Becoming A New Kind of Pastor

Last October Cheryl and i were engrossed in living for God outside of the Church. While not attending any one church, we remained in a home group of the church where we had recently interned. During this time of searching i sent Pastor Richard* a link and an excerpt to an article on Detoxing from Church that i discovered over at the off ramp.

"... In order to BE the Church, we need to leave the church. In other words, in order to truly become God's people as he intended, we must abandon our cultural version of organizational church. The application of this statement might vary, but it must happen. And as we abandon the church to become the Church, we will go through a detox period."

The excerpt encapsulated our experience. i hoped that Richard might understand why we left the church to become spiritual vagabonds. Over the next few months our correspondence indicated that he just did not get it. As we corresponded, he questioned my calling to ministry because "i was not fitting in" with the way church works. He somehow forgot that prior to my internship with him, i pastored youth for 8 years.

Pastoral ministry as Richard defined it simply does not look like a good fit for me either. Yet i could not shake my calling to pastor God's people. My calling does not fit the pastor/manager ideal of a program oriented church. In the past three years of our quest, my wife and i began living as missionaries in our emerging cultural landscape. We left the old way behind as we sought to become a new kind of pastor in this postmodern world.

i had hoped that Richard might try and understand my transition even though it did not resemble his experience. But he just kept trying to fix me and help me fit in with the church as he understood it. i did not need fixing, i needed understanding and encouragement. We had not even discovered the whole emergent conversation at this point so we were alone and thought that we must be off-of-our-rocker.

Our lives have changed drastically from a year ago. Our journey has taken us to a place of revitalized spiritual health as disciples of Christ. Just yesterday Cheryl and i met with Jessica*, who expressed an interest in becoming a part of our little community we call The Quest. We listened as she explained her situation and the questions she deals with about being a Christian. In her life it "just does not work" and she "does not fit the church." When she related the response she had gotten from her church it sounded very similar to how Pastor Richard dealt with me. i got it.

Cheryl and i spent the next several hours sharing and getting to know this child of God as she asked the tough questions. We listened, shared our experiences and just talked about life, God, faith, music, work, the church and our culture. The time just flew by. After 3 hours she mentioned that she felt "validated" by our conversation.

i asked her if talking with us had helped her out on her journey with Christ. She said, "Yes, I've been thinking along these lines you spoke of for a while but have not had the words to express it to anyone." My jaw almost dropped to the table because several weeks earlier i had gotten almost the exact same phrase in a response from Jesse.

Jessica’s words reminded me that true discipleship is helping others journey with Christ. We will meet with Jessica again as we have the start of a good friendship brewing here. She left the coffee shop feeling encouraged about what God is doing in her life and the world she lives in. Helping others find their path with Christ feels like an amazing privilege that God has granted us. We are so blessed to see others benefit from the years of struggle, discouragement and pain that we went through.

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* = Names Changed

Comments

[Michelle]

When I first read the Detoxing from Church article a year or so back, it completely resonated with me. I've been on a similar growth path, but have not found too many in my area that can relate to what I'm going through - and definitely not the pastor/s of the church/es I attended. I felt very alone in my journey - until I discovered a bunch of bloggers treading the same path! Your stories and others have given me much encouragement to persevere, to follow what I know I need to do in order to grow in God. Thank you!

[Bruce]

Isn't it funny how some people place more importance on unity based on loyalty to the system, than they do unity from a common belief in Christ? Maybe we have it all wrong, and the church organization IS more important than the good news itself. I don't know, but personally, I've found incredible life in Christ outside of organized religion (that I doubt I would have ever come to know within the walls of the institution).

[Shannon]

This smacks a bit like "I like the GUY, it's his wife I hate." Don't you realize that the church is the bride of Christ? In following the example of Christ, who incidentally modelled the church to us, it is important that we don't give up meeting together regularly, fellowshipping and worshipping. I do understand the need to go off by yourself for awhile to get alone with God, just as Jesus did periodically, but He always came back to his church.

[Bruce]

Good point, Shannon. But I think you might be misunderstanding what's going on here. We still gather with, fellowship with, and encourage one-another... we just do it in a simpler, more relational setting instead of the corporate, institutional, performance-based, event-driven setting. It that's what works for you, go for it! Live in it with all your heart, but if you ever desire something more Christ-centered, authentic, and satisfying... look me up!

Stay well, Sis!

Bruce

[Darren]

Shannon, you make a good point here. Yet we must avoid the duality of pitting one type of church against another. I think the whole Institutional Church vs. Home Church argument is silly. All of the activities you described can be done in groups of 500,000 or 2 people. I live in both types of churches and so I write about the church in the course of my blog.

For me, the body of Christ is the people and not the organization. I do realize that people form organizations and that is the philosophical rub for me. I love people but often find that the organizations we create can be oppressive to some if its people. (Watch the movie KADOSH for an example.)

Like Bruce pointed out. Finding a group that is Christ-Centered is the key. The size of the group is unimportant in my opinion. For me, church is the people and not the trappings we use to dress it up. If any one Body of Christ is marked by genuine love and nurturing of God's people then our church is a well dressed body.

Loving God's people is to accept and care for them. You see Shannon; I love the body of Christ even if I think it is a great body in a frumpy dress.

[wilsonian]

"A great body in a frumpy dress". What a perfect description!

[Crystal Lea Billington]

I would like to help troubled teen's and everyone that the Good Lord sends my way.I know that we are all loved by God and that he wants us to grow and be prosperious in this world.I have been to many churchs and they have not filled the void I have to become a pastor or minister in this field of faith.

[Crystal Lea Billington]

I would like to help troubled teen's and everyone that the Good Lord sends my way.I know that we are all loved by God and that he wants us to grow and be prosperious in this world.I have been to many churchs and they have not filled the void I have to become a pastor or minister in this field of faith.

[Tamara]

I believe God is moving across this nation. Yall are not alone. I sit in my church and my heart breaks. The leaders just don't get it and I feel they at times are doing real damage with their feel good you'll be blessed attitudes. We are called to be disciples. Look at the disciples in the bible. They don't look like feel good life styles to me. We need to get up out of the pews and DO SOMETHING!!! I believe my specific assignment in my church is to pray for the Fire of the Living God to fall. If he needs to move people out so be it. I believe my church can become all it is suppose to be. I have stepped out of all the busy work they try to get people to do. I work outside the church with homeless, prisoners and teenagers. Until God releases me from my prayer focus we will remain in the building but we dont have to become sanitized and civilized like they want us to become. I won't sit down and I won't be quiet. My husband calls me a boat rocker and I say ROCK ON!!! I read a book about the barbarian way and that is who I believe God is grooming me to become. Power to all of us who KNOW there is more than Sunday and Wednesday. I believe God is the one heading this movement across the country. To God be the glory.
in His army,
tamara