Saturday, August 18, 2012

Pastoral Theology: Practical Advice I Disregarded

Well it has been a year since I received the official call to the church I currently serve. More than a year. Hard to believe how fast time flies. The older I get, the more inclined I am to agree with C.S. Lewis' conclusions in The Weight of Glory about our relationship with time, our nostalgia for the past and our future glory.

Over at the blog Practical Shepharding, a first time pastor asked "What should my first year look like and how much change should come?"

His question was answered thusly: "Preach the Word. Love the people. Don't change anything."

Very similar to the advice I received repeatedly in seminary.

Class after class of seminary the professors provided this advice, "change nothing your first year." I heard it from outside sources as well, such as from colleagues in ministry. One professor said, "If you want to move the piano to the other side of the sanctuary move it one inch a month." "When change comes, make sure it is slow"was another common adage.

I pretty much threw all of that out the window in my first year. Not because I am bold but rather forgetful. I simply forgot that piece of advice. There is a reason when I was little my mother would lovingly call me "Forgetful Jones."

But hindsight is twenty-twenty and I have come to the conclusion that the advice "to change nothing" is stupid.

First of all, preaching the Word is doing something. And as Brian Croft notes in his post when the Word is preached change will take place. Secondly, loving is doing something as well. When you love them you'll build relationships. Finally, giving the instruction that pastors should wait at least a year before instituting change works on an assumption of time that is outside of the biblical witness.

"You fool!" Jesus said. "This very night your life is demanded of you!" No one knows the length of their life, all we know is that God is our source of life and length of days. To assume that God has called us to a church for a least a year is arrogant. To further then assume that for the first year the most important thing we can do is nothing is to castrate the calling that God has put on our hearts.

Perhaps we have forgotten that Christ will return and that it will be unexpected, like a thief in the night. The Apostles expected Christ to return within their lifetime, and they are sometimes ridiculed for getting this wrong. But that sense of urgency fueled their ministry. They traveled incessantly, preached boldly, established churches, fed congregations and defied civil authorities. The result? A church spread throughout the most powerful empire in the world uniting slaves with rich merchants, royal officials with uneducated fishermen, Jewish scholars with Greek philosophers. A church that claimed absolutes in defiance of the established pluralistic philosophy of the day.

They turned the world upside down.

Today our seminaries and established pastors encourage first call ministers to change nothing.

"Change nothing" is another way of saying "be a maintenance man." What are we maintaining? A sinking ship with four churches closing for every one church that opens its doors.

The solution? Change nothing during your first year because apparently, we have all the time in the world.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rev'd Mr. Weller,
A very interesting post on something that is accepted "wisdom." I think you are on to something. Part of the problem with the American church is that many parishes have fallen into the trap of being a club that exists for the sole purpose of existing. There is no end outside of that. There are those who even proclaim the Gospel and insist on doctrinal rigour but never allow the WORD to change their hearts, let alone their actions. (I am reminded of a certain "soil" parable.) This does not even take into account those who have utterly lost the Gospel, and that is sadly many.

All of this is to say that even in my experience as Assistant Rector, I have seen the preached WORD do a great deal. It drives some away because they are being called to account. It also draws many into great personal change which in turn affects the whole parish.

It is sad to me that the temptation to "not rock the boat" has become "wisdom." Is it any wonder that the American Church is anemic! We teach our pastors not to be neither pastors nor prophets. And then we are surprised when we end up with pastors who are merely chaplains "pastoring" people and parishes to the grave. Thank you for your thoughts, friend, and keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

God has and will continue to work thru your ministry in his time. You may not recognize changes but they are happening all around.

Anonymous said...

I believe people say a minister should not make any changes in a church for the first year BECAUSE they want to be sure the minister makes the right changes. Give them a year to tell the minister what changes need to be made. I agree with Pastor Nathan, no one knows how many days we have on this earth, if we wait for the time to be right we may just miss it. Change is good, it shakes things up and call attention to things that otherwise may be overlooked. A pastor is called to shepherd, to LEAD his flock...all sheep need new pastures to feed on, staying in the same field kills the grass, change is for the better as long as the changes have been willed by the Lord. Keep it up Pastor Nathan, change keeps people guessing!