Dogs & Doghouses

The number seven is sometimes recognized as the biblical number of completion. There are lots of sevens in the Bible (beginning with the creation account given in Genesis and ending with a few things in Revelation). So, I thought I would share seven things I learned from my first 7 years of being a Pastor. These are in no particular order.


1. We need the grace of God
As a matter of fact, the only way that any of this is possible is by the grace of God. Paul said he could do all things through Christ (the source of his strength). Remember this. The only reason we can step towards righteousness is because Christ is enabling us to do so. His grace is sufficient; it’s the only source of grace out there. God’s grace, given by the shed blood of Jesus Christ is what saves, nothing else. A hungry person needs food and God’s grace – not just food. The thirsty soul needs something to drink and God’s grace – not just water. Hell is full of people who died with full bellies, wanting nothing but God’s grace and the salvation offered through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

2. Learn and teach the Bible
If you don’t, who will? Lots of people believe things (not everyone knows why). The world is full of religion and ignorance about God’s Word; religion and ignorance leads to superstition. The Bible has never failed to console me. It has never failed to offer solace. Context, context, and more context; the Bible is not a box of Legos™ that you get to make up as you go along! Ignorant Christians worship an unknown God and have no better a clue than the Athenians who did the same.

There are enough books on psychology, sexuality, politics, the news, and, yes, religion. Believers need to preach and teach the Bible. If we don’t who will?

3. It’s ok to say, “I don’t know.”
This is only honest. Never feel as though you have to say something when you don’t know what to say. A thoughtful person can always offer, “I’ll have to look into it.”

4. Let God set the expectations
I’ve known any number of young preachers and church workers (myself included) who have been discouraged almost immediately after they get out of seminary. One of the things I was guilty of was reading, studying, and preaching the Bible, but at the end of the day I didn’t always accept what was there.

Seminary students are often under the impression that everyone is as “on fire” for the Lord as they are. They may think that everyone wants to know Greek and/or Hebrew, that church history is general knowledge, and that people love long sermons and will toil long hours to serve God. It takes about two weeks for an astute person to recognize otherwise.

Additionally, the world has also impacted our thinking on what we should “have” as servants of God. The ministry should be full-time. It should come with a parsonage, insurance, mileage reimbursement, and lots of excited helping workers. These are false expectations.

The Bible shows many different pictures of God’s people. Some, like Nehemiah and Ezra, are indeed willing to go the extra mile for the Lord. Most serve only after a period of kicking and screaming, excuse making, and/or trying to find someone else to do it.

I can put this in any number of secular frames for consideration:

• I want to ride with the Magnificent Seven but I usually end up with The Dirty Dozen
• Even the master chef has to set tables once in a while
• People don’t care how you build the house, they just want to see it completed

When we fail to allow God to set our expectations, when we stop accepting what we read in the Bible, the next thing to happen is discouragement. Being discouraged has caused any number of qualified men to leave their calling.

5. A church is not a building
The Bible example of a church is a group of people. This is in stark contrast to churches of today that are replete with mortgages, utility bills, schedules of events, telephones, entertainment centers, and any number of other treasures on earth. Serve and worship with people, not with the building. The goal is to glorify God, not satisfy our own flesh.

These metaphors might help:

• Would you rather have a dog or a doghouse (and please don’t answer with a sophomoric response about not liking dogs because you know what I mean)?
• A school of fish doesn’t meet in a building.
• A married couple may have a house, but not a home.

6. Legislate morality in your own life
James 5:16 tells us that it is the effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man that availeth much (not the effectual fervent prayers of a backslidden, unconcerned, reprobate). The only reason Jabez had his coasts increased was because he was more righteous. Read the Psalms of David and don’t buy into the feel good prosperity gospel that’s for sale today.

We get to say yes or no to any number of things. Make sure we say yes to the right things and forbid the bad things.

I love it when people say you can’t legislate morality when it seems we’ve done a fine job legislating immorality. Just you keep your own nose clean because in the big scheme of things that’s the nose you will have to answer for.

7. If you don’t want to be here, then go
I guess coming from a pastor that sounds callous. So let me add a little. In Matthew 18:15 – 17, Jesus specifically shows us how to handle problems in a church. I know it sounds shocking, but these guidelines work. Alas though, they take a certain amount of maturity.

For example, let’s say you have a big problem – like someone says something the wrong way or what you wanted to happen at the business meeting doesn’t happen. So you collect that and hang on to it and add it to your collection of other things people have said to you that you’ve taken the wrong way or you throw it on the pile of other things that didn’t happen your way at the business meeting. You really have one of three options.

First, you can take care of it the way Jesus said to by actually talking with and interacting with another human being in an adult, Christian manner; with an attitude of love and service to Christ. Second, you can hang around with all that bitterness in the back of your head and your built-in excuses for why you just can’t ‘enjoy’ services, infecting others with your crap attitude and saying your own share of incisive things. Or third, you can leave. My vote is to take option one. But if you can’t bring yourself to do that, then just leave.

For…

The man who has smoked two or three packs a day for the last ten years or so, who now battles his pneumatic lungs, rasping in lung cancer…

The obese woman who has trouble with her knees and back, and who would rather be in a motorized cart than walk on her own through Wal-Mart…

The alcoholic whose liver is eaten by cirrhosis, who skin is now jaundiced yellow…

And all the others who cry out, “Why me Lord, why me? Help this pass. Please give me more time!”

Galatians 6:7 - Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

I’ve been told by different people that a good pastor needs to visit his church members and the reason some people don’t go to church is because the pastor never visited them. One time when I went to see a church member in the hospital their roommate, someone I had never met before nor have I seen after, piped up and said, “I didn’t know preachers still made visits.” Church members sometimes wistfully mention that their son/cousin/neighbor (whatever) is in the hospital. It’s a hint – as though I’m a salesman and they’ve just handed me a hot lead and I’m supposed to get right on it. But if I’ve never met the person before (and sometimes when I have) I have a difficult time wanting to go see them. Conversely, some preachers are adamant in their stand to, “Not chase after church members.” When someone doesn’t attend services for a while the pastor has already fashioned his escape hatch to not to bother with them.

The same facets of opinion occur when it comes to making a phone call. Pastors get asked, “How’s brother so and so doing?” “Have you heard from sister (insert sick church member’s name here)?” Part of me wants to answer, “I don’t know, why don’t you call them and find out?” When someone informs the pastor, “You never called to find out about …” how often could that be answered with a, “Neither did you.” There’s a name for those types of back and forth dialogs. It has to do with who can keep the urine flowing the longest. But I digress.

Under a slightly different heading, the Bible tells us that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. Sometimes I view visiting in this light, as a sense of the visitor giving his or her time to someone else. It should be done because we want to. That’s when it will be most pleasing to the Lord.

And then there’s the scripture that tells us when we visit a brother or sister in jail it’s the same as visiting Jesus Himself. Zoinks!? And don’t forget about seeking after that one lost sheep. There are lots of sticker bushes for church members (and deacons and pastors) to get stuck in. Part of our mutual accountability means we are willing to go and find out what’s going on with one another – not as busybodies, but as concerned family members.

Myself – I crave me time. Family, work, and pastoring tend to take up one’s alone time and I know I don’t appreciate what it must be like to be lonely to the extent that I should. But, every time I go to a retirement home I see the forgotten people and am reminded. There are many people who can no longer involve themselves in life. And isn’t it interesting that their families ignore them to the extent that they do? I wonder, will my children change my diaper the way I changed theirs? Probably not.

So, let our compassion to one another be kindled. Compassion is an empathetic love, a kindness based on understanding or putting on someone else’ shoes for a while and really thinking about what it must be like to walk in them.