A note I recently sent to a dear friend who has worked in parachurch ministry for many years:
Dear ____,
Thank you (and _____)
for your encouraging emails. It’s amazing to me that in the middle of the
busyness of your work in _____ you find time to pray for us,
much less write notes!
Have you ever prayed
about the idea of serving as a pastor? I know that would be a major change from
the kind of ministry you are involved in now, but maybe not so big a change as
it would seem. Your work already is primarily shepherding and discipling people. And you have a
shepherd’s heart. With pastoring, you shepherd fewer people but you get to
shepherd a larger variety of people. You also get to disciple them in all
aspects of their spiritual development (at least, if you take the task of
pastoring seriously, as I know you would) rather than the more limited scope
that parachurch work gives you. Parachurch work seems more efficient and
focused (at least, that is how it felt to me for the years I was with VOM) but
church work feels more real and holistic. It is sort of like the difference
between being a schoolteacher and being a parent. In pastoring there is also
the sobering but strangely joyous knowledge that you are serving the primary
organization that the Lord established to continue and advance His work until
His return. (Not that parachurch work is at all wrong, but there is not a
direct establishment of it in Scripture, while there clearly is for the
church.)
I don’t say all this
as “a word from the Lord” but just something that came to mind while I was
thanking Him for you.
In Jesus’
love,
Daniel
No comments:
Post a Comment