KNOWLEDGE OF GOD BY TURNING CREEDS INTO DEEDS AND LIVING OUT OUR FAITH IN PRACTICE; HOWEVER, IT'S NOT ONLY NECESSARY TO HAVE THE RIGHT PREPARATION BUT THE RIGHT ATTITUDE AND SPIRIT! THERE IS A VAST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND GOD: WE USE KNOWLEDGE AND RELATE TO GOD AS A PERSON! (Proverbs 15:14, NIV).
In sum, let me close with a quote from Prov. 15:7, HCSB: "The lips of the wise broadcast knowledge, but not so the heart of fools." Soli Deo Gloria!