Foundations of Christian Leadership, Mentor's Guide, MG07

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F O U N D A T I O N S O F C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

Not Until You Fix It Up

(Based on a true story). In a denomination where the bishop appoints pastors to care for congregations in his district annually, an appointment was made of a pastor who refused to move into the parsonage. Although the parsonage (i.e., the pastor’s residence) was included in the financial package provided to the pastor, upon his arrival to the city and his first inspection of the parsonage, he decided that it was in too rundown of a condition for him to move his family into it. He refused to move into the parsonage until the leaders of the church funded its renovation. Staying at a local motel, the pastor of this poor urban church argued that asking your pastor, any pastor, to move into substandard housing was neither spiritually advisable nor fiscally desirable. The church had very few financial resources but, in obedience to their new pastor, renovated the inside of the parsonage, and after some weeks the pastor and his family moved into the newly decorated home. The actual tenure of the pastor at the church was both fruitful and cordial. What do you think of this pastor’s insistence that the congregation provide for its leaders in an acceptable manner–did he go too far in his leadership here? A rift is beginning to occur among the members and leaders of a socially progressive evangelical church in a needy urban neighborhood. This congregation has become known around the city for its staunch stance against racism and sexism in any form. At its annual business meeting, the head elder announced the retirement of the church’s current pastor, and in his place, the elders are recommending a godly, mature woman to pastor the church. Seminary trained, a gifted teacher, and deeply spiritual individual, this sister is liked by the entire congregation, whom she has served in various capacities over the last ten years. Some of the male members, however, struggle with this candidacy, not because she is not qualified spiritually, but because she is a woman. This has sparked a strong debate among the members, some of which feel so deeply that they have promised to leave the church if she is voted in. How ought the church approach and handle this issue of women and the pastorate? I Can’t Submit to a Woman

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