Doug's church seeks a pastor

[Jim Metcalf]

Doug,

I keep thinking about your question, and feeling like I should have
something to say about it, and coming up close to empty, but my heart aches
for your congregation, and I hope that your tension is peacefully resolved
in due time. I also keep thinking that many are wiser than I am on the
subject of your need, but I can tell we're already pretty well taken up on
another very important subject. I note, though, that a few have spoken well
to your needs. I'd like to try to help, too.

To the point: I get the sense that your congregation is really wanting to
"get a pastor" and you might be too worn out from the first go to "do it
well" again, and maybe again. Here are some possibilities:

1.      Properly understood, of course, stop trying to "get a pastor". You
believe in the Holy Spirit. You will have a new pastor if you as a church
stick to what it means to you to be church.
2.      Open Space is about sharing words. That's very theological, very
good. Goes back to Genesis 1. So, keep on doing it. Share your words. Share
your passions.
3.      In this way understand who God has called you to be as the
church-wherever-you-are. Know your passions. Then keep doing them.
4.      From this, you will understand what you need a pastor to be and to
do, and how you will relate to each other. 
5.      You might also think about marriages. It's kind of what happens when
churches and pastors hook up.
6.      By the way, in our circles, 12 to 24 months is the norm between
losing a pastor and receiving another.

Finally, we have some very good pastors on this list, and some very good
laity, not all of whom are members of churches, or even self-identify as
Christian, and I hope that as time allows, more will speak to your need. You
are doing well to seek counsel of people who understand the power of words
and the power of freedom. 

 

Best Wishes Always,

Jim

 


*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu,
Visit:

http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20040402/c234e6ff/attachment-0015.htm>