January 22, 2008
The Shill
It’s amazing how easily job descriptions can be re-written. For instance the Membership Development Minister morphs into Pastor of Involvement, the Discipleship Minister become the Associate Minister, and the Children’s Minister becomes the Director of Discipleship for Parents. Personally I have a problem with this titling slight of hand. Our congregation, convinced of the needs of our youth, hired a Youth Minister. Abracadabra…a stroke of the keyboard and the Youth Minister is transformed into a Family Development Minister. There was a time we hired staff based on the needs of the congregation and he was expected to fulfill his contract. Today we hire a person and if he doesn’t fulfill the job description, we simply customize to fit what he can do or what he wants to do.
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Gail;
-----I admire people who can move around in an organization according to where their abilities are needed. And I admire an organization that is willing to move it’s personnel around until they are mixed and matched most effectively. But the rub is, the moving must be done according to needs, not ambitions and desires. Anyone who has actually grown up understands how difficult it is to distinguish a need from an ambition. But it must be done. I remember those years from ‘98 until ‘06. The leaders started them with the “need” to attract youth because they claimed 90% of those who come to the Lord come before they are 20, and none of the kids are staying in today’s church. So all of the hymns and customary church furniture had to go out the back door so we could keep the kids. This came to them all by visions (and a fad book.) After wallowing in a spiritual quagmire for several years, your church has fallen into the hands of its present crew, who have the vision of some sort of family thing they are supposed to be doing. Now the youth are not important enough for the attention of a trained professional. I understand it comes from a different crew being in control, but I thought we were all led by the same Spirit. That would lead me to believe our visions would be consistent.
-----When the youth minister became the Family Something-or-Other Minister, I remember a statement he made. “I am tired of working with the youth. I just don’t want to do any of that any more.” OK. Let’s think about it carefully. Are the ministerial jobs around a church merely jobs? Get an education, get hired, get paid? Or, is the Scriptural perspective of ministers not that of men who are the more mature in the Lord doing the more service in the Lord, so much so that the church must provide for their living? I remember all of their sermons about not complaining. I remember all of the sermons about going where you are needed and doing what is needed. Were those sermons being delivered by paid speakers or by men who were speaking from those very attitudes having been embedded within them and successfully applied? The attitude of those sermons never would allow for weariness in doing what you were good at where it was needed. “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (Rom 12:11.) “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9.) “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms…If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides…” (I Pet 4:10-11.)
-----I believe it is good to move people around to where their abilities are most needed and used. I don’t like titles, like “Family Development Minister,” or Membership Development Minister.” To me, it just smacks of triteness. But I guess folks need to know what programs a church is funneling its efforts into, whether or not such funneling is good. But when various ministry titles start being strutted around like super-models on some French runway, I begin to wonder if service has not become a background prop for ambition.
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