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Pastor's Unrealistic Expectations of Board Members

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by drfuss, Feb 28, 2011.

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  1. Jerome

    Jerome Well-Known Member
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    #21 Jerome, Mar 1, 2011
  2. David Lamb

    David Lamb Active Member

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    Thanks Jerome! It seems the term is used by at least one church here. But I don't think it's common. I just tried a Google search for "board of deacons" and got about 144,000 results. But when I limited the search to "Pages from the UK", it gave just 1,260 results, and most of those seem to refer to churches in America.

    By the way, I did know the meaning of the word "board". :laugh: I did specify that "I haven't come across that term (in relation to a church)." Thanks anyway!
     
    #22 David Lamb, Mar 1, 2011
  3. glfredrick

    glfredrick New Member

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    I'd say that a "deacon board" is a very common entity in American Baptist churches of all types. They seem to be doing the work biblically attributed to "elders" instead of the work attributed to "deacons" though there is some blurring of the lines of demarcation.

    There is no reason that a deacon cannot also be an elder, but that would include a large ministry workload for sure. But, that is commonly what is expected of the pastor in churches where the deacons oversee the rule of the church via a board. He does all the ministry work that deacons should be doing, and he is also expected to do the leading -- unless or until the deacons decide to override his leadership for some reason. Shouldn't work that way, but it is happening almost everywhere.
     
    #23 glfredrick, Mar 1, 2011
  4. drfuss

    drfuss New Member

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    Another personal experience on this issue.

    My deceased Father-in-law was a pastor for many years. He was a stickler for the deacons attending every service unless they notified him ahead of time. If a deacon was not there without prior notification, he would call them before the next service and ask why they were not there. I might add that there were few men active in the church possibly due to his policy.

    After being there about 10 years, he went to pastor another church where the previous pastor later came back and started a work across town and practically emptied his church resulting in him getting out of the ministry. I tell you this so you know that he did not leave the ministry because of something he did.

    Anyway, he got a regular 40 hour/week job. I can still remember on Wednesday evenings after getting home from work, he would say that he had to give credit to the deacons all those years for faithfully attending the Wednesday evening services. He said that he would not attend the Wednesday evening services after working all day. The shoe was on the other foot.
     
    #24 drfuss, Mar 1, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 1, 2011
  5. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    All I ask is that the act and think Biblically.
     
    #25 JohnDeereFan, Mar 1, 2011
  6. thegospelgeek

    thegospelgeek New Member

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    Makes perfect sense. My statement was in jest. I guess I just didn't get the humor across.
     
    #26 thegospelgeek, Mar 1, 2011
  7. thegospelgeek

    thegospelgeek New Member

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    Good question. I really do not know the answer. From what i have read between the lines, the flock hasn't had much sheparding for many years. One Pastor would line em up and order em about while a couple of other just didn't care.
     
    #27 thegospelgeek, Mar 1, 2011
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