Right idea, wrong presentation
One of the problems with me is I do stupid things. Thank God I'm not the only one. Misery loves company. And thank God there is room in heaven for people who are not perfect. My sermon Sunday is actually on wisdom. Maybe I'll learn something! :)
Here's what the problem is. I love the church. In most ways that's a good thing. I love the church universal and I love my local church. The International Church of Bangkok is a great place to serve as pastor. And I want to be here for awhile.
I'm passionate about who and what we are. And I'm passionate about keeping the church healthy. And here's the trap I fall into. On occasion I see something happen which is potentially damaging. And because I'm passionate about the church and its health, I defend. And sometimes I speak without thinking. I fight back.
I've learned that a lot of times, fighting back is what's needed. There are a lot of destructive elements out there ready to destroy churches and people. Like the Sunday one of our visitors decided he was going to preach. He stood up to introduce himself in the service and started talking about a message from God that he had for us and after telling the whole church we were going to hell, I put a stop to it. And I did it firmly. I defended and fought for the health of our church.
But it's easy to become defensive. It's easy to start to think the whole world is out to get the church and you are the 'protector'.
The truth is that God is the 'protector' of the church. Sometimes we, as pastors, are used in that role. And sometimes we are the problem. The trick to defending the church is to do so prayerfully, not reactively. Defending is good. Being defensive isn't. Perhaps that's a bit of wisdom I can actually incorporate into my life.
Here's what the problem is. I love the church. In most ways that's a good thing. I love the church universal and I love my local church. The International Church of Bangkok is a great place to serve as pastor. And I want to be here for awhile.
I'm passionate about who and what we are. And I'm passionate about keeping the church healthy. And here's the trap I fall into. On occasion I see something happen which is potentially damaging. And because I'm passionate about the church and its health, I defend. And sometimes I speak without thinking. I fight back.
I've learned that a lot of times, fighting back is what's needed. There are a lot of destructive elements out there ready to destroy churches and people. Like the Sunday one of our visitors decided he was going to preach. He stood up to introduce himself in the service and started talking about a message from God that he had for us and after telling the whole church we were going to hell, I put a stop to it. And I did it firmly. I defended and fought for the health of our church.
But it's easy to become defensive. It's easy to start to think the whole world is out to get the church and you are the 'protector'.
The truth is that God is the 'protector' of the church. Sometimes we, as pastors, are used in that role. And sometimes we are the problem. The trick to defending the church is to do so prayerfully, not reactively. Defending is good. Being defensive isn't. Perhaps that's a bit of wisdom I can actually incorporate into my life.
