Without predefined roles and responsibilities WELS pastors and leaders do as they please. After all, who would dare to challenge their mastermind status?
Yes, the bylaws for a congregation specify the duties of each congregational post, and the duration of the post, but the pastor's role is undefined. Thus, evangelism or whatever task the pastor finds distasteful is neglected.
As a WELS pastor, I agree with this observation. The ministry is, without a doubt, a calling in which one can be busy all the time while doing nothing in nurture and outreach. WELS has too many mini-popes and do-nothing kings. I would suggest something that would help WELS at all levels, namely that every WELS church carry out an every member visit between July 1 and December 31, 2009. This would help clarify our membership, increase our attendance, get our pastors reinvolved with all their members, and give us the real input we need to proceed on the local and synodical levels and in para-church ministries. As an added blessing, it would very likely increase offerings to our churches, which in turn would increase offerings to the synod. I propose that this would do more good than a thousand agonizing think-tank meetings and twenty conventions.
The previous comments hit the nail on the head. This is also an indication of a true pastoral heart. Without too much of an emphasis upon methods, I believe this is a good way to get a finger on the pulse. I wonder if some pastors are afraid of being given negative feedback. It would seem to help from a common sense point of view. With all this talk about business models in the church, I have noticed that those in industry who spend a majority of their time in meetings rarely have a working knowledge of a problem.
Kudos to the WELS pastor above to strike at the root of it. Our pastors are too busy with the stuff the congregation should be doing. We --the local church -- retain the pastor to minister to us, not to sit in on the "Ministry of Lawn Mowing" committee meetings.
Let us beware of CGM pastors in WELS (of which there are many), doing their own particular kind of visiting for their own carnal CGM goals, but not for true Godly and spiritual purposes...Who seek to deceive, to get folks on side (that will support them in their pet projects), whereas, at the same time, one may search to find even the barest mention of any unadulterated, certain, and pure Word of God dropping from their lips.
This should NOT be so.
But why is this so ? Are we are unwilling to bear the cross ? Do we sinfully withdraw from bringing up our concerns ? (complaining).
Do we not get what we deserve ? Is it not so, that when good men remain silent, evil goes unchecked ? And right now in WELS, who can deny that evil is proceeding, virtually unchecked ?
6 comments:
Without predefined roles and responsibilities WELS pastors and leaders do as they please. After all, who would dare to challenge their mastermind status?
Yes, the bylaws for a congregation specify the duties of each congregational post, and the duration of the post, but the pastor's role is undefined. Thus, evangelism or whatever task the pastor finds distasteful is neglected.
As a WELS pastor, I agree with this observation. The ministry is, without a doubt, a calling in which one can be busy all the time while doing nothing in nurture and outreach. WELS has too many mini-popes and do-nothing kings. I would suggest something that would help WELS at all levels, namely that every WELS church carry out an every member visit between July 1 and December 31, 2009. This would help clarify our membership, increase our attendance, get our pastors reinvolved with all their members, and give us the real input we need to proceed on the local and synodical levels and in para-church ministries. As an added blessing, it would very likely increase offerings to our churches, which in turn would increase offerings to the synod.
I propose that this would do more good than a thousand agonizing think-tank meetings and twenty conventions.
The previous comments hit the nail on the head. This is also an indication of a true pastoral heart. Without too much of an emphasis upon methods, I believe this is a good way to get a finger on the pulse. I wonder if some pastors are afraid of being given negative feedback. It would seem to help from a common sense point of view. With all this talk about business models in the church, I have noticed that those in industry who spend a majority of their time in meetings rarely have a working knowledge of a problem.
Kudos to the WELS pastor above to strike at the root of it. Our pastors are too busy with the stuff the congregation should be doing. We --the local church -- retain the pastor to minister to us, not to sit in on the "Ministry of Lawn Mowing"
committee meetings.
+Diet O. Worms
Let us beware of CGM pastors in WELS (of which there are many), doing their own particular kind of visiting for their own carnal CGM goals, but not for true Godly and spiritual purposes...Who seek to deceive, to get folks on side (that will support them in their pet projects), whereas, at the same time, one may search to find even the barest mention of any unadulterated, certain, and pure Word of God dropping from their lips.
This should NOT be so.
But why is this so ? Are we are unwilling to bear the cross ? Do we sinfully withdraw from bringing up our concerns ? (complaining).
Do we not get what we deserve ? Is it not so, that when good men remain silent, evil goes unchecked ? And right now in WELS, who can deny that evil is proceeding, virtually unchecked ?
LORD, have mercy upon us.
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