I had a blast from the past over the weekend, as I was reunited with some old friends from my days of pastoring in the Assemblies of God. Driving by their church building a few months ago sparked me to call. My pastor friend and I played phone tag for a couple of months before finally connecting. I found they now live right down the street from where I pastored in Santa Clarita (just north of L.A.). He invited me to a building dedication this past Sunday, and I went to the dedication service.
The service was much as I had expected it to be, as I was very familiar with his church having preached there several times. A district official gave a message, and he told an interesting story about a church which had closed. He noted that it had a terrible location backed up against mountains (which are really big hills) and at the end of the road. Someone who had come to that church not long before its demise got saved and shared his story at the annual conference for the region. The interesting thing… the district official was describing my church. I had never heard the story before, and he didn’t know the gentleman’s name. The church’s problems, unfortunately, were much deeper than a terrible location (which now, seven years later, would be prime real estate worth probably seven times what it was at the time).
For readers of this blog, you may appreciate the irony of me attending a building dedication, as I have long been an advocate of church’s not owning property (I don’t make that universal, of course, but my outspokenness against church buildings have to make the event seem at least a tad ironic…). I do support my friends, even when their philosophy of ministry does not match my own, and it was one of the best days I’ve had in recent times hanging out with my old friends, a great couple. And I do pray God uses this facility to minister to those who walk through its doors.
Lately, because of much financial stress, I’ve been considering all options. I’ve even asked myself if it would be possible, in the perfect situation, to become a “professional” again. The answer is usually “yes, but…” and this weekend kind of confirmed that for me. I don’t see how I could pastor in my friend’s church, for example. There’s too much in the philosophy of ministry that I don’t jive with any more. I know that there are some who still resonate with their style and structure, and that they are co-workers in the Kingdom, but I feel like I would just be out-of-place in such an environment and possibly cause more problems than do good work.
So what would the perfect situation be? Beyond of course God just telling me to go somewhere…
It would either be the “church within a church” model with one major difference… the church within a church is never expected to “grow up” and assimilate into the larger body. This is the problem with most of the ministries using that model. Even if they don’t say it, that’s really what’s going on in the senior pastor’s and the board’s minds when starting the ministry. I’d have to know what I’m doing has complete freedom to be itself for as long as the structure is useful in doing the work of the Kingdom.
Or…
It would be a position where I’m being used to facilitate spiritual formation. I think I could put aside my grievances with the established church for a pastor who recognized that the sermon doesn’t cut it for spiritual formation. This option would also need to be in a church that at least recognized the inherent problems in the established church structure but feels called to minister within its confines and tweak as much as possible of the structure in response, without completely eliminating the structure itself.
And, I’d have to be convinced pretty hard that it’s something God wanted me to do, especially if it was outside of Los Angeles, the city I love.
Alan,
writing from the inside, pastoring an a/g church that we have invested 9 years in and the last 3 involved in using dynamite to move the dna out of the metaphorical rut, I sympathize with your position.
By the way I’m pushing 50 and thought I would be in Heavan by now; so much for theological paradigm shifts.
Unfortunately, it is difficult for all of us to change. I know my old timers freak everytime I suggest selling the building and buying a supermarket or a warehouse. We are posing the question right now of what it means to be a 24/7 church.
In some sense God alone will be the victor. Points of view are secondary to what He is doing in our individual hearts. I pray you remain fresh as you walk new trails and that the river of living water continues to explode from your belly.
Len
PS I interviewed at UCLA for the chaplians position with chi alpha, freaked me out that I couldn’t walk out of town like I could in chicago or minneapolis. Shades of the movie falling down.
I’m glad you like it. If you ever desire to visit the Madison, WI area give me a buzz. 608.239.4891
Leonard Allen
July 10th, 2006