Dear Chacko Varghese
Please consider your opinion in the light of the article below
A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Every year we see our high school graduates competing with the rest of the students here, come out in flying colors. Almost all of them want to be doctors, engineers, pharmacists or other professionals were the pay and job security is promising. Almost none of them want to be a pastor or a missionary. The reasons for this lack of interest that endangers our existence here as a well organized church and the future of missionary work that determines our rewards to come, is a lack of organization and structure for our churches. Our energy and efforts are getting dissipated. After all these years of work, the population statistics remain unchanged. We are not getting the due results for our efforts.
Since most of our churches are independent, the job of the pastor has no security. They can’t put their full concentration to missionary work or their church, as they have to worry about their family and their future needs. Our children are smart to a certain extent. They clearly see the situation and don’t want to be in the mission field. As parents, we can’t encourage them to be in the mission field, as we don’t want them to be on the street with a wife and children and a mortgage payment. Some say pastors live by faith and that is why they choose to be pastors. How can we ask them to have this faith that neither we nor our children have. We have permanent jobs, pension plans and we want our pastor to live by faith. God has given us intelligence to find solution to most common problems. Are we incapable of coming up with a solution. If there is a will, there is a way out also. If we stand together we can build a strong
One fundamental problem that we face here is the mushrooming churches here that dissipate our energy and resources that could have efficiently used for the evangelization of India and other countries. For any reason a church is split, the biggest losers will be the children. One of the reasons for the mushrooming of churches is the lack of job security for the pastor. It is true that they love their church, and their calling. Since we allow all of them to get married, we can’t forget the fact that their primary responsibility is to their family. We misinterpret the Bible worse, “The overseer must be husband of one wife”, as all pastors must be married.
Another common complaint against pastors is that they don’t have time to concentrate on the growth of the church as they have their own ministries. This also is due to the inherent job insecurity. There is a big question mark always hanging over their heads as what is next. We need an organization and setup where pastors can concentrate their energy and potential to the work of the Lord without much worry about their job security.
Yet another complaint against pastors is that they play politics in church. In a situation of uncertainty they use surviving skills to stay on. A person who is drowning financially will get hold of any straw available to escape. Once out of the waters, there is no meaning in accusing them of lack of principle as they used a straw to escape. Some say, pastor is hired for three years and that they know they have to leave after three years. In the same token why we can’t point to a particular church for them to move to and take charge.
We want our best talents to come forward for the work of the Lord. Conquering nations for the Lord is a battle and to win this battle we need the best talents, plan and strategy. Mushrooming of churches has become a threat to our survival and influence here. Any pastor no matter the best, people get tired of after a few years. We need a system for continuous source of pastors for local churches. Like minded churches must come together initially to form a central organization for mission work or they need to join an existing strong organisation.
Our committee and general body system of governing churches is also part of the reason for not using our full potential. The congregational system of church administration is not Biblical. By the time a committee is formed and they are functional and become aware of the need of the church, or missionary needs in the field, it is time for a new committee. We don’t have long term plan of action for growth. As you know without a plan and a strategy, nothing works. When we work with a plan and strategy in prayer, God’s hand will be with us.
We are spending a lot of energy and time on hiring pastors. If pastor could be appointed it is more Biblical. Besides, independent churches to stay independent for ever, is not Biblical. “He has appointed Apostles, Prophets, and Pastors in Church. If we can’t point our fingers to these positions in our church, where is the foundation of our church? Is it because of our lack of discipline and ability to stay put under authority.
Every year, many are accepting Jesus as their saviour. The first thing he or she think is which is a well organized church in the city that I and my family can attend that meet our needs. If we don’t rise to the occasion and make plans to accept these new comers, somebody else will take that position. Those who are with the church from the beginning must be proud that the church they took initiative to begin, has grown and is a source of comfort to generations to come.(This article is personally not against anybody)
Ninan Mathullah