Comments on: What Would You Say?

By: Rhonnie

Rhonnie — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:02:09 +0000

Cant really say anything about this since there are so many ambiguities.

Either way, lets just support him both in prayer and positive inputs =)

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:33:57 +0000

I have had a couple of Mondays that felt like that.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:04:13 +0000

I echo the words of Bernard [up two comments]

WAYYYYYYYYYYY too many times, the assumption is that someone who is really being drawn to God, really being drawn to the Scriptures, and really being drawn to living a solid Christian life, MUST be CALLED TO PREACH.

I don’t think that Christ calls anyone into today’s priesthood. This is a “presumer performer” thing:

http://thebigpicmin.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/are-you-a-presumer-performer/

Christ’s shepherds are servant leaders, washing the feel of the flock, plugging their sheep directly into the vine, into the participatory gathering. Please take a look again at 1 Cor 14′s gathering commands and
“Those whom God Knows Not!!!”

http://thebigpicmin.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/those-whom-god-knows-not/

By: mike

mike — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:16:19 +0000

Steve,

In continuing our thoughts about Paul, here is a thread I ran across when doing some research for a paper. An interesting dialogue to be sure.

http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?t=38708

By: Bernard Shuford

Bernard Shuford — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:16:42 +0000

I say baloney, because EVERY Christian should be called to those things, and we are NOT all called to preach.

The church has elevated a lot of people into full-time ministry and into “preaching” that SHOULD have been serving Christ with all their heart in some other vocation entirely.

It’s part of the BS that says “good Christians serve God full-time” or “if you’re a really good Christian, you’ll follow God’s will fully, which obviously and automatically means you’re either a pastor or missionary.”

I say baloney.

My suspicion is that this gentleman feels out of place with what he’s done.

By: JanB

JanB — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:01:17 +0000

Strangely enough, this reminds me of my sex life. No, I am not kidding, it’s a parallel that a lot of women would draw.

Not in a twisted way, but in that both of us are lying and not being honest enough to trust the other person (people, in his case) with the truth that something is really, desperately wrong.

I think that a lie is hardest when you’ve kept it up for years and years. After a while it’s hard to break the lie with the truth. Maybe you even convince yourself that you’re not lying.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 11:41:07 +0000

I would have to agree with that…this is probably a major underlying factor is why many Christians find their lives in Christ to be anything but deeply satisfying.

By: ded

ded — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:28:44 +0000

Were he in the discussion, he may very well say, he was deeply satisfied with his life of service, it was the pulpit ministry that missed the mark for him. There is, after all, much more to functioning in the pastoral gift than teaching/preaching from the Bible.

Therein may lie the problem. There is a cultural expectation that pulpit ministry is the primary means of encouraging believers and supporting their maturation in the faith. I think this is a false premise.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:07:33 +0000

ded-
That’s a good question…I’m amazed that anyone could stick with something that long without sensing satisfaction or spiritual fulfillment in doing what they’re doing. I know that personally, when I teach from the Bible, it’s extremely satisfying.

I wonder if perhaps his discontentment might have something to do with his misunderstanding of what God has called him to do…maybe the vocational part is an issue…maybe he has been doing the best job that HE can do but not following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Just to clarify, i didn’t take your comments as questioning whether God was pleased with the man or not…I agree, that’s God’s call alone.

By: ded

ded — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:30:48 +0000

Brandon, you have made a fair assertion. I extended the problem to the depth of the man’s very walk with God and suggested his dissatisfaction stemmed from there. I agree with you that he was expecting the role to be something that God never intended. It clearly may be as simple as that.

Yet, that begs the question, Why does any Christian walk with God for fifty-one years and not find God’s intent for the effort, if the walk is based on the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit? Was this faithful man missing more than God’s intent for the gifting? I would never suggest that God was not pleased with his service within the construct that was fully God’s will for the pastor in question. Such judgment is God’s alone.

I only ponder why any Christian is left feeling unfulfilled in a life’s work of service.