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Discussion Forum : Miracles that follow the plow : counsel needed about meeting with my pastor

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BenK
Member



Joined: 2006/12/17
Posts: 49
Harrisburg PA

 counsel needed about meeting with my pastor

I have been praying and thinking about some things for quite awhile now and I would like to seek some Godly counsel about a meeting that I have with my pastor this afternoon

I know that he is a christian who loves Jesus and believes in the Word as inerrant. He is a humble and loving man. BUT there is something very much lacking in His sermons-He does not make much of Christ. Of course he talks about Jesus but it seems like there is not a great emphasis on just what Christ does and who He is. He doesn't talk about the exceeding sinfulness of sin-instead he refers to the sinner as being "kind of broken inside OR having a sin problem" which I don't really see as a Biblical description. He doesn't talk much about repentance and never about hell even though I know from personal conversation that he knows and believes in both.

I've been the worship leader at our church for about 6 months(it's a volounteer thing) and I every week I find myself "filling in the blanks" in between songs as I attempt to talk about and explain the awesome majesty of Jesus, the unthinkable kindness of His sacrifice to save us from judgement and hell, and the life and hope that we have been born into. There has been a couple occasions where he has led the congregation in a time of prayer and searching of hearts and I treasure those kinds of moments amongst the mediocrity. I feel like he is attempting to be "practical" and "relevant" in His teaching, but as for me, I wan't to hear about my master!

Does anyone have advice or scripture to help me as I go into this meeting today? I'm going to spill my heart and I am dreading it because I'm afraid the end result will be to take my wife and leave the people in this church that we have become so close to. Not that we would abandon our friends, but we would not be in the same fellowship which could be difficult.

Really my only agenda is to see Jesus Christ magnified and glorified to the highest place in this church.


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Benjamin Kreps

 2008/2/19 12:29Profile









 Re: counsel needed about meeting with my pastor

Brother, I think if you just talk to him exactly as you have written here... you'll be fine. I dont have much more to add to it. I think you're right on the money.

Dont white wash it, speak it plainly to him.

Krispy

 2008/2/19 13:09
iansmith
Member



Joined: 2006/3/22
Posts: 963
Wheaton, IL

 Re: counsel needed about meeting with my pastor

I'm going to have to go counter to Krispy on this one... not in content but in form.

Before you confront your pastor, pray. If you haven't been praying for him on a weekly basis that he exaults Jesus in his sermons, then you haven't the right to confront him. God answers prayer.

Once I made the same observation of one of the associate pastors at my church, he preached a Christless sermon. I didn't confront him about it, but I did pray for him, and this past Sunday he preached a sermon that was entirely about Jesus. God answers prayer. From arctic winter to tropical summer, nothing is impossible with God.


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Ian Smith

 2008/2/19 14:18Profile









 Re:

Of course I agree with Ian. Much prayer is needed, and you do need to be sure God is leading you to do this.

The difference is, I do feel that if God is leading you to confront him, then you need to confront him. Sometimes God uses us as the instrument to wake someone up.

Krispy

 2008/2/19 14:26
BenK
Member



Joined: 2006/12/17
Posts: 49
Harrisburg PA

 Re:

You are so right Ian, and I have been praying for him regularly for a couple of months now. I really feel like I need to say something at this point....I believe that God can work in his heart but I am weighted down by week after week of teaching that means so little to me and I fear that might keep many in the congregation asleep and spiritually lazy. I am not looking forward to this meeting but I have talked to a some trusted friends and they too think that this is the right thing to do. I am sad and heavy over this. Please pray for me.


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Benjamin Kreps

 2008/2/19 14:32Profile









 Re: counsel needed about meeting with my pastor



Hi Ben,

I know I'm a little late coming in here, but I'm praying.

I want to add - there may be good reason this man doesn't feel at liberty to speak as you would have him speak - for instance, he may be burdened by his position which makes him feel uneasy about seeking God more openly [i]for himself[/i] - like it costs him some loss of face instead of seeing it as one of the joys of leadership to go first, to show others how it's done.

Also I would add, that he may be eating up your ministry beyond anything you could imagine, perhaps believing you have a particular gift.

Somehow, then, if you can see yourself as part of the body into which you both have been placed by the Lord, perhaps you can find the gentle courage to 'lead' him into a deeper place, without making him feel like a failure, or exposing his timidity or unbelief in a public way. In thinking this through as I'm writing, perhaps this involves a death for you also. But... not a separation from this particular body of believers?

May you find the wisdom and grace in those moments of conversation. I'm sure the Lord intends to use you to bring greater glory to His name.

 2008/2/19 15:24
iansmith
Member



Joined: 2006/3/22
Posts: 963
Wheaton, IL

 Re:

I heard a message recently at a missionary training event aimed at us missionary zealouts. It was very insightful, and I'll try to break it down to its core message:

Just because your pastor doesn't share your passion for missions doesn't mean he's living outside the will of God. He may have been gifted with spiritual gifts of nurturing and teaching, and may not have been given any missionary gift by God, so demanding him to see things your way is actually outside of the will of God. Instead of trying to change your pastor, be faithful where you are and be a positive example of the blessing that a mission focused person can bring to a local congregation, then buy your pastor a plane ticket to visit a mission field short term, because that usually does more than you argueing with him.

My advice would be... buy your pastor a ticket to a revival conference (or THE revival conference) and be passionate about Jesus where you are.


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Ian Smith

 2008/2/19 18:00Profile
BenK
Member



Joined: 2006/12/17
Posts: 49
Harrisburg PA

 Re:

Thank you Ian, Krispy and Dorcas for your prayer and insights. Each one of you offered me something good to consider. The meeting went fairly well. He doesn't really see where I'm coming from but He definitely was challenged and told me that he wants to continue the conversation and is going to consider the things we were talking about. The conversation was full of brotherly love even though there was disagreement and I praise God that the Spirit was definitely at work in that room.
We prayed together and I'm sure we will resume our discussion very soon.
God is faithful! Even though I fail again and again I pray that Jesus would be found more and more in every thought that I think and every word that I speak.
I'm thankful that I have family on this site that I have never met javascript: justReturn()
:-P


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Benjamin Kreps

 2008/2/19 21:31Profile
Nellie
Member



Joined: 2004/4/5
Posts: 952


 Re:

BenK,
Hope you realize what a good Pastor you have.
Thank-God things went well with you, and you will talk again.
I'm glad I didn't advise you not to go, for it would have just been because of the way I've been treated in the past when I talked with the one who was my Pastor then.
It is wonderful that you can talk to your Pastor.
God Bless you, and may you win many souls to Him.
Nellie

 2008/2/20 10:11Profile









 Re:

Praise God, Ben!

Remember, he is a man just like you... struggling to work out his salvation, and walk down that very narrow road. While I firmly believe church leaders should be bold and have a backbone, I do know from experience that church leaders are not perfect. I'm considered a church leader, and I know I am far from perfect. In fact, I think everyone on this forum is well aware of the fact that I am far from perfect! lol

Krispy

 2008/2/20 12:17





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