Date: 08 Feb 2000
Time: 19:31:50
I will be preaching to a congregation searching for a pastor. The congregational situation is thus: The pastor of 10 years died of cancer over the course of a year. Then, the following pastor quit after only serving one year He left under duress. It seems to me that this text speaks to a congregational situation in which relationships between pastor and people have been strained. This is a passage about credentials, letters of recommendation and the exploration of pastoral characteristics. Also, what is in the heart...of a person...of a community...in grief? BOM
Date: 20 Feb 2000
Time: 22:33:41
Thank you to all the contributors whose insights and study have been a boon to a minister in an elderly congregation in the boonies. Thank you.
BOM, Grace and peace. Grief is a very good guess -- probably unresolved grief -- sounds like they need Interim Ministry to do the work of mourning the death of the one pastor and the "abandonment?" of the second. They may be angry at God or the situation, the church hierarchy and feel they cannot vent it. Will pray for you. SW in NoON
Date: 22 Feb 2000
Time: 01:14:47
"you, yourselves, are our letter"--wouldn't a pastor be delighted to have her/his congregation truly be a letter representing God to all who meet them? This may be something like the saying about the only Christ we may meet is the one we see in other Christians. Now how to help congregations get to that point... JMK
Date: 22 Feb 2000
Time: 04:07:38
The letter kills, the law leads to sin, Live in the Spirit of love, without judging one another... without judging "on God's behalf"... righteousness is not founded on the sins of others. Unconditional love is so hard for us to accept, almost impossible for us to give...
...but what if we did? DLC
Date: 23 Feb 2000
Time: 15:55:19
There is a song called, "You May Be the Only Jesus People Ever See" Does anyone know the words? Paul doesn't want a "Letter" of recommendation..but we have done letters, and we have received letters. What would our "letter of recommendation" look like as a Christian? What has been our experience, our "work habits" and knowledge about the job..have we studied about it? What "gifts" do we bring? Are we trusted? What are our strengths AND weaknesses? And most of all, will any of us be recommended? PP
Date: 24 Feb 2000
Time: 18:43:06
I pastor a congregation of people who have difficulty in conceiving of the "priesthood of all believers" or the "ministry of all Christians" applying to them. One of the biggest obstacles for them to move forward in their own discipleship is a feeling of incompetance. They do not feel competant to be in ministry. Often times I feel the same way, even as their pastor. I climb into the pulpit feeling inadequate, imcompetant...
The text indicates that our competence in Christian ministry is a gift from God. When we are open to the power of the Spirit moving, working through us, we have access to a competence that transcends anything we could possibly achieve on our own.
I'm hoping that my congregation can claim for themselves the promise of competence in ministry that comes from the Spirit!
RevRU in CA
Date: 25 Feb 2000
Time: 15:33:58
The phrase "fading glory" strikes a chord deep within me. I see a correlation between the desperate attempt of the Judaizers to hold fast to the law and the desperate way in which most "main line" churches try to hold on to their methodologies and traditions of the 50's. Perhaps this is a little cynical, but that's the way I see it.
Paul in Illinois