Let The Reading Begin!

I've been reading Eugene Peterson's The Contemplative Pastor. It's a work from several years ago, in which Peterson sets forth his idea of what it means to be a faithful pastor in today's world. Peterson, best known for his paraphrase of Scripture called The Message, was a pastor for 30 years in a small congregation in Bel Air, Maryland. He had ample opportunity to move to a "bigger pond," but saw his calling as living with and ministering to a group of people. He never wanted to have a congregation bigger than 300, for he felt that he couldn't be effective ministering in a larger congregation than that. There is much to be admired in his approach. I want to share a few quotes with you, and if you're interested in engaging in some conversation on the subject, I'd be happy to entertain that possibility.

Peterson says: "The person...who looks for quick results in the seed planting of well-doing will be disappointed. If I want potatoes for dinner tomorrow, it will do me little good to go out and plant potatoes in my garden tonight. There are long stretches of darkness and invisibility and silence that separate planting and reaping. During the stretches of waiting there is cultivating and weeding and nurturing and planting still other seeds." I love this quote, for it puts into words what I've attempted to do here. I'm not shopping in a mall, looking for the quick fix. I'm seeking to help a people become all that God intended for them. That's not an easy task.

A little later, Peterson says this: "The pastor's question is, "Who are these particular people, and how can I be with them in such a way that they can become what God is making them?" My job is simply to be there, teaching, preaching Scripture as well as I can, and being honest with them, not doing anything to interfere with what they Spirit is shaping in them. Could God be doing something that I never even thought of? Am I willing to be quiet for a day, a week, a year?" The answer, often is "yes" for me. However, I am aware that often congregations are looking for the "quick boost" that will take the church to a "new level." And when that doesn't happen as quickly as it "should", then often you "fire the coach." Thanks, Avoca, for not firing me. Let's continue to grow into what God has for us!

A paz do Senhor,
Pastor Kyle