Dear local pastor...

[bornhere63]

When did you last plan a sermon by first sitting in a pew for awhile?

[Mr Danksworth]

Who cares? For the most part, they go online to their pastor forums/mailing lists and recycle old material that is on point with whatever ideology their particular church is spouting. It's just a job, nothing more, nothing less.

[Hmmm]

I think they call them pews because they stink?

[bornhere63]

When was the last time you had coffee with and mentored a small group leader?

[LANDM]

What's your point??

[bornhere63]

I was just hoping local pastors were checking in and we could give them ideas to build community. Remembering the good old days. I just have questions. Not all looking for trolls, so planning to ignore those.

[LANDM]

Ok, well I hope you aren't considering me a troll, but you start an extremely vague thread, throw out vague questions, and expect it to be magically delivered to whomever you intended........a bit weird.
Perhaps you may want to be a bit more direct in what you are asking or wanting to achieve if you are really expecting to have the positive response that you claim.

And what are the good old days that you refer to?

[bornhere63]

Magic, no.
Whomever - local pastors looking at the spirituality thread on Castanet.
Hope to achieve: pastors revisiting for themselves and their congregations what it means to be a pastor.

The good old days: a long time ago, when pastors visited "the least of [their congregants]" in their homes, or in the hospital, or greeted them at the door before and after church, often by name, or met with the Sunday school teachers and small group leaders to develop church wide goals, or to mentor and encourage them in their ministries, or profile the congregation to see what group of the population is missing and wonder why, or taught from a dustier book in the Bible (some of them don't get a lot of action in modern sermons), or had Christmas services on Christmas day, because it isn't always about the children, or attended a youth event as a participant rather than a leader. Or other things.

There are lots of things pastors used to do that were considered shepherdly. I imagine, like many of us, they too get bogged down by administrative tasks and sometimes wonder what would refresh their pastoral hearts. Are they finding green pastures and still waters for the people in their care? Are they teaching them how to recognize and value the rod and the staff? Do they have favourite sheep? What are they doing about the black ones? Stuff like that.

But maybe they aren't even looking at the spiritual threads on their local city homepage, in which case I am wasting my time. But just in case one is, just one, I wanted to ask. One bite-sized question at a time.

[Hmmm]

^^^^^ those days are long gone decades ago. I'm sure if you have $$$$$ you can get a personal visit today.

[JayByrd]

A lot of that still happens, at least in my church it does.

[Hmmm]

A lot of that still happens, at least in my church it does.

That's nice to hear. That would include help for people who don't give money to the church but just attend sometimes?

[JayByrd]

That's nice to hear. That would include help for people who don't give money to the church but just attend sometimes?[/quote]

I'm not sure how they'd even know who contributes money and who doesn't. Those who can afford to give so much that it would get noticed would probably never need help. I don't think they track attendance either. But, they do toys for underpriviledged kids at Christmas, as well as winter clothing for the poor during winter months. They fund a men's recovery/transition house, and several similar initiatives. There will always be those who say that's not enough, of course.