In Our Pastor's Success, So Is Our Own!
Sermon
Sermons On The Gospel Readings
Series I, Cycle A
Did you hear about the farm boy who always wondered what would happen if he twisted the tail on the mule? One day he tried it. And now they say about him, he's not as pretty as he used to be, but he's a whole lot wiser.
When I was a young man, I wondered what my life would be like if I became a pastor in answer to God's call. Now, thirty years later, I'm not as pretty as I used to be, but I am a lot wiser.
Ministry is not for cowards, the lazy, the easily discouraged, the thin-skinned, or those without endurance. It is a tough occupation! And it's getting tougher!
I love the cartoon that shows a man saying, "I don't get America's fascination with the television show 'Survivor.' I've occupied an island of strenuous and dangerous activities with hostile cohorts with a chance of getting voted out. I've been a pastor for thirty years!"
It used to be, people came in the door of the church over here, and for a small amount of energy, you could grow them in Christ to the farthest side. Now people come in the door way over there, and for an inordinate amount of energy you can grow them the smallest bit. So the pastorate is more demanding, less fulfilling, and burnout, quitting, getting run off, and despair are on the rise as the quality of discipleship and church life plummet.
Over 25 percent of pastors will be put out of the church, fired, or run off at least once in their career. If ten men begin the ministry at age 25, by age 65 only one will still be in the pastorate. I tell you, a crisis is brewing in the church! For there is coming a shortage of good pastors, and with that, a famine of the word of God.
There is an old legend about Satan one day having a yard sale. He thought he'd get rid of some of his old tools that were cluttering up the place. So there was gossip, slander, adultery, lying, greed, power-hunger, and more laid out on the tables. Interested buyers were crowding the tables, curious, handling the goods. One customer, however, strolled way back in the garage and found on a shelf a well-oiled and cared-for tool. He brought it out to Satan and inquired if it was for sale. "Oh, no!" Satan answered. "That's my tool. Without it I couldn't wreck the church! It's my secret weapon!"
"But what is it?" the customer inquired.
"It's the tool of discouragement," the devil said.
Indeed!
In the text Jesus is talking to the church about their attitude and deportment toward the prophets God sends among us as shepherds. He speaks frankly about acceptance and rejection, about kindness and trust. In short, he promises that in the minister's success among us shall come our own reward.
Receive
First of all, Jesus tells us to be careful to receive from God's prophets. Eight times in the brief three verses Jesus used the word, "receive." "He who receives you receives me."
I've noticed that when I preach, certain people in the crowd look up and begin to listen intently. Sometimes they take notes. Sometimes they smile at me. But on a vital level, they receive from me God's word.
Others, however, find fault. They may grimace, they may cross their arms and look out the window, impatient for the preaching ordeal to be over. Then they go out and talk, not about the Word or Jesus, but about me. You see, they will try to find a fault, blow it out of proportion, and crucify with it.
For the one, Jesus and the Word and their own selves are the issue. But for the other, I am the issue.
The one is open. The other is closed. The one is humble. The other quite proud. The one appreciates any pearls from the Word you cast at their feet. They grab them up and treasure them. The other are swine that trample the pearls underfoot with no sense of their value.
I once worked for a tough church. I couldn't do anything right. The grumbling and gripes were never-ending. So were the politics. After four years of patience, I shook the dust off my feet and moved on.
The next church was so kind, so receptive. I kept wondering why they liked me and the other did not.
Then I understood. It's in the first four beatitudes of Matthew 5. The one church was not poor in spirit, mournful, meek, or hungry and thirsty. The other, however, was all these things.
And the conflict is as old as the Pharisees and the disciples. For the both are still in our world.
Over the years I've heard a lot of sermons. And I always meet the pastor if I can at the door of the church. I never say, "Preacher, I enjoyed it!" For sometimes we're not meant to. That's like telling your surgeon you enjoyed his operation. Rather, I look him in the eyes and say, "I receive from you. Thank you. I heard God's Word to me from the text through you."
Rest
The text also urges us to see that our ministers get rest. Jesus talked about giving our prophets a break, time off for a cup of cool water.
Let's face it; a minister's job is never done. There is always another sermon to write, a book to read, prayers to pray, a person to meet, a wrong to right, a meeting to attend. Even the pace of ministry is accelerating thanks to e-mail, faxes, and cell phones. And a pastor, to survive, must learn to work under a load of unfinished work.
Why, today's pastor is like a man juggling a dozen balls well. The people of his congregation keep tossing him more balls until he's up to 64! Then he drops them all and people walk away, shaking their heads in disbelief, they spit in disgust or worse.
Jesus knew the busy pace of ministry. But he had replenishing friendships that gave him breaks from his labors. A friend with a sailboat, a meal with no agenda at Mary and Martha's, a long walk in the great out-of-doors ... these were restful to him.
I challenge you to approach your ministry staff in your parish. Take them out to lunch. Look them in the eyes; ask them how the work is going. Inquire if they're doing too much. Insure they're taking a day off. Ask if they're tired. Ask them what they're doing for fun.
My friend Robert weekly asks me if I'll take a boat ride with him. He constantly invites me to a concert, to live theater. He never "pulls" on me. In his presence, there is no depletion, only replenishing friendship. God may not call you to do that for your minister, but he does call you to see that someone is doing it!
Sharing Materially
Jesus, in the text, urges us to receive from his prophets, to see that they get some rest from their labors. But he also calls on us to pay them for their work.
I once drove 700 miles and preached six times at a weekend church seminar. Afterward, a cranky-looking deacon walked up to me and rudely blurted, "How much do we owe you, preacher?" You could look at his face, his body language, and his white-knuckled grip on the church checkbook and see that he was stingy.
For years I've heard moronic churchmen say dourly of their pastor, "God, you keep him humble and we'll keep him poor!" Don't do that! The Bible says, "The workman is worthy of his hire." Scripture tells us not to "muzzle the ox while he's treading out the grain." A minister lives in the same world you do. His car runs on gasoline. His family needs to eat. His daughter wants piano lessons.
Poor pay can be a form of control. It can spell unfaithfulness in tithing on the part of the church. It is a sure sign of disrespect.
The text urges us to give a cup of cool water to our prophets. It doesn't say give a sip, but a cup! And it says cool water, not room temperature! So, why not refresh your pastor with a salary that shows you value his services and want to make certain you refresh him by the provision of his material needs beyond any question of stinginess.
Conclusion
How do we treat God's prophets? We receive from them. We give them rest. And we faithfully reimburse them materially. For this Jesus says we get a reward. Three times in these three verses Jesus mentions God rewarding those who are kind to his servants.
The reward can be in the wisdom that comes from hearing good sermons over the years. It can be the reward of an effective staff that has a long and fruitful pastorate in your church. Thus the parish is stable. It can come in friendship with God's prophets in a deeply satisfying and vulnerable relationship.
But many rewards are literally "out of this world." For there are rewards for sure Jesus himself will give out in heaven.
One unsung hero of the Bible is Onesiphorus. He is forever known as a minister to the minister, the one who kept the Apostle Paul on his feet. In 2 Timothy 1:15-18, Paul confided, "You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me -- may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day -- and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus." Just listen to the action verbs:
He often refreshed me.
He was not ashamed.
He searched for me.
He found me.
He rendered service.
May we be that sort of person to one another, and especially to our prophets!
Stephen M. Crotts
When I was a young man, I wondered what my life would be like if I became a pastor in answer to God's call. Now, thirty years later, I'm not as pretty as I used to be, but I am a lot wiser.
Ministry is not for cowards, the lazy, the easily discouraged, the thin-skinned, or those without endurance. It is a tough occupation! And it's getting tougher!
I love the cartoon that shows a man saying, "I don't get America's fascination with the television show 'Survivor.' I've occupied an island of strenuous and dangerous activities with hostile cohorts with a chance of getting voted out. I've been a pastor for thirty years!"
It used to be, people came in the door of the church over here, and for a small amount of energy, you could grow them in Christ to the farthest side. Now people come in the door way over there, and for an inordinate amount of energy you can grow them the smallest bit. So the pastorate is more demanding, less fulfilling, and burnout, quitting, getting run off, and despair are on the rise as the quality of discipleship and church life plummet.
Over 25 percent of pastors will be put out of the church, fired, or run off at least once in their career. If ten men begin the ministry at age 25, by age 65 only one will still be in the pastorate. I tell you, a crisis is brewing in the church! For there is coming a shortage of good pastors, and with that, a famine of the word of God.
There is an old legend about Satan one day having a yard sale. He thought he'd get rid of some of his old tools that were cluttering up the place. So there was gossip, slander, adultery, lying, greed, power-hunger, and more laid out on the tables. Interested buyers were crowding the tables, curious, handling the goods. One customer, however, strolled way back in the garage and found on a shelf a well-oiled and cared-for tool. He brought it out to Satan and inquired if it was for sale. "Oh, no!" Satan answered. "That's my tool. Without it I couldn't wreck the church! It's my secret weapon!"
"But what is it?" the customer inquired.
"It's the tool of discouragement," the devil said.
Indeed!
In the text Jesus is talking to the church about their attitude and deportment toward the prophets God sends among us as shepherds. He speaks frankly about acceptance and rejection, about kindness and trust. In short, he promises that in the minister's success among us shall come our own reward.
Receive
First of all, Jesus tells us to be careful to receive from God's prophets. Eight times in the brief three verses Jesus used the word, "receive." "He who receives you receives me."
I've noticed that when I preach, certain people in the crowd look up and begin to listen intently. Sometimes they take notes. Sometimes they smile at me. But on a vital level, they receive from me God's word.
Others, however, find fault. They may grimace, they may cross their arms and look out the window, impatient for the preaching ordeal to be over. Then they go out and talk, not about the Word or Jesus, but about me. You see, they will try to find a fault, blow it out of proportion, and crucify with it.
For the one, Jesus and the Word and their own selves are the issue. But for the other, I am the issue.
The one is open. The other is closed. The one is humble. The other quite proud. The one appreciates any pearls from the Word you cast at their feet. They grab them up and treasure them. The other are swine that trample the pearls underfoot with no sense of their value.
I once worked for a tough church. I couldn't do anything right. The grumbling and gripes were never-ending. So were the politics. After four years of patience, I shook the dust off my feet and moved on.
The next church was so kind, so receptive. I kept wondering why they liked me and the other did not.
Then I understood. It's in the first four beatitudes of Matthew 5. The one church was not poor in spirit, mournful, meek, or hungry and thirsty. The other, however, was all these things.
And the conflict is as old as the Pharisees and the disciples. For the both are still in our world.
Over the years I've heard a lot of sermons. And I always meet the pastor if I can at the door of the church. I never say, "Preacher, I enjoyed it!" For sometimes we're not meant to. That's like telling your surgeon you enjoyed his operation. Rather, I look him in the eyes and say, "I receive from you. Thank you. I heard God's Word to me from the text through you."
Rest
The text also urges us to see that our ministers get rest. Jesus talked about giving our prophets a break, time off for a cup of cool water.
Let's face it; a minister's job is never done. There is always another sermon to write, a book to read, prayers to pray, a person to meet, a wrong to right, a meeting to attend. Even the pace of ministry is accelerating thanks to e-mail, faxes, and cell phones. And a pastor, to survive, must learn to work under a load of unfinished work.
Why, today's pastor is like a man juggling a dozen balls well. The people of his congregation keep tossing him more balls until he's up to 64! Then he drops them all and people walk away, shaking their heads in disbelief, they spit in disgust or worse.
Jesus knew the busy pace of ministry. But he had replenishing friendships that gave him breaks from his labors. A friend with a sailboat, a meal with no agenda at Mary and Martha's, a long walk in the great out-of-doors ... these were restful to him.
I challenge you to approach your ministry staff in your parish. Take them out to lunch. Look them in the eyes; ask them how the work is going. Inquire if they're doing too much. Insure they're taking a day off. Ask if they're tired. Ask them what they're doing for fun.
My friend Robert weekly asks me if I'll take a boat ride with him. He constantly invites me to a concert, to live theater. He never "pulls" on me. In his presence, there is no depletion, only replenishing friendship. God may not call you to do that for your minister, but he does call you to see that someone is doing it!
Sharing Materially
Jesus, in the text, urges us to receive from his prophets, to see that they get some rest from their labors. But he also calls on us to pay them for their work.
I once drove 700 miles and preached six times at a weekend church seminar. Afterward, a cranky-looking deacon walked up to me and rudely blurted, "How much do we owe you, preacher?" You could look at his face, his body language, and his white-knuckled grip on the church checkbook and see that he was stingy.
For years I've heard moronic churchmen say dourly of their pastor, "God, you keep him humble and we'll keep him poor!" Don't do that! The Bible says, "The workman is worthy of his hire." Scripture tells us not to "muzzle the ox while he's treading out the grain." A minister lives in the same world you do. His car runs on gasoline. His family needs to eat. His daughter wants piano lessons.
Poor pay can be a form of control. It can spell unfaithfulness in tithing on the part of the church. It is a sure sign of disrespect.
The text urges us to give a cup of cool water to our prophets. It doesn't say give a sip, but a cup! And it says cool water, not room temperature! So, why not refresh your pastor with a salary that shows you value his services and want to make certain you refresh him by the provision of his material needs beyond any question of stinginess.
Conclusion
How do we treat God's prophets? We receive from them. We give them rest. And we faithfully reimburse them materially. For this Jesus says we get a reward. Three times in these three verses Jesus mentions God rewarding those who are kind to his servants.
The reward can be in the wisdom that comes from hearing good sermons over the years. It can be the reward of an effective staff that has a long and fruitful pastorate in your church. Thus the parish is stable. It can come in friendship with God's prophets in a deeply satisfying and vulnerable relationship.
But many rewards are literally "out of this world." For there are rewards for sure Jesus himself will give out in heaven.
One unsung hero of the Bible is Onesiphorus. He is forever known as a minister to the minister, the one who kept the Apostle Paul on his feet. In 2 Timothy 1:15-18, Paul confided, "You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me -- may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day -- and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus." Just listen to the action verbs:
He often refreshed me.
He was not ashamed.
He searched for me.
He found me.
He rendered service.
May we be that sort of person to one another, and especially to our prophets!
Stephen M. Crotts
