The pastor's responsibility

I originally called this post "Auditioning For Congregants." It was going to read as follows:

I've been thinking of starting a new church that will take the world by storm. Anyone interested in joining, please contact me. We can set up an appointment to meet where you should be prepared to answer these questions: What is your talent; what will you contribute to our group; why should we let you join; and just what makes you think you're so stinkin' special anyway? Please leave a comment below with your name, telephone number, and email address if you would like an audition.

Of course I was being sarcastic (it's my gift, you know). I don't really even know what I was thinking about. I guess sometimes I think I get tired of hearing about how church needs to always be about DOING something. And, I know, the church doesn't do near as much as it should - we have been irresponsible, lazy, and self-centered. But I think many people are like that because they've never allowed God to DO SOMETHING inside THEM. That's why I like Eugene Peterson so much. I started re-reading his book "Working The Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity." I AM a pastor, after all; and I think integrity is somewhat important (and not just for pastors).

On the very first page he jumps right in with this: "American Pastors are abandoning their posts, left and right, and at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs... But they are abandoning their posts, their calling. They have gone whoring after other gods..."

Gulp. Um... yeah... I remember this now.

Page 2 has this awesome quote that I think sums up so much of the problem. Too many people (again, pastors and non-pastors) want to be part of a "successful" church, and it just ain't gonna happen. Eugene says:

The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given a designated responsibility in the community. The pastor's responsibility is to keep the community attentive to God. It is this responsibility that is being abandoned in spades.

Hmm. Yeaaah. I really think this is what I've been missing. What so many churches are missing. Even the one's trying to have an impact in the world - too often it's of our own doing; rather than being attentive to God and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us.

I used to have this friend who would always ask, "So what's God been saying to you lately?" Sometimes it made me real uncomfortable - because I hadn't really been paying attention. But it always made me start thinking about it. So... what's God been saying to you lately?