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| Lakeside Kids AprilNew promo video uploaded to youtube.com check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFARjOezysg
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| Returning to my highest callingTwo weeks before I was released from my position at Cathedral, I was woken up with a word from the Lord (this is once a couple of years type of thing for me). "Go back to Children's ministry". I felt a release from my position at Cathedral. Understand I am a slow mover, I believe that if the Lord directs he confirms. I believe in long tenure in ministry. I thought it was odd to think such a thing but I just pondered the thought, I did not tell my wife about it until after I was released from my position at Cathedral. Was the Lord releasing me to leave, the last time I felt I was released from a church it took a while, like six months.
Like I said I am a slow mover. When Pastor Feldschau told me he was releasing me, I am not that slow and knew what I was to do. In my fifteen years of ministry I have two areas of ministry that I have seen God use me the most, that i have the most joy and fruit in . One I have discovered in the last few years, pastoral counseling the other is in Children's Ministry. I have seen children' and adults have incredible God moments in services and ministry I have done as a Children's Pastor. As I sit and think about returning to Children's ministry I do feel a little rusty but on the other hand I have learned so much. My graduate studies over the last two years covered development and key areas related to teaching children. Through my experience in media I have developed skills and understand so much more compared to eight years ago. So I believe I am ready for this I am more prepared than I have ever been, and it is going to be so much fun.
As far as counseling is concerned this is not the season for it, I am to prepare for that season but it is not time yet, my two seasons of ministy have been seven plus years each. Do I feel called to Children's minstry for ever, sure why not, why can I not be a children's pastor and pastoral counselor ten years from now, serving in the two ares I have the greatest joy and seen the greatest fruit in. How will it all work out ten years from now, I am not sure, God has that all figured out, I am just to follow his voice this next step.
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| Its going to be ok.I have no idea who will read this, if anyone, but if anyone is wondering what happened with my position at Cathedral In The Pines. I just want to share some thoughts and feelings.
Cathedral has to downsize the staff and reorganize, in this reorganization my skills and talents just don't fit. Some may wonder am I ok with this? I fully understand and support the Senior Pastors right to make the decisions that Pastor Feldschau has had to make. I do understand what Pastor Feldschau needed to do, I understand the logic and support the decision. Does it hurt to leave the church, of course it does. I and my family are experiencing loss and grief over this, is it hard but it is ok. I was telling someone that my emotions and faith go between God is control of all this to, oh God what is going to happen. So there is faith and fear, yet what is faith without fear. What are we going to do, read the next blog and find out :).
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| A crazy idea for ministryI have been in ministry for just over 15 years now and there are somethings that just boggle my mind. One is the economics of pastors and pastoral staffs. I know that when you start talking about salaries and all of that in ministry you are committing a grave sin. You do not mention salaries, you never ask for a raise, if you did ask would that not show your dependence on the church for your resource and not the Lord? I will stop here, it is not the point of this the thought for the day. If you really think about it, most churches should pay enough for a Pastor, solo, senior or staff to purchase a decent home and provide for basic needs. But to pay big salaries is not often realistic. So what can you do. I just have been pondering an idea, what if a church pays a minister a base salary, with benefits (health insurance and retirement). Then allow them to create other sources of income. Then if there are special projects or needs that are beyond lets say 30-35 hours a week, the Pastor is paid an additional bonus for that work, if there are not any special projects the minister can do work outside the church to compensate. I know of a few minsters that have always been bi-vocational, and you know what, they are not dependent on the church financially, actually they do well financially with or without the church. These bi-vocational pastors are also have longer tenure since they are not dependent on the church soley for income. Why do we expect pastors; solo, senior, or staff to work for the church alone? Why don't we allow and even empower them to find resources outside the church? In larger churches if there are big projects to be done, bonus a staff member for doing the project. Often times we just raise there salary which is good but then the staff member becomes overcompensated over time, which could leads to a termination.
This thought process relates to where I am heading in my ministry /career. I am working on a Masters Degree in counseling, I am often asked what am i going to do when I am done. Honestly I am not sure, I know the Lord has called me to get my degree and get licensed to counsel and I know I can work within and outside the church with those credentials but I also see the potential of having an additional and outside source of income. For all 15 years I have been in ministry I have been soley dependent on the churches I have worked for my income. No one told me to find other sources yet I have seen others do that exact thing and seen the benefits, yet there are attitudes with in the church that limit the potential, I just see the errors of that type of thinking. The bible talks so much about multiplying, a key to creating income is multiplying sources of income, why do we limit ministers to there sources of income? Is it our dysfunctional system of the minister does everything in the church? How does that line up with the equipping of the saints to do the work of the gospel? I guess I see the dysfunction I have worked in and I just do not want to stay that way, I love the church and God has called me to serve the local church but he has not called me to make it my only source of income. I also see others who have not done that and have been blessed for it and are a more effective in ministry for it. This makes so much sense but why do we not have a system that promotes it?
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| The lost tomb or Jesus and the Davinci CodeNow some may think why is this a topic, and there probably is not a grand conspiracy, but it just seems to me that more and more people are challenging the divinity of Christ. Granted the threats are very flimsy but that is to my Bible educated mind. What about the average person in the pew or more important the ones not in the pew think? Is it just a trend in pop media? The voice that is being shared is the voice of the skeptic, those hurt by the church and want to hurt the core beliefs of the church. What can we do as ministers? Teach the truth, lead others to understand the Bible more than ever before. The only fear we have is failing to disciple, is that the real problem?
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