Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Pastor's Training

"Pastors [in the past] were valued for their ability to bring and keep order rather than for their ability to bring and lead change. The reality was that pastors were being equipped to preserve the past rather than to create the future. We became known for being traditional rather than transformational. The ritual replaced the radical. The pastor/teacher replaced the apostle/evangelist.

The Church soon lost her momentum and had less and less to manage. Seminaries were producing pastors who were ready for their pulpits but not for the challenge. pastors found themselves experts in biblical exegesis, but novices on cultural exegesis. The rapid shifts in society only added to their dilemma. We knew something was wrong, but we couldn't quite place it. America was turning from a Christian-friendly nation to, at best, Christian-indifferent. The playing field was definitely changing, and we were unprepared for the new rules.

In many ways the emergence of the parachurch reflects the paralysis within the local church. When we stopped calling youth to the mission of Christ, Youth With A Mission emerged. When we ignored the opportunity to reach university students, Campus Crusade emerged. When we settled for church attendance and neglected discipleship, Navigators emerged. When we hesitated to call men to the role of spiritual leadership, Promise Keepers emerged. Yet while the parachurch was rallying and mobilizing men and women whose hearts were longing to serve Christ, it was at the same time accelerating the spiritual anemia and decline of the local church. The church became a fortress from the world rather than the hope of the world. This disconnection from our present context exemplifies the need for holistic ministry. Seekers are looking for spiritual integration. This means we must provide community with cause and meaning with healing. Having one without the other only leaves us fragmented. We must transform the fragments into a mosaic" Erwin Raphael McManus, An Unstoppable Force: Daring toe Become the Church God Had in Mind, Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2001), pp. 24-27.

Indeed this is the challenge that the church faces today. This problem is not only visible in the Protestant denominations, it also is real and visible in the Seventh-day Adventist churches. What can we do about this?