Employing vs. Empowering

At our church a few weeks ago, Sara shared her heart with our pastor about what she is passionate about. What God has given her a desire to do. I was there and watched her talk and saw the pastor's response. It was more or less a brush off. Sara has a degree in Family and Child Development and is passionate about helping families. So many churches want children and have VBS and huge kids ministries, but don't do anything for their parents. This kids might hear the word at church, but go home to the bad environment. Sara believes it's important to reach the parents as well as the kids, and God has given here a great passion for that. To give families tools to function, to help parents love their kids and build them up.

It is well documented that our church has a "need" for people to work with children. They want to start things on Wednesday nights, and a choir/worship service for Sunday nights, as well as maybe a kids church. But we were told that our church wasn't ready for that, that we weren't big enough to have a program like that, reaching parents. But we want people to work with kids.

All of this to say, it seems that churches today spend a great deal of time creating programs, creating ministries. The leadership might think that they need a kids ministry, so they make one. Or they think they need a soup kitchen, so they do it. And then they have a ministry with no people to work it. So they go out and recruit, they act as an employer looking to fill a specific need.

I don't think that is the way that the church should work. As a pastor, I think it is my job to know the people, to know where God has gifted them, and what they are passionate about. For a church member to come to me and say "This is my heart, this is what God has given me a desire to do" It is then my job to empower them, to equip them. If that is what God has made them passionate about, if he has given them this idea, I want to give them tools, money, resources, help, prayer, guidance, encouragement, to accomplish this.

To many churches are recruiting people to fill the need they have, and you end up with people doing a job because there is a need, and they feel obligated to. But the

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think there is a lot of "well, a church is supposed to have this, that, and the other, so we need to have that and not really anything else." gotta love traditional baptists! but seriously, i totally agree with you. there's not much more frustrating than knowing you are supposed to go out and do something for God but can't for whatever reason. i guess the "right" answer is to pray and be patient. i don't understand God's patience sometimes. He just keeps on trying and trying til the end, when we'll finally see when He isn't as patient and more just. anyway, take it easy.
Anonymous said…
Luke, You should write more often on this thing!
DEANBERRY said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said…
What goes around comes around I guess!
Anonymous said…
You said, "As a pastor, I think it is my job to know the people, to know where God has gifted them, and what they are passionate about. For a church member to come to me and say "This is my heart, this is what God has given me a desire to do" It is then my job to empower them, to equip them. If that is what God has made them passionate about, if he has given them this idea, I want to give them tools, money, resources, help, prayer, guidance, encouragement, to accomplish this."

I really hope you live up to this...
Luke Holmes said…
I try my best to, as long as it is bibliical, and I am able to do what they ask of me. Due to circumstances, all things are diffent, and some people might not be able to do things at some places, sadly, due to the history that they have created for themselves. Meaning, sometimes people are not able to overcome their own history at some churches. I don't agree with that, and I try to give everyone a chance, but those are the facts sometime.
Anonymous said…
I am a member of his church & believe me, he DOES live up to this. Our church has grown more spiritually in the past two months than it has in the past two years. The reason is because Luke is honest & does what he says he'll do. He listens to people & really cares about each one of us. He leads as God commands, not as the world sees fit.

Popular Posts