Should Pastors Seek the Missing Sheep from the Flock?

The following should be the new church covenant...

I am a soldier in the army of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer.
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The Holy Bible is my code of conduct.
Faith, Prayer, and the Word are my weapons of Warfare.

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I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire.
I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity.

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I will either retire in this Army or die in this Army;
but, I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out.

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I am faithful, reliable, capable, and dependable.
If my God needs me, I am there.

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I am a soldier. I am not a baby.
I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up,
pumped up, picked up, or pepped up.
I am a soldier.

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No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me.

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I am a soldier. I am not a wimp.
I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders,
praising His name, and building His kingdom!
No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts.

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I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to.

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I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.

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I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside.
I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.
When Yahushua called me into this Army, I had nothing.
If I end up with nothing, I will still come out even. I will win.

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My God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror.

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I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ.
Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me.
Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me.
Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me.
Governments cannot silence me, and hell cannot handle me!

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I am a soldier.
Even death cannot destroy me.
For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield,
He will promote me to a captain.
I am a soldier, in the Army, I'm marching, claiming victory.
I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching Heaven bound.


IF it were, there would not be as many baby's crying in the pews...

 

why should a church be small?

 

Because a pastor can't effectively lead a 1,200 person congregation.

 

God must have made a mistake on Pentecost!.. OOOPS.. I'm glad you are here to straighten him out...

The pastor is not to do everything...

 

That is the reasoin why you should not be the only person who is concerned. A pastor centered church focuses on the pastor and not the people. The people must be taught to care for people not expecting only the pastor to care.

 

Good comment. We should all care for each other. The problem, I don't think, is necessarily with the pastor or most of the people. We live in such a fast-paced society today, no one has time. Both husband and wife have to work, the job now requires more hours. Overtime is often mandatory. We have the television and now the computer to eat up much of the time left over. It probably shouldn't be this way, but that's how I see it.

 

I do not necessarily think it is the pastor's sole responsibility to check on every member who has missed a couple services.

If the pastor has free time, and the Lord lays it on his heart to check on members, that is wonderful.

But most Churches have a deacon committee to do visitations.

But even then, it is not necessarily the deacon's sole responsibility.

Do members go just to warm the pews? Aren't they also able to hear from the Lord? to pick up the phone and call those who miss a service or two?

I believe it is every Church member's responsibility if God to take a moment of their free time and call another member who was not in service.

My wife and I visited a different Church this past Sunday, and here it is Saturday and not one phone call from any of the members of our Church we have attended for the last several years... nor from the pastor. (we have no deacons)

We will probably visit the same Church tomorrow that we visited last Sunday. I do feel that a Church that has no concern whether its members are there or not is not an effective Church.

 

You caught me on an issue I have some strong feelings toward.
I believe that many pastors today are really evangelists and don't grasp that concept. They get all excited about telling about Jesus to lost people and going out and finding new members, but some even state one of the things they dislike most is going to visit nonchalant/inactive members.

I think they just don't realize they have the gift of evangelism and not the gift of pastoring!

As far as finding out why someone missed...depends on how they handle it. LOL If I miss, I'd be happy to have someone question why and see if there's a prayer need. On the other hand, I once attended a very strict baptist church very faithfully every time the doors were open and I missed one Sunday because I was in the next town over where I used to live and visited my old church there. The deacons came to visit and ask why, but then they proceeded to tell me I was a "wh*re" for cheating on the church with another one. Yes, they actually used that word. I was at a point in my life of very low self-esteem, newly divorced and alone, and there in my house are two men in suits calling me that with my babies crawling around my feet.

I can do without THOSE kinds of visits!

Lucky for them I did have low self-esteem at the time and was new to the "rules" of Christianity and trying to be obedient and submissive. If that happened now I'd more than likely have slapped them upside the head with a skillet and dragged 'em out the door by their ears.

So yeah. I'm all for PASTORING. Tending the flock.

And I'm all for evangelists. They're awesome!

And I'm all for attending a church that is pastored by a pastor and not an evangelist.

And I'm all for chocolate too. So if I miss a day, I think the pastor should come bearing chocolate.

:thumbsup:

 

Always thought part of my duty as pastor was to preach myself out of a job. This being done, the whole church takes on the responsibility to care for each other.

No, this did not excuse personal visitation by the pastor.

Cheers,

Jim

 

If I am going to miss the church service or a prayer meeting I make sure that our pastor knows that. However, if I'd happened to miss a couple of Sundays, I'd expect the pastor, or one of the deacons, or at least a fellow church member to give me a buzz to ask if everything is OK. If I'd seen that a friend who usually shows up every Sunday is missing for a couple of weeks, I'd call him or her to aks if everything is OK. I think we all should care for each other, this is why we are a church family.

 

Isn't that a great job for Sunday School teachers?

 

Every church is going to be structured differently... and that's certainly OK. That said, as a pastor, I have been intentional about building layers of care/concern within our faith family. Our small group leaders are at the "tip of the spear" so to speak as they probably have the deepest intimacy with the our folks. Ministry Team/Committee leaders would be next. The deacons, staff elders, and then the pastor round out the list.

My hope is that most concerns/problems are handled way before they get to me, but if not I am ready to address whatever rolls my way. My primary role is to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry (preach, teach, disciple), lead, model, encourage, and then get out of the way.

 

I'm glad your church is becoming involved in such a ministry. It's good to hear you excited about it too. :thumbs: