Sturtz Stuff

I believe that being a local church minister is, hands down, one of the most complex, stressful, joyful, and totally bonkers positions one can hold. There is no educational degree that one can undertake to be considered fully prepared for ministry.  The late Eugene H. Peterson in his book The Pastor: A Memoir says “A job is an assignment to do work that can be quantified and evaluated. It is pretty easy to decide whether a job has been completed or not. It is pretty easy to tell whether a job is done well or badly. But a vocation is not a job in that sense. I can be hired to do a job, paid a fair wage if I do it, dismissed if I don't. But I can't be hired to be a pastor, for my primary responsibility is not to the people I serve but to the God I serve.” I think that most folks in church ministry would agree with Mr. Peterson’s sentiment. Folks often go into church ministry seeking to follow God and make a difference in the lives of others. At the same time there have been many...

The Sunday worship service was coming to a close. The senior minister that I had been serving with stood on the worship stage to give the closing prayer. Before he gave the closing prayer he announced the results of the vote of confidence that had been held on the Sunday prior. He went on to announce that he had not received 75% of the congregational vote and therefore this would be his last Sunday.  There is a long back story as to what brought about this vote of confidence on the minister. Long story short is that there was some kind of a conflict between the senior minister and some long time members of the church. Those members complained to and colluded with some of those serving as an Elder to have a vote of confidence on the senior minister. On the Sunday of the vote attendance was high. People who had not been in attendance for many months rolled out of bed just to cast their vote.  When the senior minister announced it was his last Sunday some people began to get up a...