The pastor was wronged by a search committee. What can he do?

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My friend stirred up a furor.

Writing on Facebook, my friend Stan told of a pastor search committee that has just angered him by their treatment of a wonderful young pastor.

As he told it, the committee and the pastor met on several occasions, they heard him preach numerous times, and it was clear to all that “this was of God.” The process worked itself out over several months. The committee voted unanimously that this pastor was their choice.  The pastor himself agreed.

All was well, it seemed.

And then one day, the chairman phoned the pastor. “I have bad news,” he said.  “While everyone is unanimous that you are our choice for the church, however, when we voted on bringing your name before the church as our recommendation, two members of the committee voted ‘no.’”

The vote was 7 for and 2 against.

The two ‘nay-sayers’ on the committee told the rest of the group that while they loved the pastor-candidate and agree he seems to be “the one” God is leading them to, “We just don’t want to go with the first person we talked to.”

They wanted it to be a popularity contest.  Find out “who else is out there.”

Since search committees are expected to bring only unanimous recommendations before the church, the chairman felt he had no choice but to accept his committee’s actions and shut down their dealings with that pastor.

You can imagine how the pastor felt after hanging up the phone.  Disappointment.  Anger perhaps.  Frustration. Puzzlement.

There was nothing the pastor could do about this.  He was at the mercy of the committee.

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First two chapters of our book SIXTY AND BETTER: Making the Most of Our Golden Years

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What follows is the first two chapters of our book SIXTY AND BETTER: Making the Most of Our Golden Years.  At the end, we’ll tell how to order the book.

CHAPTER ONE: (also known as the introduction)

I was sitting at home in front of the television one night.  The phone rang.  A voice said, “Sir, “I’m conducting a survey of people’s television-watching habits.  It’ll only take three minutes.”  I said, “Go ahead.”

“First,” he said, “What group are you in: 25 and under, 25 to 35, 35 to 45, 45 to 55, or 55 and up?”

I said, “That one.”

He said, “Which one?”

I said, “55 and up.”

Click.

He was gone.

It felt like the perfect illustration of the value our culture places on the older generation.  You’re old?  You don’t count.  You’re a senior?  Leave the game.  You’re elderly?  Is there someone else available?

But 55?  Yikes.  My oldest child Neil is that age.  If he’s over the hill, what does that make me, his dad?

Our culture wants to take the most seasoned veterans in the room and mute them.  To disarm the warriors who have fought life’s battles and stood the test of the years.

Not real smart.

Fortunately, you and I do not ask the world what role it wants us to play.  We do not get our self-esteem from a poll or survey.  We do not go up and down the street and question our neighbors on whether we should have a voice in today’s world.

We were created in the image of God.  We were redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

And none of that is up for a vote, friend.

Garson Kanin’s It Takes A Long Time To Become Young –which I read years ago and was never able to forget–was prompted by his alarm at how older people were being treated by businesses, lawmakers, and society as a whole. And, while we agree with his concern and applaud efforts to end what is called “ageism,” that is not the thrust of our little volume.

What concerns us–and hopefully bothers our readers–is seeing a lot of older people do that very thing to themselves.  They marginalize themselves because they are getting up in years.  They dismiss their importance because they’ve managed to hang on (and hang around) longer than many of their peers.

Think of the irony of that.  They’ve been successful in living and working and holding on and as a result they lose their self-esteem?  They conclude they no longer matter because they won the lottery?

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How to tell if you are growing in Christ

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Early coal miners carried canaries into the deep pits with them as indicators of the presence of methane gas. The bird would die long before the gas posed a problem for the miners. If the bird died, they ran for their lives.

We could all use a few canaries in our spiritual lives, to warn us when we were on dangerous ground as well as to assure us when we were doing well.

Here are four harbingers–four canaries, four indicators–that inform the believer that he actually is growing in the Lord. 

1. We will grow increasingly disgusted with the old life we left behind, and less attracted by it.

Consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry (Colossians 3:5).

But now, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another…. (Colossians 3:8-9).

2. We will be more and more Christlike but the last to know it.

And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another…just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you (Colossians 3:12-13).

There’s a fascinating irony that goes on here. As you grow in the Lord, eventually someone will say that you are the most Christlike person they know. You will laugh at the very idea. No one knows better than you how far you still have to go.

Actually, they’re right. You are becoming more and more like Jesus. But you are the last to know. Why? The closer we get to the light, the more imperfections we see.

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When the salt of the earth needs sweetening

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While researching a subject on-line, I found myself reading some attacks on ministers from fellow ministers. These men of God, assuming that’s what they are and I’m not saying one way or the other, were taking no prisoners.

“That pastor is a liar!” “Preachers lie to you when they say….” “Ten lies preachers tell you.” “That preacher is an agent of hell!”

It was painful.

When those sent by the Father as shepherds of His sheep use such blistering rhetoric, we fail our assignments in numerous ways: we dishonor the Lord, shame the church, needlessly slander our brethren, set poor examples for the people in the pew, and we hold the gospel up to ridicule by the world.

How about a little sweetening, I wonder. And then I remember something.

A friend says there are two kinds of preachers: those who enter the ministry whole and those who enter in order to become whole.

Give me the first kind any day of the week. The second group can be scary and dangerous.

The second group, I believe, is composed largely of ministers with bad mental health.

Here is what bad mental health looks like in the pulpit on a Sunday morning—

1) It’s mean-spirited.

One text you will never hear such a preacher proclaiming is Colossians 3:12: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly beloved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

Somewhere along the way these caustic preachers became convinced that their task on Sundays is to “open the wound and pour on the salt.” They are harsh, unloving, unkind, loud, and uncharitable. And they do it all in the name of the Lord.

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First two chapters of our book “Help! I’m a Pastor!”

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We are posting here the opening two chapters in our book “Help! I’m a Pastor!”  At the conclusion, we’ll tell how to order it. 

Chapter One:  Be a Pastor, Change the World.

A preacher I know was on the plane trying to complete the manuscript for a series of Sunday School lessons he had been asked to write.  His seatmate wanted to talk.  Stuart kept fending her off with short responses.

At one point she noticed his name on his briefcase.  He was ‘Doctor.”  That intrigued her. “You’re a doctor?” she asked.

“Um huh,” my friend said, not looking up from his work.  “What kind of doctor are you?” she said.

Stuart said, “A Doctor of Theology.  I’m a preacher.”  “Oh,” she said, “I thought you were a real doctor.”

That did it.  My friend laid his books aside and looked at her. “Madam,” he said, “If I were a doctor of medicine and did my work well, I might be able to add a few years to someone’s life.”

“But as a Doctor of Theology–a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ–when I do my work well, people live forever.”

It’s a powerful thing this Christian ministry.

It is surely the quickest way to change the world.  And the best.

A fellow named Martin Luther went into the same work as you and I and saw the world change right before his eyes.  The same can be said about John Wesley. John Wycliffe. Dwight L. Moody. Jim Elliot. Peter Marshall. Billy Graham.

And you.

Recently I came across a book called Give Your Speech, Change the World.  Author Nick Morgan teaches public speaking in numerous formats (universities, as the editor of several publications, and consultant to executives) and has been speechwriter for a governor.  Morgan said an old friend of his, another speechwriter, used to say, “The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.”  Morgan agrees and adds, “Otherwise, why bother?” He answers, “We still need speeches.  We need them to move audiences to action… And lest you think that when I say ‘changing the world’ I’m only talking about the big speeches (the ones that CEOs give to shareholders, for example) understand that I’m talking about every speech ever given.”

Every sermon you ever deliver, pastor.

Every public presentation you make of any kind.  It’s that potent.

I’m remembering one Easter morning when I did nothing more than lead in prayer at a community-wide sunrise service and it changed the world.  Two families who heard that prayer began attending my church, joined it, and became excellent servants of the Savior.  Our church became stronger, their families flourished, and lives were changed.  The world changed.

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First two chapters of our book “A Healthy Church”

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(We are posting the first two chapters of our book A Healthy Church.  At the conclusion, we’ll tell how to order the book.)

CHAPTER ONE:  HOW TO SPOT A HEALTHY CHURCH IN 30 SECONDS 

Something about those children intrigued me, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

For several weeks during my daily walk on the Mississippi River levee, I had been noticing three small children playing in their yard which joined the green expanse of the levee.

They seemed unusually happy and physically active, which the pastor/grandfather in me found charming.

The oldest child might have been seven or eight. There was a younger brother and a little sister.  The yard held all kinds of play equipment.

No matter how cold it was, they were out there laughing and running, jumping and hiding, having a big time.

You could hear them a block away.  They were always enjoying themselves and seemed to love one another.

“Whatever the parents are doing,” I thought, “it’s working.”

Then one day I noticed something different.  Another kid had joined them, and they had several large-wheel vehicles on top of the levee which they were riding down into the yard.  Two women sat near the house keeping an eye on them.  One was the mother, I assumed.

As I drew closer, the children coasted off the levee, all except the oldest boy.  He looked up at me and said, “Hi.  I’m Harley.”  I was so taken aback, I had to ask, “That’s your name?” It was.

I said, “Hi Harley.  My name is Mister Joe.”  He gave a big grin and said, “Hi, Mister Joe!” Then, off the levee he went.

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“Grief Recovery 101” (The first chapter)

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(Following is the first chapter of Bertha’s and my book Grief Recovery 101: How to Get Back Up When Blindsided by the Death of Someone You Love.  At the conclusion, we will tell how to order the book.)

CHAPTER ONE:  THE GRIEF ARRIVES

Grief happens when you least expect it and are completely unprepared for it.

How I became so knowledgeable about grief.  (I sure didn’t volunteer!)

My wife died suddenly.

On a Friday morning in January of 2015, Margaret and I had spent an hour at the breakfast table as we usually did.

After breakfast, she went back to bed.  Her physical ailments were always warring against her, the pain was constant, and her energy level was never very high.  Even walking into the kitchen was an ordeal for her.

Shortly after finishing my blog, I closed the laptop, took my morning shower and got dressed.  Sometime around 10 o’clock, I was lying on the bed in the back bedroom reading a novel when Margaret called down the hall.  “I’m going to drive myself to the nail salon and get a pedicure.  I’ll be back in a little while.”

My last word to my wife of 52-plus years was, “Okay!”

Sometime around noon, Ochsner Hospital called.  “Sir, you need to come to the emergency room now.  We have your mother.”

I said, “My wife.”

“Sir, we have your wife.  You need to come to the emergency room now.”

That’s all they would say.

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The constant struggle to remain humble

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I know precious little about humility. However I know one big thing: God requires it in His people.

Scripture is filled with teachings, examples, violations, commands, and encouragements regarding humility. Even our Lord Jesus Christ was humble and became our example. (Try these passages for starters: Matthew 11:29; John 13:14-15; Philippians 2:5-8.)

Scripture tells believers to put on humility (Colossians 3:12), be clothed with humility (I Peter 5:5), and to walk with humility (Ephesians 4:1-2).

The Lord wants His children to be humble so badly that He has given us seven aids to accomplish this and to keep us that way.

1. Common sense.

Look around at the billions of people. You’re just one of them. Look above at the zillions of stars. You’re sitting on one small planet circling one humble star. They’ve been around for eons, while you have only a few more years of life here. If that doesn’t humble you, you’re not paying attention.  (See Psalm 8)

2. The Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, humility…. (Galatians 5:22-23).

3. Our family.

I heard the wife of a well-known preacher say on television once–and probably shocking her audience–“I tell my husband, ‘Don’t start that big shot thing with me. I saw you in your shorts this morning.’”  (My wife thought the woman spoke out of turn, that she should not have said that publicly.)

The old adage says, “No man is a hero to his valet.” To the President’s children, the commander-in-chief is simply “Daddy.” To the superstar’s children, he is daddy.

4. Our friends.

Our closest friends are not in awe of us. They will tell us our breath smells bad, that we need to use a hankie, or if we have a stain on our clothing. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy (Proverbs 27:6).

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Pastor, when something doesn’t sound right…

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This has happened to me again and again. I’m sitting in some huge meeting with hundreds of the Lord’s people representing churches across our state or country. A large number of preachers are in the audience. The speaker is sounding forth on some subject of importance to us all.

Suddenly, the speaker comes out with a statement that gets a hearty “amen,” something that sounds profound and undergirds the point he is making. He goes on in the message and everyone in the room but one person stays with him. Me, I’m stuck at that statement. Where did he get that, I wonder. Is it true? How can we know?

If Facebook, that wonderful and exasperating social networking machine, has taught us anything, it’s to distrust percentages and question quotations.

A friend’s profile contained a quote from President Kennedy. I’m acquainted with the quote and while I cannot prove JFK never uttered those words–how could we prove that about anything–I know how the line got attached to the Kennedys. It’s a quotation from a George Bernard Shaw play.

Some see things as they are and ask ‘Why?’ I see things that never were and ask ‘Why not?’

In 1968, at the funeral of his brother Robert F. Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy applied that line to him. It’s a terrific statement of vision. I expect for most of us, that was our first time to hear the quote. In the oration, Senator Kennedy did not give the source, which may have led some to believe he made it up.

One thing we know, however, is President John F. Kennedy is not its source. Nor is any Kennedy. And yet, keep your eye out for that quotation. Half the time, it will be attributed to one of the Kennedys.

Accuracy is important for everyone, but particularly those of us called to preach the Truth that gets people to Heaven.

Unfortunately, because we speak so often–many pastors deliver three or more sermons per week, fifty weeks of the year–our sermon machines go through a lot of material. It figures that sometimes we are going to get our stories wrong.

That’s why a statement from a preacher hit me so hard and drove me to do a little research.

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The Lord told you church would have its hardships. What–you didn’t believe Him?

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“In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

We were expecting hostility from the world.  But certainly not from the Lord’s people.

Church is where we get blindsided.

The Lord wanted His people to know what to expect.  The road ahead would be rough.  They should prepare for turbulence.

The Lord would not be bringing His children around the storms but through them.  We will not miss out on the tempest, but will ride it out with Jesus in our boat, sometimes standing at the helm and at other times, seemingly asleep and unconcerned.

The lengthy passage of Matthew 10:16-42 is the holy grail on this subject, as the Lord instructs His children on what lies ahead and what to expect.  His disciples should expect to encounter opposition, persecution, slander, defamation, and for some, even death.  So, when it comes–as it does daily to millions of His children throughout the world–no one can say they weren’t warned.

But what about the church?  Should we expect opposition and persecution there also?

Jesus said, “they will scourge you in their synagogues” (10:17), which is where the faithful were meeting to worship.

He said members of our own households–parents, siblings, offspring–would lead the opposition at times. They will “cause them to be put to death” (10:21).

He doesn’t specifically say “the church,” but surely all of the above includes it.  And that’s where the typical believer runs into a buzzsaw.

Church is where we get blindsided.

We knew opposition would come from the world.  Scripture makes this plain.  But in the church?

A pastor told me his daughter no longer goes to a church of his denomination. After seeing how leaders of his congregation treated her father and then lied about it, she wants no part of this any longer.  The wonder is that she goes to church at all.  Many PKs grow up and write the church off.  “I love Jesus,” they will tell you, “but not the church.”

I grieve at this.  But I understand it.

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