I was sad to hear that a local pastor, a man I know, was “asked” by his elders to leave the church that he had founded and pastored for almost a decade. I sure it must be very hard on him. He was a good man but, honestly, it seemed that he lost his way, and his mojo, a long time ago.
At one point, I went to a party and someone familiar with the situation told me that his elders got tired of “changing directions every time the pastor read a new book”. Now, I don’t know, nor do I want to know all the details, but I believe this is a cautionary tell for all pastors.
The bottom line is that your folks are only going to be able to make so many “turns” without seeing some real fruit so you should pick your challenges wisely. If not, you may make a turn one day and discover that nobody is going with you.
I think that’s why the purpose driven paradigm is so wonderful. In a world of church growth and leadership fads, this seems to me to be the real deal. I honestly believe that people are going to be studying the PD stuff 100 years from now. To my mind, it’s just so Biblical that it can’t be wrong.
About the Author
Interesting to think in terms of being a steward of leadership. As a young leader it is incredible easy to go from book to conference to book just chasing the next thing.