The pastor of a fair...
Illustration
The pastor of a fair-sized suburban church walked out in the middle of the evangelism
meeting. The committee was discussing who they were going to recognize as promoting
evangelism in the life of the church by their efforts to involve a lot of people. Several
members of the church were being recognized. The choir had grown, so the choir director
would be singled out. The preschool had a good year with growth, so the preschool
director would be recognized. The men's group had been active and had grown, so the
leader of that group was going to be recognized as well.
The youth director's name was mentioned (the youth group had grown over the year) and there was silence among the committee members. "I don't like the way she does ..." someone said. Another person agreed. They were letting their dislike for the person cloud the fact that the youth director was loved by the kids and had involved hundreds of youth and parents in the life of the church over the years. Suddenly, the focus was away from evangelism and it became all about the members of the committee.
When the committee voted not to recognize this hard-working youth director, the pastor left the meeting.
The youth director's name was mentioned (the youth group had grown over the year) and there was silence among the committee members. "I don't like the way she does ..." someone said. Another person agreed. They were letting their dislike for the person cloud the fact that the youth director was loved by the kids and had involved hundreds of youth and parents in the life of the church over the years. Suddenly, the focus was away from evangelism and it became all about the members of the committee.
When the committee voted not to recognize this hard-working youth director, the pastor left the meeting.
