The Threefold Task of the Pastor — Part 3 — Church Administration

Church administration — why bother?

You might be surprised by the numbers: A study conducted by Christianity Today International and Gallup, Inc. found that an average workweek for pastors was 65 hours. Of that time, twenty four hours were spent in church administrative activities, six in meetings, and seven in miscellaneous activities that didn’t relate directly to pastoral duties — in all, more than half of a pastor’s working time.

Only ten hours a week were spent on preparations to preach or teach, six hours on pastoral care, five hours on counselling, six in personal devotions, and one hour on evangelism.

It appears that the modern pastor’s task is top-heavy in administration. This is regrettable. First, the primary role of the pastor should be preaching and teaching. Second, pastors are often poorly-trained in the administrative side of church life.

To administer can mean: (1) to manage or superintend: (2) to assure that the body is linked together by common doctrinal commitments, an agreed upon form of government, and common goals; (3) that the various pastoral needs of its membership are cared for; (4) that the congregation is being led in evangelism that shares the gospel beyond church borders; (5) that the church ministers in some way to the physical needs of the poor; and (6) that the whole congregation is kept actively involved in missional outreach.

Pastors can cast a vision. They can keep a careful eye on the overall program of the church. But those who attempt to oversee these duties alone will either get bogged down in minutiae or the administrative aspects of a congregation will end up being neglected.

The smaller church may hire a part-time secretary who shoulders some of these administrative tasks. If not, then key members must be carefully conscripted, elected and taught to share the load. Many of the above functions can be cared for by lay members or part-time employees. Properly approached and trained, members often show surprising skills in caring for these congregational details.

A larger church with a paid staff will have the luxury of spreading the responsibilities around. A minister of administration may be considered in order to release the preaching pastor to do the critical work of preaching, teaching and pastoral care. Yet, the lead pastor will always have to show some measure of oversight regarding the details.

Here is the issue: preaching and teaching must be kept in their central place. If because of a poor distribution of labor the pulpit and classroom are neglected or served poorly, this is a denial of the biblical mandate spoken to Pastor Timothy: “… devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13). Note the word, “devote.”

It’s amazing how conflicted a congregation becomes and what bad relationships develop when it is poorly administered, and, all things being equal, how well it functions when it is ordered by reasonably effective administration.

During three years of seminary training I was a student pastor of a small church in Lexington, Kentucky. When I graduated, my wife and I and four little children went to our first full-time pastorate in New Westminster, British Columbia. We found there a new church shell fully framed and roofed but otherwise not ready for use, and a congregation eager to move forward in ministry. I had had a course in church administration in the last year of seminary which I quickly discovered was useful.

Things went well in monthly board meetings until the new sanctuary was completed and in use. Then at one meeting the subject of weddings arose. A family had scheduled the church and was asking how much decorating of the new sanctuary would be allowed. There was a difference of opinion and suddenly all decorum gave way as members began talking animatedly to one another without regard for the chair – me.

When I got their attention they fell quiet, perhaps a bit embarrassed. I was able to draw on something I had learned in that seminary course. I explained that the church had two major committees – stewards and trustees. The former had responsibilities for the spiritualities and the latter for the temporalities. That is, the stewards would be called on for such responsibilities as caring for the elements for the Lord’s Supper while the trustees looked after matters having to do with the care of the property.

Drawing on what I had learned in that course. I suggested that they simply refer the matter that divided them to the trustees and when their recommendations came back the board could be guided by their wisdom.

They were a very teachable congregation and the issue resolved with no more struggle. Without an administrative way through the conflict the issue could have become a chronic point of disagreement in the body – perhaps giving birth to other points of disagreement as well. Attending to the good administration of a church is well worth the bother.

In a nutshell: church administration is not an unpleasant secular aspect of a congregation’s spiritual life. It’s not a necessary nuisance, or a wasteful drain on church members’ energies. Administration is a spiritual gift (I Cor. 12:28). And when it is done well and in the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, our Lord is pleased and his church is blessed.

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The Threefold Task of the Pastor — Part 2 — Pastoral Care

In August, 1727, John Wesley left Oxford to become his father’s curate (today we’d call him an assistant pastor). His father was an Anglican clergyman and Epworth, where he served, was an impoverished, marshy region of England northeast of London.

Besides Epworth, his father was also responsible for the village of Wroote, an even more desolate place about five rugged miles away. The people of Wroote were illiterate and ill-mannered folk and it was to them that John Wesley was to offer the services of a curate.

So, what was a “curate” to do in such a situation? He was to bring the “cure” of the gospel to them by preaching and teaching (see last week’s posting) and also by listening carefully to their needs and offering gospel remedies. The latter was done often one-on-one or while meeting with a family.

This was pastoral care, anciently called “the care of souls.” The curate’s resources were principally the Scriptures, prayer, and the wisdom of the church passed down through the ages — plus a God-anointed gift of empathy.

The pastor’s role has become much more complex in modern times. Studies show that pastors are pulled in administrative directions to such an extent that the time to share intimately in the spiritual needs of people is greatly reduced. The shepherding aspect of their role deserves a fresh look.

Pastoral care takes its mode from the metaphor of the shepherd and his sheep. “Pastor” and “shepherd” are intimately connected words. Moses was a shepherd of sheep for 40 years before he became a shepherd of God’s chosen people. David learned some of his life skills from his humble shepherding assignment before he became not only king but also shepherd of Israel. And shepherding — delivering pastoral care — is today a key element in the Christian pastor’s task. It interfaces with biblical preaching, often growing out of it.

Pastoral care may take place in a hospital chapel or a patient’s room, a parishioner’s home, even at a church altar. Or it may be in a pastor’s study, at a jail, by means of a letter or in a long telephone conversation. Ideally, it is experienced face-to-face.

Good pastoral care grows out of the rich soil of Scripture and is enhanced by an ability to listen deeply and confidentially. It also is boosted by a pastor’s strong work ethic because this motivates pastors not only to study and preach but to get out to where the needs are. In fact, the true pastor will most typically seek to connect with those needs. By contrast, other professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, routinely though not exclusively wait for the needs to be brought to them.

Pastoral care is given primarily by pastors. Therefore, every church, small or large, should make special provision for this service in congregation and community. In addition to the pastor’s service, however, pastoral care on a broader scale is the task of the whole church. The whole congregation is exhorted by Scripture to “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).

Large churches with an extensive pastoral staff often assign the task of pastoral care to a particular pastor. Yet, even “preaching pastors” should have a few pastoral contacts each week in order to enrich the pastoral quality of their preaching. And the pastoral outreach of a church may also be broadened by the assignment of lay visitors who are trained and whose work complements the work of assigned pastors in visiting shut-ins and long-care patients.

The pastor’s preparation for this important assignment includes training in how to use the Bible in dealing with human needs and perplexities, and a reasonable understanding of the insights gleaned from the social sciences (psychology and sociology).

Pastoral care should have a strong evangelistic component in that pastors develop connections with people who may have no contact with the church. As well, it puts pastors in touch with church adherents who may have reasons that have never been dealt with for their failure to embrace the gospel and received Christ as Lord and Savior.

It is critical in our highly sexualized and emotionally exposed times that pastors establish within themselves a clear awareness of boundaries with their parishioners. Where, for example, are the lines of demarcation in physical proximity when working with staff of the opposite sex, or counseling in marital crises, or home visitation? They should know their limitations in counseling, and how they are to maintain purity in their thought lives. As pastors gain a reputation for integrity in these areas their opportunities for pastoral care reach an ever-widening circle.

Little more than ten years after John Wesley served as a curate in the remote village of Wroote he became known as a preacher to congregations numbering into the thousands. He began to travel broadly, write for the benefit of new converts, and supervise a growing number of lay pastors. However, it is a matter of record that he never ceased seeing one-on-one pastoral care as an element in his ministry.

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The Threefold Task of the Pastor — Part 1 — Preaching and Teaching

Since this blog is dedicated frequently to issues having to do with the shepherding of God’s people, today’s posting will be the first of three reflections on the duties of the pastor. Those duties can be broadly grouped into three assignments. I will mention all three here, but expand on only the first in this installment.

The three elements of a pastor’s work are (1) preaching and teaching the word of God; (2) pastoral care; and (3) the administration of the church. Attention to these three duties by a pastor with a strong work ethic will signal to the congregation that “Our pastor knows what he is about.”

God’s Word Is Foremost. In my youth, one might hear someone claim to have a “call to preach” as though that were the whole of the task. No one looking toward ministry was likely to say, “I feel called to pastoral care,” or “I feel called to administer a church.” That didn’t mean that all a pastor had to do back then was to preach twice each Sunday — a stale joke that has been around a long time. But it did mean that preaching the word of God was foremost in the pastor’s work and all else was supposed to flow out of it.

Good preaching requires an adequate workplace where pastors can be alone with the Scriptures and with God. A wise church will make sure this place is provided. Access to the Internet may be added if it enhances, rather than distracts from study. Study and prayer together produce fresh flashes of God’s truth for God’s people — plus the Spirit’s anointing. No one of the above by itself is enough.

Good preaching also requires commitment to a schedule that sets aside dedicated time for preparations at least five days a week. Good preaching furthermore requires a tested method in setting out a message. The pastor must discover how to go about preparing to preach. It is both a question of what to preach and how to preach.

This kind of preaching is more than merely the transfer of information for the listeners’ reflection. In a variety of ways it is a call to action. In it there should be the recurring invitation to “repent and believe the gospel,” although this invitation must be issued in a variety of fresh ways and under divine unction.

Beyond preaching itself, the pastor is responsible to make certain that the Bible is being taught in other ways. On Sundays, are scriptural portions from both Testaments read as separate acts of of worship? Are the children learning the catechism? Is the Sunday School adequately funded and well promoted? Are teachers being guided and encouraged in their teaching?

Also, is there a program for Bible memorization? Are small groups being well monitored so that Scriptural truth occupies an important part of their meeting time? Is there a program that encourages the family altar in church families? And is the Bible being taught to children in Daily Vacation Bible School, or at children’s camps during the summer? All these ministries may not be established at one and the same time but they should all be on the church agenda.

Pastors will not monitor all these aspects of church life themselves. They will rely on volunteers or committees or paid staff. But pastors must cast the vision, and it will be of foremost concern to them that these activities be established because pastors are committed fervently to the Bible as the church’s textbook.

So, where does pastoral care fit into this scheme of things? I will respond in brief to the question next week by summarizing important aspects of this pastoral duty.

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Grocery Shopping and the Pastoral Work Ethic

Since my retirement I do most of the grocery shopping at our house, and this is a big switch. Kathleen gives me a list and often says, “make sure you get exactly what I’ve written down.” She may underline this by saying, “If you can’t find exactly what’s on the list don’t bring anything.”

Then, every two or three weeks she goes with me on a special mission to stock up on items she wants to select herself. On those occasions she gives me a list of staples to gather up while she scouts the store.

She’s a better shopper than I because she’s been doing this for most of our 63 years of married life. I’m relatively new at this household chore because when I was serving as a pastor and later a bishop I made it a point to avoid grocery stores during daytime hours.

I said to myself: at three in the afternoon my parishioners aren’t free to slip away from their office or their construction job to pick up a dozen eggs and a bottle of milk; shouldn’t I be as diligent about my work as they are about theirs?

I would allow for exceptions if there were an emergency, as any other professional would. But Kathleen and I were in agreement about the important work I had been called to do and we would avoid breaks from the routines for what might seem to be unnecessary interruptions.

During those pastoral days Kathleen would occasionally say to me over lunch, “Rev. So-and-so was pushing a grocery cart in the store at ten this morning.” I would wonder to myself, what would people say if they had seen the CEO of the factory in our town shopping for groceries at that hour? Or the principal of the school our children attend? They’re expected to be at their jobs.

Later, in 1974 when we were assigned to move from the USA to Canada to give oversight to the church here, it was a new situation. The Board of Administration bought a house with two large finished basement rooms. This house was to be our home, and until more permanent office arrangements were made the basement would provide a room for a secretary and a larger area as my work space.

After a couple of weeks of miscellaneous chores — purchasing office furniture, arranging for telephone service, choosing paint colors, and otherwise settling both house and office — I gave full attention to my new assignment.

At first Kathleen would occasionally come to the head of the stairs and ask if I could come up and hang a picture or give my opinion on some wallpaper. I explained that I was now on the job and if my office were across town I would have to wait until evening to meet her requests.

We laugh even yet when we remember her unexpected response. The mental picture of my office being across town from our home registered. She was okay with it. So, usually at eight o’clock in the morning I would stand at the head of the stairs leading down to the work area and announce, “I’m going to work now.” She would come running from elsewhere and with mock seriousness kiss me goodbye — as if I were leaving for Alaska.

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For Pastors Who Supervise Bible Reading in Church

We pastors need to refresh from time to time on some of the routine things we do in the leadership of worship. Agreed, a certain amount of routine is important to manage life well — we brush our teeth at the same times every day, carry our keys in the same pocket, etc. But in public worship, unmonitored routine can become drained of spiritual freshness and vigor. It needs to be re-examined occasionally.

Take for example the reading of Scriptures in public worship. We do it Sunday after Sunday. Or we assign lay readers the task. It’s easy to say (or think): There now, that’s over with; let’s get on with the next item.

But not so fast: reading the Scriptures in church must be seen as bedrock to true Christian worship. Dr. Carl Bangs, an authority on Arminius, once lamented to me about the drift toward liberalism in many churches. But he added this encouraging word: “So long as the Bible continues to be read in worship there is hope.” As a separate act of worship, Bible reading needs renewed attention in evangelical circles.

Here are some pointers to refresh us in this task, or to pass along.

I. It is not enough to read only a passage as a basis for our sermon. Separate from the sermon, but related to it, a portion from both Testaments should be read in Sunday morning worship. It’s a separate act of worship and a historic practice tracing back through church history even to the synagogues of ancient Israel.

In 1910 The Free Methodist Church published what may have been its most successful hymnbook. On an introductory page a printed order of worship is posted, suggesting there be readings from both Old and New Testaments. Back then it was expected that our churches everywhere would give the Scriptures that sort of prominence. When Paul admonished Pastor Timothy to “Give attention to reading” this is undoubtedly what he had in mind.

II. If you use lay readers for this task, encourage them to read the passage over several times the day before to become well acquainted with it. Ask them to sit near the microphone so they will not need to walk from some distant place in the sanctuary. On this occasion they are sharing leadership in worship. Also, assign yourself the reading task from time to time as a way of modeling the exercise and showing its importance.

III. Choose lay readers carefully. Not everyone in the congregation has the talent to sing a solo because solos require a special gift. In the same way not every member can read Scripture with the care and skill the task deserves. Choose lay persons whose lives are in tune with the Scriptures, and who have good voices, who articulate well and who read with understanding.

IV. If you use young people as readers, go over the passage with them beforehand. Make this a teaching moment. Teach them that they are being given an important assignment. I conducted a funeral at which two young nieces of the deceased were asked to read Scripture. Both raced through the passage as though to show what good readers they were. I regretted not going over the task with them beforehand.

V. Speaking generally, whether pastor or lay person reads, the pace of Scripture reading in church is usually too fast. Read slowly and thoughtfully. As one authority advised: read as though you yourself were listening to the passage, not as though you wrote it.

VI. Use the Bible version that is in the pews, or the one the congregation is most familiar with. When a version is used that’s different from the pew Bibles and the people are admonished to follow along, sometimes the different vocabulary or phrasing creates a slight dissonance which distracts or even irritates serious worshipers.

There is a place for paraphrases and a variety of versions but that place ought not to be in this part of worship. When, for example, people hear the words of Jesus again and again from the same version they are more likely to retain them in their memories. Alternate renderings can be introduced at other times, like in the sermon where comments or explanations may show their relevance.

VII. If the hymnbook in use has a section of responsive or unison readings, engage the congregation in their use from time to time. The advantage is that the congregation is actively drawn to participate in this act of worship. During my days as a local pastor responsive readings were used every Sunday quite generally.

VIII. It is good to end each reading with the words. “The word of the Lord,” or “This is the word of the Lord.” If the congregation is trained to respond, “Thanks be to God,” all the better. At this time in Western history, authority in general is diminished, and biblical illiteracy is much too common even in Christian congregations. At the same time, relativism is rampant. We must do everything we can to root our congregations in the authority of the Word of God. Closing the reading with these words is just one of several ways we can elevate the authority of our Christian Scriptures.

In my opinion, the pastoral task is an unusually great challenge at this time in history. God’s people need shepherding. In most cases they are eager for direction, if given by a leader who has won their trust and one who shows evidence of knowing what the pastoral task is all about.

I hope any reader who comes across this blog will make a way to put it’s truth into practice, either as a pastor who leads with intelligence and vigor or a lay person who passes the instruction along.

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Countering the Divorce Scourge: Part 2

When one has a close-up look at the price many pay for the dissolution of a marriage, divorce can be accurately called a modern scourge. My last counseling contact before leaving the pastorate years ago to answer my church’s call to denominational leadership was with a woman who was not a member of the church but had been sent to me by her friends who were.

She reported that her husband had recently shocked her with the unexpected announcement that he didn’t want to be married to her any longer. No reason was given other than that. Divorce proceedings were immediately underway. Since that day, she had lost more than 40 pounds, and even with her doctor’s help she could not seem to stop the loss.

My conviction is that the great number of congregations across the whole spectrum of Christian faith across this land should be the first line of defense against this scourge. In that connection, in my first instalment I spoke in favor of the empowered pulpit to lay the groundwork for the life of the congregation on this issue. Following closely on that I added the Sunday School or the small group ministry to engage young and old alike with biblical truths that support marriage and family life. Here are three additional suggestions.

III. GODLY EXAMPLE and / or TESTIMONIALS. If there is a couple in the church who have been married 50 or more years and who still manifest a gentle love for each other, why not a five-minute interview as a part of a Sunday morning or evening service? This could be done at least twice a year. But such interviews should be rehearsed ahead of time so the couple knows what questions to expect. An unplanned interview may be worse than none at all. For sure, school-aged children should be present because the seeds of successful matrimony are planted early.

IV. WEEKEND RETREATS. Good things happen when young couples are taken away for a well-planned weekend retreat, undergirded with prayer. The same can be said for teenagers or single young professionals. Outdoor activities, some competitive games, good food, laughter, and an effective Bible teacher can be used of God to give fresh insight, prompt repentance where needed, renew hope, and set some who attend on a whole new course.

For small churches this may require a joint effort involving several regional churches. Whether for couples or teenagers or any other group in the church, a well prepared weekend away usually proves worth the effort and can be made to reinforce biblical truths bearing on the crucial but troubled domestic issues of modern life.

V. COUNSELING. The kind of ministries I’ve set forth are sure to bring forward needs that require counseling. It can be assumed that there are troubled couples in every congregation who are looking carefully to see who they might be able to talk to, whether a pastor or staff person or even a respected older lay person. I can’t forget the layperson who said to me, “I’ve watched you for eight years to decide whether I could talk to you.”

There are also couples in every congregation who can be carefully screened and equipped to give elemental help to those in marital difficulty. One pastor reported that when he divided his congregation into small groups the personal requests for his counsel diminished. It seemed that some people began to get the help needed in the intimacy and trust of small groups.

There are perils in concentrating on marriage and family ministry in a particular church. The congregation should have a clear focus but should not become a one-ministry church. For example, singles in the congregation, of whom the number is growing everywhere, must be ministered to in appropriate ways or they may come to feel like “second class citizens.” And those who have had a failed marriage, or are single parents, must not get any sense that they are being pushed to the sidelines for the same reason.

Even so, marriage and family are under such attack at this time in history that local congregations should be aware of the high priority need to serve and support the family.

The point is that the resources of the congregation should be marshalled to counter the divorce scourge and hold up the standard of marriage as a gift from God to be nurtured and, when necessary, healed. When this is done with devotion and in the power of God’s Mighty Spirit, the life of the whole congregation should feel the health-giving effect.

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Countering the Divorce Scourge: Part 1

During one week a month ago, I received three telephone calls from men who were being carried along unwillingly to a divorce they did not want. All three candidly admitted that to one degree or another their negligence was a factor. The three were not connected with one another in any way, and so far as I know they were not aware of one another.

Each was in deep distress. A harsh new reality had broken upon them in full force when the divorce papers were served. And all three seemed ready to fight for the recovery of the marriage though they each feared that their marriage might be beyond saving.

Three such calls within a single week bring home to me how pervasive divorce is in our culture. And they remind me yet again how painful it is to dissolve a marriage. But they have also made me reflect on the church’s calling in helping to reduce the number of dissolved marriages by fostering healthy marriages within a domestically healthy congregation.

There are congregations that are accepting this mandate. But I believe many more should self-consciously do so. In fact, thousands of Christian congregations on this continent are still in the position to be the front line defenders and protectors of the institution of marriage.

What can these congregation do to develop a sub-culture in which marriage continues to be held in honor while some among them who have experienced the dissolution of their marriage through unfaithfulness, desertion, or some other cause are being ministered to? Can marriage be affirmed and individuals whose marriages have failed find real healing within a loving congregation? If so, how?

I. SERMONS. The Lord’s people must never underestimate the power of their pulpits. Every great Christian forward movement in history has been advanced by empowered preaching. If sermons are mined from the deep veins of the Scriptures, are well prepared, seriously undergirded by prayer, and preached with passion, they have the capability, under God, of strongly reinforcing human marital commitments.

But one sermon a year will not be enough. If we will allow them, the Scriptures will bring us often to some aspect of this truth about marriage and family. However unrelated to marriage they may seem on the surface, sermons on God’s covenant love in Christ, the grace of loving relationships, the power of forgiving and being forgiven, the grace of putting others first, repentance, bearing one another’s burdens, etc., — all such anointed sermons will have a substantial bearing on this precious relationship called marriage.

II. SUNDAY SCHOOL OR SMALL GROUP MINISTRY. Sadly, Sunday School has fallen on hard times in recent years. But where it is still carried on seriously, it provides remarkable opportunity to bring home to young and old alike the same timeless truths mentioned above locked into the sacred Scriptures. Due to the more informal, relational nature of these ministries, in a Sunday School class or small group, truth can be delivered in bite-sized chunks, reinforced by dialogue, and released into person’s lives by spoken commitment.

Consider key Bible passages that are able to shape the understanding of young and old alike. The story of Adam and Eve -– always the starting point — shows what God intended marriage to be at the time of Creation (Gen. 2). The search made by Abraham’s steward for a wife for Isaac was at every point God-guided (Gen.24). In the Proverbs there are the warnings to the young against sexual promiscuity (Prov. 7, etc.). On the other hand, there is the beauty of physical love under the right circumstances set forth in the Song of Songs.

And in the Gospels we have the sobering words of Jesus about divorce (Matt. 5:31, 32; 19:3-12; Mark 10:2-12: Luke 16:18). Epistles give us laws for the Christian family (Eph. 5:21-6:4). And in various other places in the Bible, marriage seems the ever-present metaphor to show us God’s covenant love for his people.

The pulpit and the Sunday School or small group – what a strong alliance for the shaping of a congregation’s views and practices relative to the institution of marriage! What a wonderful provision for the union of preaching and teaching! These are two good starting places for war against the destructive forces that attempt to plant shallow or erroneous views about marriage in the minds even of believers every day in our world.

If troubled partners from three dissolving marriages should seek my prayers in one week, retired as I am, this is enough to awaken my prayers afresh for churches everywhere to mobilize their spiritual resources in the realm of marriage and family.

Later this week I will continue my thoughts on this crucial subject. Please check in again on Thursday. And feel free to add your comments or questions to this posting.

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Mending Fences

In 1956, when I was a young pastor in the Pacific Northwest Conference, the late Reverend C. W. Burbank was my conference superintendent. I had been appointed to the New Westminster church on the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, and Kathleen and I had crossed the continent from Kentucky immediately after my graduation from Asbury Seminary. Our personal belongings and four little children were packed into our turquoise colored Plymouth and a large spring-less trailer joggled along behind us every mile of the way.

Before Superintendent Burbank entered the ministry he was a logger. He had an outdoors ruggedness about him. He was not a seminary trained man; back then, seminary training for ministers was less common and more difficult to attain than now. Many pastors of earlier eras got whatever theological training they received by means of serious correspondence courses they were expected to wade through.

But he was an urgent preacher, well respected by his peers, and a man of down-to-earth common sense, something he learned or polished, as I understand, while in the logging business in the Okanagan Valley of Washington State.

During one of my first conversations with him he shared a bit of wisdom. He explained that some ministers are more skilled at mending their fences than others. He meant that when a misunderstanding or even an unintended interpersonal rift developed, such pastors seem to have a knack for restoring trusting relationships.

Others, he went on, leave the gap unaddressed and allow it to take on a certain permanence. If this happens with another family, and then another, Rev. Burbank explained, the misunderstandings accumulate sufficiently to destroy the trust of the congregation as a whole. A wall develops and the minister loses the trust of the congregation and he must move on.

Rev. Burbank didn’t say exactly how to recover healthy relationships. Nor did he mention what to do if a pastor’s efforts to keep fences mended are rejected. That is another aspect of the issue, and there are such situations. To take his counsel a step further, here are a couple more suggestions.

First, the greatest hindrance to correcting wounded relationships is pride – that dangerous quality within us that makes us tend to over-rate our worth or abilities. Pride is a point of vulnerability with all of us, Christian or not. When something is said or done from either side that injures our self esteem the rift is in danger of opening. Before repair can even be attempted pride must be acknowledged and brought to heel.

Second, once a rift happens, anger tends to follow and it invariably only clouds issues. So, no correction should be attempted until anger has been faced and dissipated. Most of us have learned this lesson by unhappy experience. In the face of breakdown of relationship and accompanying anger, only the indwelling Spirit of Christ can save us from further anger-prompted division.

Third, wise pastors will know that once in awhile, a relationship may grow cool or may even seem beyond repair. This may be due to disagreement on a particular issue. Or it may arise when a parishioner seems to have a fixed point of view about some circumstance. In these sorts of cases, when honest efforts have been made to restore relationship and fellowship—without success—ministers should labor on. As all pastors learn, in a busy growing pastorate there will be those who do not agree with the minister on issues. After honest efforts have been made to seek corrected and restored fellowship — without success — ministers should go on with their work diligently, all the while treating objectors with civility and grace. Only humility can keep the door open to the other person permanently. And it can only be hoped that the minister’s continued faithful service to the congregation will bear fruit and that eventually hearts will melt and be reconciled.

Ministers are much more likely to stay afloat in troubled waters and navigate through rocky relationships if they remember that their ultimate accountability for their efforts is to God. Their hope is that God may be pleased, since it is to him they will finally answer. Just remembering this makes them more careful to avoid missteps.

Mending fences is not only a challenge to ministers. Broken relationships are a universal peril in our fallen world. It would be hard to find someone of mature years who does not have a measure of pain over damaged relationships and even unresolved relationship issues at this point. So ministers and laymen alike need strength and grace help in the arduous task of living openly and charitably — insofar as possible — with all. Praying for increased sensitivity to the needs of others for Christ’s sake is the starting point.

Many years after our conversation, Rev. Burbank died in the pulpit while doing what he loved — preaching the gospel. I am just one of many who profited from his ministerial leadership and wise counsel. His insight regarding mending fences was a lifelong gift, not always exercised to the greatest effectiveness, but always treasured.

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But Can He Preach?

“But can he preach?” I heard that question often during my 19 years as an elected bishop of the church. Here was the context:

In the Free Methodist Church, every annual conference has a ministerial appointments committee. It is this committee’s duty after careful consultation to appoint all ordained personnel to their places of service.

In doing their work the committee usually interviewed one or more representatives from a local congregation. In this interview, the representatives had opportunity to explain the needs of their church and to ask questions regarding the suitability of a particular candidate.

From time to time I was in on those interviews. At other times I had private conversations with the lay persons involved. With a certain regularity I heard the following question: “But can this person preach?”

There were other questions too: does this candidate have skills in giving pastoral care to individuals? Or does he have ability to administer a congregation? Or will she offer visionary leadership?

But the question that came up most often as I recall was, “Can this person preach?”

It seemed clear that lay leaders had an instinct about the pastoral task that made their question perceptive. It wasn’t that other aspects of the work were unimportant. Those speaking for a local congregation usually wanted a well rounded pastor. But, whatever other gifts the prospect might have, if it surfaced that the gift of preaching didn’t exist in some degree of development, interest flagged.

Where did this insight come from? One might say from the Protestant Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. The power of the Scriptures was rediscovered in that mighty awakening and with it the importance of proclamation and teaching as the minister’s primary tasks.

But it goes deeper. Think of the prophets of the Old Testament – Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, to name only three of many. “The word of the Lord came to me,” they said, or they prefaced their messages with, “Thus says the Lord.” They believed they were proclaiming a divinely inspired word with authority.

This was only further amplified in the New Testament. Jesus came preaching. He sent his apostles out to preach the truth of his kingdom. Paul wrote to the younger Timothy, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13). Later he wrote, “I give you this charge: Preach the word….” (2 Tim. 4:1,2). The primacy of preaching is inescapable in the Scriptures.

A young pastor just out of seminary once admitted to me — after I had done some probing — “I don’t believe preaching is where it’s at.” I asked him, “Where, then, is it at?” His response: “I think it’s in rapping with a few young people informally.” Only after he got the matter straightened out in keeping with the Scriptures did his preaching take on an energy that won him a hearing.

All this is not to say that preaching alone will assure pastoral success. Rapping may have its place, but the four-fold task of the modern pastor is: to preach and teach the word; to offer pastoral care to the flock of God’s people; as a shepherd, to seek the lost; and to administer the church so as to assure it is ordered and has clear purpose.

But it is my lifetime conviction that when the church is in a growth and outreach mode it grows from a Spirit-anointed pulpit outward.

The question, “Can this pastor preach?” doesn’t mean “Is he a brilliant orator?” Or “Does she wow the congregation with her scholarship?” It does mean, “Does this pastor give evidence of having prepared heart and mind to make some biblical truth clear and compelling to the people?” Or, “ Is it obvious that this truth is ordered for delivery and moves her own heart first?”

These are demanding times for pastors everywhere. Congregational expectations are high. Pastors who labor at the crossroads or in an urban enclave find their gifts are unfairly measured against colorful television preachers. Lay officers sometimes fail in that they don’t know how to support and encourage their leader. The drop-out rate is too high.

But the task of leading a congregation in our modern world is still a lofty calling. In spite of the pain and disappointments that sometimes make the road rough, its rewards over the long pull are immeasurably great. And those who pursue it well continue to make the preaching task a sort of lynchpin for all other pastoral duties.

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How to Have a Christian Wedding

When is a wedding truly Christian? It seems to me that that question can be answered at two different levels. Consider the first.

Suppose a young community couple approaches a pastor seeking his wedding services. They are not members of any church. They are not believers. Thoroughly secular in their outlook, they nevertheless have a residual sense that a wedding should in some way be religious and, motivated by that sense, they seek a pastor’s help. Can they have a Christian wedding?

In such cases, if the pastor’s ritual is Christian in content – that is, faithful to the word of God — and his prayers are offered in the name of Christ, and if the songs sung have Christian lyrics, then in a broad sense, what he offers may be called a Christian wedding. It’s not Buddhist, Hindu, nor even broadly secular. It carries the notes of Christian truth about marriage throughout.

But if the couple are a man and woman who love Jesus Christ devoutly and who make known that they want their wedding in every way to honor him, that promises a Christian wedding in a much fuller sense. The event has a discernible authenticity. It is this kind of Christian wedding that I write about today.

I remember with particular warmth Ken and Judy, or Larry and Cheryl, Jim and Fern or David and Faith, and a string of others across the decades. Often they were young and inexperienced when they arrived at the altar, starry-eyed, eagerly anticipating the adventure they were about to launch. Sometimes there was slight apprehension over the serious nature of the vows they were to make. But each couple, in their own way, saw the event as a time to reflect the faith they so ardently held.

A wedding marks one of life’s most important rites of passage. It is an adventure and – one hopes — a once-in-a-lifetime event. One couple steeped in romance may approach it as the fulfillment of a dream; to another more down-to-earth couple it may be more centered on the making of vows. Couples come to the wedding altar with a variety of concerns. For all these reasons, the event deserves the full attention of the pastor asked to officiate.

A Christian wedding deserves to be theologically grounded, beautiful, well-ordered, with logical sequences, free of unnecessary distractions, and in all, an experience of the sacred for both the wedding party and the worshiping congregation.

But, it seems to me that the Christian essence of even some church weddings is under siege. It is threatened by the incursion of materialism – the impulse to make the event into a theatrical spectacle that fairly drowns out the Christian notes of reverence and worship. Materialism calls for props, showiness, the piling up of expense. The families involved may be unable to afford the cost and this may trigger a lot of behind the scenes conflict.

Another peril the mood of our times seems to encourage is narcissism – the tendency for one or both parties to make the event into an ego-trip rather than a covenanting service carried out “in the sight of God and the presence of these witnesses.” When narcissism takes over, the wedding becomes exlusively a “now” and “me” moment. The couple cheat themselves of valuable insights about weddings. For example, they deprive themselves of wisdom the church has gleaned across two millennia.

They are likely to scorn the value of traditions which serve an important function – to bring together two families as harmoniously as possible. Traditions have been accumulated across the centuries to meet this goal. It’s a demanding task, and in observing these traditions, family rivalries and interpersonal tensions are reduced.

So, to avoid these perils, what should we aim for in planning a Christian wedding? Here are three goals:

If the wedding is to be seriously Christian, from the start the couple must keep in mind that Christ is to be the guest of honor. Therefore, all planning must be to please him. What better situation than a wedding to put into practice the advice of the Apostle Paul who wrote, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3:17) Wanting his blessing above all else will assure the proper sense of reverence and restraint.

The couple should also do all they can to lay a groundwork for the expression of Christian joy. Where Christ is honored, there is joy. Joy is a great Christian grace. It is a key element in worship (Ezra 6:22) so it should be in evidence at a Christian wedding. When preparations have been well laid, joy will be present, subdued but deep, and at the later reception it may become jubilant and overflowing.

Finally, in all the planning, the aim should be for simplicity. That doesn’t mean stark plainness — without color or beauty. It means keep things as uncomplicated as possible. Remember that understatement often reveals the heart of beauty. If a main line of planning is established and adhered to this will reduce distractions and mishaps as the big day approaches.

Are such goals worth the trouble? I have in my memory weddings of unforgettable Christian witness and loveliness and I say, Yes! Without hesitation, Yes!