Monthly Archives: February 2014

How to be fired unjustly and come out a winner

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Let’s say you are a minister on the staff of a medium-sized church.  You finished seminary and at the invitation of this church, you moved your young family here to this city and have gotten deeply involved in ministry.  You are in the process of buying a house.  Life is looking good.

Then one day, you are asked to attend a meeting with a few leaders of the church. The administrator is there, accompanied by the chairman of the personnel committee and the deacon chair.  Long story short, you learn you are being terminated. Let go. Superannuated. Fired. Getting the ax.  Pink-slipped.

They gave you reasons.  They said things like, “We love you. We appreciate your ministry.  You have a great spirit and we treasure your family.”  Then they added the “however.”  Things like: “Things are not working out, finances have been down lately, it’s not a good fit, you and the church.”  Or perhaps, “Some people are unhappy with the way you do things” or “Your manner is abrasive and you have rubbed some people the wrong way.”

You did not see this coming.

They gave you no warning.  You wonder why.

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Reminders church leaders need on a regular basis

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“Remind them of these things….” (2 Timothy 2:14)

We think of the church leadership as mature, Godly, and self-starters.  They read the Bible for themselves and do not need to be spoon-fed. They know how to pray, have the confidence of the membership, and are able to counsel others.

However, church leaders need something which only the pulpit can give, and that is a regular diet of the staples of ministry. Those staples–the essentials–include the following:

1) Leaders need to be reminded of the holiness of the Church.

The church is the Body of Christ, the Bride of Jesus, and the one institution on earth to which He has committed His gospel.

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12 reasons to rejoice at age 74

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Growing old is not for sissies, we’re told. Maybe not, but it’s for the lucky ones, if I may be permitted to say so.

It’s for those blessed by God with the opportunity to spend extra time on earth and do more good.

I count myself among the fortunate, the blessed ones.  And I’m grateful.

1) Seventy-four is not so bad.

Granted, when you’re 30 or 40, it seems ancient. But to be 74 and still feel great and be going strong, 74 is a piece of cake.

When I was a kid, I thought of the year 1900 as the benchmark, the dividing line to determine who was middle-aged.  Born in 1940, as a teen, I saw so many of my parents’ friends in their mid-50s and saw they were in the prime of life. They were at the peak of their powers. Gradually, however, they aged and now, none of that group is left.

I’m now not only a senior citizen, but a senior to most in that group!

And glad to be!

2) I’m grateful to still have my health.

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The exciting, scary nature of faith

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“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

I sat across the table from a young man about to resign the church he has been serving as an associate for five years and move to another state for a new ministry.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“Excited. Scared.”

That is the right combination.  Two currents flowing in from different rivers, meeting in our hearts and minds and clashing, then mixing.  Sometimes one overwhelms the other, sometimes both rise to the surface.  Both are legitimate responses to this new thing the Lord is doing in his life.

I said, “When you were called into the ministry, you were excited and scared. When you left home for seminary, you were excited and scared. When you preached your first sermon and when you took your first church, excited and scared.”  He agreed.

Acting on faith in the Lord Jesus Christ almost always produces those two reactions. You are sitting in church, thinking about stepping into the aisle and going to the altar to confess your faith in Jesus Christ.  Your pulse is racing, your knees are knocking, the adrenalin is lowing.  Tears are welling up inside you and will soon be making their presence known.

You are scared and excited at the same time.

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