What do you expect of your pastor? What’s his or her job?

I ask these questions because I received a telephone call from a friend today who was bragging to me about how wonderful her pastor was. Her point was that the senior and long-time pastor of her church had been supplanted as “her pastor” by one of the staff members who was wonderful. She specifically complimented his ability to remember names, names of people’s children, and his faithfulness to visit hospitalized parishioners who are involved in his area of ministry responsibility.

I know this particular pastor from a distance. He’s does a really good job in his area of responsibility. I’m sure he’s genuine in his care for those in his charge. Her reasons for effusively praising him are what I’m questioning—he remembers names and visits hospitals? There it is. That’s obviously a big part of what she expected. If you know her family member’s names and visit her when you are sick, it appears she’d call you a successful pastor.

This leads me to question you: what do YOU expect of your pastor? If you are like most, I’ll bet your expectations will be similar to hers.

What’s the Bible say?

When writing to the Church gathered at Ephesus in chapter 4 verses 11-12 the Apostle Paul said that God gave some to be pastors “to prepare God’s people for the work of ministry so that the Body of Christ might be made strong.”  In light of that passage, what should you expect from your pastor? Does remembering names and visiting the sick in the hospital make him the perfect fit for the pastor’s role? Or might I suggest that visiting the sick and knowing names is far more the responsibility of you and me who sit in the pews than it is that of the man or woman you call pastor.

What are you going to do with that?

Thinking pastors are wonderful when they officiate at our family weddings, preach our funerals, bury our dead, pray at our functions, and generally act like lap dogs is an American tradition; at least in the America I know. But it’s not Biblical Christianity.

What kind of Christian are you? A Bible Christian, or a Christian-in-name-only because you are an American christian (little “c” intended).

Hey. Simmer down. I’m just asking. If your toe got stepped on maybe you shouldn’t have had it out in the aisle.

The lady who called me today was very well-intentioned. She meant nothing but the best in declaring her pastor’s wonder. I’m just taking her casual conversation about her pastor to point out that those of us who call ourselves Christians often have an expectation on our pastor that is not only unrealistic, but also un-Bibilical.

What do you expect of your pastor? If you are more equipped today to do the work of ministry than you were last month or last year, then he’s doing his job. If he’s preaching great sermons that make you feel wonderful and you are growing fat on gospel milk but you aren’t personally engaged in pushing back the boundaries of darkness, then you’re just fat and of producing little if anything that contributes to the growth of the Kingdom of God.

If you find yourself in the wrong position, turn around.

I don’t know what to do about this, but I had something troubling happen today and I want to share it with you.

I was called into a meeting to resolve a problem with a potential lessee in one of our properties. There sat an attractive young woman holding a cute four month old baby. As the story unfolded I learned that she was 18 years old. She’d been in foster care between the ages of 14 to 18, and now at 18 she’d lost her boyfriend (What teenaged guy wants to hang out with a girlfriend who has started behaving like a mother instead of a trick?). I found out she’d dropped out of high school instead of getting her diploma.

I found it interesting that she had plenty of money, that one of the government agencies that helps foster children had helped her think through her budget and was willing to pay her first and last month’s rent and her deposit, but that she really had plenty of money without the government agency’s help. It turns out she’s a worker—got two jobs. She’s baking pizza part-time for minimum wage, and working six nights a week, making $180 per night in tips, as an entertainer at the local centerfold club. She explained that it “wasn’t that bad” because she wasn’t really nude, she wore pasties.

OH! Ok. Well, that makes everything different.

What choice does the girl have?

She’s feeding her baby.

She’s got no role models.

She’s using one of the only assets she knows she has.

I know she’s one of hundreds in our city, thousands in our state, and millions in our nation. But she’s the one I know.

I’m troubled. I know she was on her best behavior when meeting with me, but she seemed like a nice kid. And she’s just a kid. And she’s got a beautiful baby boy. And…..

I don’t know if she wants my help, if she’d take it, if she’s already so hooked on making $56,000 at age 18 with not even a high-school diploma that she wouldn’t consider getting an education and going legit. I don’t know. But I’m troubled.

Be troubled with me…

Is there anything you believe, that is worth putting your life and reputation in jeopardy for?

At what point will you object to moral corruption being forced upon your children?

Will you object if babies are killed in hospitals AFTER they are born, like they are now in the weeks prior to their birth?

Will you object to cultural indoctrination of overt homosexual ideology?

Will you object when clear teaching from the scriptures you hold sacred is classified as hate speech?

Will you risk being labeled as politically incorrect?

At what point will you risk to speak?

Will you defend what you believe with your life? Your sacred honor? Your reputation?

At what point will you stand and speak up?

I’ve thought alot about the topic of Abundant Living. It has captivated me for years. Jesus said “I came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.” I accept that. But in truth, I’ve not felt that I was living abundantly, and didn’t really know much of anyone who was—my vast regiment of Christian friends included.

A couple of years ago we adopted “Living Abundantly” as a core value within our company. We didn’t know what that meant, but somehow thought it worthy of our embrace, if not outright pursuit. Periodically I’ve taught on the topic, usually defining it by what’s its not. I’ve always known that abundance wasn’t measured in bank accounts.

Abundant Living is the ultimate byproduct of right thinking as I teach it in the Enhancing Your WORTH (Wheel Of Right THinking) seminar God gave to me and that I’ve begun teaching our team, will be rolling out to my small group this winter, and will take on my first Latin American teaching road gig in the Spring. When you think rightly about God, Self, Purpose, Future, Relationships & Behaviors you become a well-balanced person and abundant living is the natural product you experience.

Yet what is it? I think I am beginning to understand.

2010 has been a very difficult year. It started (as they all do) with robust plans for “world domination” (or maybe partial control of my life), and then began to come loose in a few areas. Confusion in the capital markets has provided for challenges in both the financial and real estate sectors—the exact intersection at which I live my economic life. An executive with our company who I trusted so much that I gave him signature authority over every aspect of our business surprised me by proving to lack character which ultimately leaked into his poor performance and the imbedding of critical problems within our company that would have sunk it if I hadn’t pulled the plug on him when I did. Months later our trust is severely damaged and we’re still cleaning up his messes. Meanwhile another big-talking, executive-level, employee similarly proved himself to be “all hat and no cattle” in execution of his responsibilities; another mess the more competent and under-rewarded few had to resolve. Amidst it all: my wife’s father continued his slow descent and died just last month.

2010 has been a hard year. It seems like we’ve been “inside of the ten yard line” for months, but can’t manage to put the ball across the goal line; lots of activity on the drawing board but very little production actually being “shipped” by the factory. Argh! That gets old.

That said, it has also been a great year. In many ways I have never felt better. I told my business partner last week that “I’ve never felt stronger.” My health is good. I haven’t lost all the weight I wanted to by this point, but my level of fitness has increased tremendously. I can kick butt. This morning I spent two hours working out HARD including running significantly UPHILL between the front gate and my house (about 1/3 of a mile down and back) six times. That’s nothing by Chris Ballard standards, but two miles with half uphill is big for a fat guy staring down the barrel of 50. Sitting here in my sweat as I write this, I smell bad, but I feel good.

In the midst of everything I’ve found myself marveling at how good I am doing. I’m kind of amazed really. I’m well. In some ways a lot of Hell has broken loose around me, and I smell a bit like smoke and my hair is singed, but I am well.

As I sat on the porch this morning drinking my coffee, petting my attention starved Border Collie (who thinks I am God) and praying, I told God how thankful I was for how He had helped me and stood with me during difficulty. It occurred to me that this contentment, peace, confidence—call it what you will—in the midst of the storm is living abundantly! Life happens. People get sick and die. People let you down. People hurt you. Economies change. People wrongly accuse and attack you. Sciatica sets in. Business models shift. And in the midst of the chaos, there is peace. It passes all understanding.

I still don’t know much about Abundant Living. But I’ve had a glimpse of it. And I like it.

May you have some, too!