Pastor

blog, ferguson

Pastors minister in Ferguson unrest

The continued unrest in Ferguson, MO which have featured protests, violence, and racial tensions, have the country waiting for new news of peace. The conflict revolves around Michael Brown’s murder by the hands of a police officer. Conflicting information from police sparked riots, protests, and demonstration. Local police responded with riot gear only for other departments to be dispatched to try to keep peace.

In the midst of this unrest, pastors and clergy have responded. Ministers in the middle of the Ferguson crisis have sought to provide comfort, direction, and peace. Perhaps under reported are the stories of pastors ministering to protesters, police, and local officials:

Here are some notable stories:

clergy burnout, pastor

Proof being a pastor is a tough job

As the pastor, I’m shaking hands with church goers after worship one Sunday, I talk with a congregant about meeting him during the week. His reply?

“I thought pastors only worked one day a week!”

Truth be told, we full-time (and part-time pastors) do not work one day a week. I work anywhere between 35 and 75 hours a week. My congregation expects a full-time, ordained, college educated, graduate school 90-credit hour trained, and spiritual pastor to lead the congregation. And so, I provide that. However, there are unspoken and unwritten expectations: my wife and children share in the full life of the congregation, I give 10% (and more) of my income to church, I’m available 24/7, be an excellent preacher, sound teacher, be a chaplain, be a theologian, providing counseling, give financial leadership, bring people to church, and sometimes even clean up a mess in a common area.

If you ask me or my colleagues, it’s tough being a pastor.

If you think I’m just complaining and think I have cushy job, don’t take my word for it. Take Forbes Magazine’s top 9 toughest leadership roles into consideration:

#9: CEO, lots of pressure for profit
#8: Congressman/Congresswoman, everyone (sometimes including your mother) hates you
#7: Newspaper editor, sorry that your job is almost extinct
#6: Mayor, “Unlike most politicians, you actually have to make sure that garbage gets collected, snow gets shoveled, and things get done.”
#5: Pastor/minister

Other than #1 on the list, Forbes collected the most cons of being a pastor:

Weddings

Pastor, don’t be “that” pastor at a wedding

This video of a pastor at a wedding is getting a lot of attention from sites like CNN and Gawker.

Please, pastors, next time don’t be “that” pastor. Do your homework and talk with photographer ahead of time. And, don’t be a jerk about it.

#palmintheface

blog

I’m a guest on HuffPost Live, join in

UPDATE: If you missed the discussion, you can see it its entirety here.

I’ll be a guest on HuffPost Live talking about Jason Collins, faith, and sports today.

HuffPost Live’s segment is billed as

Jason Collins is 34, black, and gay—and religious. Collins’ coming out presents an intersection of LGBT rights, religious freedom, and professional sports. What role does faith play for athletes and what it means to be gay in the NBA?

Rev. Paul Raushenbush, HuffPost Senior Religion Editor, New York, NY
Rev. Alan Rudnick, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa, Albany, NY
Esera Tuaolo, Former NFL Football Player; Author of ‘Alone In the Trenches,’ Minneapolis, MN
Paul Shirley, Former NBA Basketball Player; Author of ‘Can I Keep My Jersey?’ Los Angeles, CA
Tom Krattenmaker, Author of ‘Onward Christian Athletes’ and ‘The Evangelicals You Don’t Know,’ Portland, OR

Some have suggested that because Collins identifies as a Christian he cannot be a Christian because he is gay.

Join in on the chat, watch the live interview, and comment. Everything starts today, Thursday at 2:30 EST.

Mark Driscoll, social media

Mark Driscoll’s (non)Ministry of Social Media

If you never heard of Pastor Mark Driscoll then maybe you should. His church, Mars Hill Church in Seattle has over 6,000 members in just 11 years. Driscoll is often described as a maverick in the ministry and has one the most innovative churches in the country. TIME magazine was interested in this pastor’s ministry and has featured him in a few articles.

Recently, the mega church pastor caught fire from Christians with this Facebook update:

This comment clearly takes a shot a certain type of person in the ministry. Not only that, the undertones of a comment like this do nothing to advance the kingdom of God. If you are shocked by this comment, as am I, do not think this is the first time Driscoll said something like this. Many in the Christian community have a hard time with Driscoll’s “tough guy” persona and some question his ability to lead.

The New York Times wrote about Driscoll’s ministry and his tenancy to “male-ize” his ministry:
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Church Leadership, Churches, mega church, megachurch

Crystal Cathedral: End of Mega Church Era?

The reports out of Orange County, California have not been encouraging for the once mighty Crystal Cathedral. Robert Schuller founded the church and recently retired as the church’s senior pastor. In turn, the church never fully recovered from Schuller’s pastoral departure. Though he stayed on the church’s governing board, two of his children took a shot at pastoring the large church. Schuller’s son, Robert became the senior pastor and two years later resigned. Then, Sheila, daughter of the elder Schuller, became senior pastor. The church then filed for bankruptcy last year with $50 million in debt.

If this was not enough, reports of the the founder, Robert Schuller’s departure from the church’s governing board surfaced last week. However, his position on the board was moved from voting member to “honorary Chairman of the Board Emeritus” in order to free him up for more speaking engagements. Ah huh.

Membership and attendance have fallen since the founding pastor’s departure. Now with the debt issue over the church’s head, a few organizations have considering buying the church. The Catholic Diocese of Orange said it was considering buying the bankrupt church and converting it to a Catholic cathedral. Chapman University bid $46 million and would allow the church to lease back its core buildings.

With all of these issues surrounding the Crystal Cathedral, the question rolls around in many minds: Can “newly” planted mega churches survive when the founding pastor leaves?

funny

Pastor from the Pulpit: "F U"

Wow, this is the way for people to remember your sermon. This guy puts it all out there.

Church Leadership, pastor

The Nature of Pastoral Ministry

Several bloggers are writing about a paradigm shift in pastoral ministry. The model of a pastoral ministry 60-80 hours a week is slowly changing and for good reason! Who can sustain their sanity, a family, and a job at that rate? Maybe that is why many people think of pastors as male, bald (or have bad hair), look disheveled, and are over weight. I know of some pastors that are literally killing themselves in their work by being at church four or five nights a week.

Three blog posts are worthy of your attention. My friend and fellow pastor Elizabeth Hagan recently wrote about “Being Off Duty as a Pastor” on her blog Preacher on the Plaza. Her piece was picked up by the Associated Baptist Press. Props to Elizabeth! Her most pointed comments might come to a surprise to many lay people:

But, as you might imagine, all of this can be quite weighty on a pastor when everyone expects him or her to be at everything. My week, as is the case with almost every pastor I know, is filled with hard choices of what invitations to accept (and don’t take this to mean I don’t want to be invited to things, I consider it an honor and an important part of my work, so I tell my church to keep them coming). If I say “no” to a birthday party or graduation ceremony or even an anniversary dinner, it doesn’t mean I don’t love my congregation.

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