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Our move to Houston had a number of priorities on our relocation list. The normal items of finding a home, establishing myself in my new job, finding a new job for my bride and of course, finding a new home church. This last item was not the lowest on our priority even though it comes last on my list.
During our visits to Houston we not only shopped for a place to live and find a house to buy in the area that we chose to be our home, I asked a lot questions about church recommendations. My list for churches that others were excited about was growing longer. Now, it was time to systematically make our visits and trust God to lead us where He wanted us to serve.
Essentials on our list for a church to call home were simple. There was doctrinal alignment. Worship vibrancy was on our list. Most importantly we wanted a church home where we would be able to love our pastor, support him and his family and be a couple that he could count on as the church moved forward.
We seemed to visit churches forever. Each time we like so much of the many very good churches in Houston. Yet, we just could not connect with our list of essentials.
Then, we met Pastor Gregg Matte of Houston’s First Baptist Church. He was on Sabbatical the first time we visited HFBC. In the meantime we roamed the city visiting all of the churches that people recommended to us.
When our list ran out we heard that Pastor Gregg was back from his sabbatical. We chose to visit. We were blown away!
It is like meeting an old friend and connecting right off the bat. We met for a Dr. Pepper break, he invited us to their Christmas Celebrate and after a short decision discussion, my bride and I went forward in December 2012 and joined the church.
After years of serving as a pastor, cheering on other pastors, encouraging broken pastors, standing by the side of besieged pastors we are solidly in our Pastor’s corner and doing everything we can to honor his life and ministry. Often our friends in far away states in California, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Tennessee ask how we like living in Houston. Our response always includes the great reality that we love our church and our pastor. That’s the way it should always be.
photo credit: yvonne fong photography
There is no greater class of people in the world than pastors. They work harder for others, make do with less, live by the noblest of values and rack up more hours of work per day than anyone that I know. Duty does not call, but God does. Then, every pastor answers.
Nevertheless, pastors are the object of more criticism, more abuse and more attacks than any other class of professional that I know. Every pastor experiences betrayal, pulls out the darts of gossip, binds up the wounds of slander and humbly accepts a pittance for the faithful work that they do. The self-righteous hold their private meetings to complain with like-minded malcontents.
Ever the optimist and hopeful servant, the pastor tries to protect his family from the whispers and attitudes of the negative. Business meetings are more about him getting the business than the management of a local church’s stewardship. Members act like volunteers, coming late, leaving early or skipping altogether.
The pastor just keeps on smiling and dying a thousands deaths inside. People make promises that they easily forget or sign up to oversee a project but conveniently procrastinate. Everyone can count on him but he has very few that he can count on.
Sometimes his own staff are AWOL adding to the stress of running a ministry. Can you imagine pastoral staff taking breakfast breaks or lunch breaks in excess of two hours and then leaving early from the office because the drain from the hard work? Or do you find it acceptable when pastoral staff build into their work week a Sabbath rest or include personal work out time as part of their hours posted on their calendar?
The pastor picks up the slack left by others. He smiles and cheerfully carries on. His hours of service exceed the expectations of all and his ONE day off is not infrequently compromised with ministry emergencies.
Humor is funny because there is some truth to it. This poster is funny for that very reason. It blends the contrast between reality and an alternate reality.
Those who laugh the hardest at this piece of humor are those who pastor. They erupt with a guffaw that outsiders to ministry can only imagine. Within the academy of faithful shepherds wink, chuckle and keep on serving just as God called us to persevere in it.
Bruce Fong's Blog 