Act Like A Pastor!
It amazes me to realize that I preached for over 12 years.At first, it was only once every few months. Then it was every six weeks or so. By the end, I was part of a three-man rotation and, as a part of the Worship Committee, I was involved in planning pulpit curriculum and much more.
It's interesting to look back on it and see how the role developed. I learned that, if you are preaching that much, some people in the congregation will see you in a pastoral role. That scared me at first, but eventually I embraced it and loved the opportunity to do more for people than just teach them. At my highest level of involvement, I even felt like a pastor myself.
That self-image affected how I lived my life. I believe that church leaders should do everything possible to remain above reproach. I certainly wasn't perfect, but I tried my best to watch what I said, where I went, how I acted at all times. It even affected how I drove, because I was always sure that the person I cut off in traffic would be the person who would be at church the following Sunday watching me preach. I'm not saying that this isn't how every Christian should live; it is. But the thought helped keep me on the straight and narrow.
Lately I've realized that I still try to act the same way. I'm not even within sniffing distance of a pulpit these days, but I still want to comport myself in a way that pleases God. I'm still far from perfect. But I have no idea when or where God will need me next. And when He does, I want to be ready.
posted by Thurman8er @ 10:37 AM
5 Comments:
When I was preaching in Long Beach, I was so glad when we had the name of the church removed from the side of the van. One can hardly drive in LA area with a church name on the van!! These days, though we live in a community of about a quarter million people, more and more of them are beginning to recognize us out in public so we have to be very aware of our behavior and attitudes. We should be anyway just to honor God.
P.S. Hope you get back within sniffing distance of the pulpit soon.
I'll second Greg's "sniff."
The dynamic you mention is an interesting one to be sure and it surely (..and don't call me Shirley :) ) works both ways. People do look at their pastor with a different set of lenses than other folks.
I agree with the other sniffers and hope you return to the pulpit somewhere and in some way. I will be praying for you too!
Side note to the sniffing, Congrats to your Angels on clinching another title. Watch your back next seasons because the A's will be back with a bunch of young guys and maybe one or two old guys. :o)
Probably the moral to this story is we should all try to act like pastors! And I agree with all the other sniffers..........
:)
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