Posted: 6/15/2013 4:04:55 AM EDT
|
I have been attending a church since it began 2 years ago. It has grown to about 300 attendees each week. The pastor is a guy about my age who is blessed with the ability to communicate with all age groups very well and convey the Word in a way that it resonates with people. It certainly does for me. Over the last 3-4 months the church has added another pastor who was a part of the growth plan. He pastors a satellite church but has also been basically alternating each week at the main church where I attend. He is a very nice guy but his style does not resonate with me even half as well as the main pastor. His background is youth ministry so his message always has a juvenile tone. I would bet this works very well with young folks but for the Gen X crowd not so much. If he preached a couple times per year I could easily deal with it but if its going to be a couple times per month I dont know what I should do. Anyone ever found themselves in this sort of situation? I know the Word is whats important, not the messenger but if the messenger didnt matter then every church would be equally successful. Is this satan attempting to drive me away from the church? Suggestions. |
|
Have a similar situation happen...at a church we had been going to frequently (we would also go to another church where we had family, & had went
to previously),. It was a larger church, and had more contemporary worship. Pastor was very good. The church grew to the point, they started a "satellite" church in a suburb 20 mi away. The pastor started alternating between the two, and an assistant/youth pastor would alternate with him. We are not happy with the "alternating" pastor...message is more for youth/college age, & actually some of it we have felt is unsuitable for our younger son.. basically we now will "alternate" between the 2 churches, getting something different from each. Our younger son enjoys the S.S. program at one, & we enjoy the worship & message more at the other (when the lead pastor is there) expand your horizons...visit/look around at others when the alternating pastor is speaking. . It doesn't mean your leaving or abandoning your "home" church. |
| I think this is a recurring problem that seems to be prevalent protestant fundamentalism, especially in the non-denom world. Folks go for the 'message' or the messenger rather than true /worship. The minute that the entertainment value drops, the congregation begins to look around. |
|
Quoted: I think this is a recurring problem that seems to be prevalent protestant fundamentalism, especially in the non-denom world. Folks go for the 'message' or the messenger rather than true /worship. The minute that the entertainment value drops, the congregation begins to look around. I am not sure how to take your response. I will give the benefit of the doubt that it wasnt meant to be an insult. However, I assure you I dont attend church for the entertainment value. If anything thing the opposite is the case. I could easily argue that I am less satisfied in church when the entertainment of the alternate pasture is in the pulpit. I prefer the more traditional style worship of my senior pastor. For the record I was raised Catholic and attended both Catholic and Episcopal churches that did nothing but disinfranchise me. |
|
I was raised in church, parents never ask if I wanted to go (which I'm now thankful) and I have never belonged to a church where the pastor was up every Sunday there was a rotation. Now I believe a good leader knows wow to delegate wisely, you may have a good speaker but look at the Word God, He used more than one person to get us the Word. You can have multiple preachers, preach the same topic and each preacher will be received differently everyone does not have the same level of understanding.
I may not enjoy every preacher the same , but the one way a speaker will not lose me is to come from the Word with the Spirit of truth. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I think this is a recurring problem that seems to be prevalent protestant fundamentalism, especially in the non-denom world. Folks go for the 'message' or the messenger rather than true /worship. The minute that the entertainment value drops, the congregation begins to look around. I am not sure how to take your response. I will give the benefit of the doubt that it wasnt meant to be an insult. However, I assure you I dont attend church for the entertainment value. If anything thing the opposite is the case. I could easily argue that I am less satisfied in church when the entertainment of the alternate pasture is in the pulpit. I prefer the more traditional style worship of my senior pastor. For the record I was raised Catholic and attended both Catholic and Episcopal churches that did nothing but disinfranchise me. General statement, not meant to insult. As a Catholic in the deep South (no idea you were an ex-Catholic btw), I hear similar stories all the time amongst the protestants I'm around. It seems that the charisma of the pastor is what holds people in a certain congregations. I've been to many Protestant services, seen a lot on TV, and frankly, I don't see a lot of 'worship.' I see prayer, praise, petition and a sermon. But admittedly, in the absolute absence of a sacramental setting, I can't always wrap my brain around the difference between attendance and worship. I recently spoke with two parishioners who rarely attend any more. Both said (in effect) that the pastor just didn't resonate with them. My immediate response was 'so its about you?' We don't attend to necessarily receive anything in the liturgy of the word. If we happen to be inspired by a homily, great! All the better. We attend to worship. Might I suggest the book Crossing the Tiber by Steve Ray. Stylistically, its a little difficult to read but rich in content. |
| Does your church do a lot of outreach, missionary work, etc.? I chose my church by 1. Is it a biblical church 2. Do they help people in need 3. is the praise/worship sincere. Those were the main points for me. Education can come from many different places, but the fruit the church produces is what I am interested in. Being involved in the outreach/service the church provides is crucial to having a healthy spiritual life for me. That is where I put my faith/education to work and where people will be reached, and hear about Christ. |
|
I wouldn't say satan per sem but rather the human nature that resides in us all. I was a member of a bigger church that during the summer the pastor would take June-August off and there would be different fill ins every week from the church. There were times the youth pastor would preach and I would just not be as drawn in which showed my attention wasn't fully on the word as it should have been.
Thing is the ones who are leading youth aren't fully set on youth every time. One of my professors stated that the majority are just using it as a stepping stone, so they use it to hone in on their skills. Basically getting the rough sermons while they work on their delivery. The main thing to remember though is just because you don't get drawn in doesn't mean the people in front or behind you don't. The thing I did during those times was just try to listen and take it in for what it was, being the message... |
|
Quoted:
I wouldn't say satan per sem but rather the human nature that resides in us all. I was a member of a bigger church that during the summer the pastor would take June-August off and there would be different fill ins every week from the church. There were times the youth pastor would preach and I would just not be as drawn in which showed my attention wasn't fully on the word as it should have been. Thing is the ones who are leading youth aren't fully set on youth every time. One of my professors stated that the majority are just using it as a stepping stone, so they use it to hone in on their skills. Basically getting the rough sermons while they work on their delivery. The main thing to remember though is just because you don't get drawn in doesn't mean the people in front or behind you don't. The thing I did during those times was just try to listen and take it in for what it was, being the message... That sounds like my church. What church to you attend, if you don't mind me asking? |
|
I attend what I consider a large church (never thought I would) and we have a senior pastor and a few associate pastors. We also have other pastors that are on the regular rotation that are from different parts of the country. They will usually take over for a series of sermons with a common teaching or chapter or book of scripture. These series are usually anywhere from 3-6 sermons.
I like the variety. I can honestly say that we do not have a pastor that I find inadequate. In fact, I like them all very much. I do, of course, have a favorite - Ben Stuart. I think it's human nature. He is probably a consensus favorite of the whole church. He leads the student ministry (called "Break Away") at Texas A&M. When he is teaching his series, you have to get there early because it will be packed. If you can find any of his sermons, take the time to watch and listen. I don't think you will be disappointed. |
|
Quoted:
That sounds like my church. What church to you attend, if you don't mind me asking? Quoted:
Quoted:
I wouldn't say satan per sem but rather the human nature that resides in us all. I was a member of a bigger church that during the summer the pastor would take June-August off and there would be different fill ins every week from the church. There were times the youth pastor would preach and I would just not be as drawn in which showed my attention wasn't fully on the word as it should have been. Thing is the ones who are leading youth aren't fully set on youth every time. One of my professors stated that the majority are just using it as a stepping stone, so they use it to hone in on their skills. Basically getting the rough sermons while they work on their delivery. The main thing to remember though is just because you don't get drawn in doesn't mean the people in front or behind you don't. The thing I did during those times was just try to listen and take it in for what it was, being the message... That sounds like my church. What church to you attend, if you don't mind me asking? Sorry just saw this. I was a member of cross pointe off sugarloaf hwy. Love the pastor, but I help some at the church I attended before going there. |
|
Quoted:
Sorry just saw this. I was a member of cross pointe off sugarloaf hwy. Love the pastor, but I help some at the church I attended before going there. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I wouldn't say satan per sem but rather the human nature that resides in us all. I was a member of a bigger church that during the summer the pastor would take June-August off and there would be different fill ins every week from the church. There were times the youth pastor would preach and I would just not be as drawn in which showed my attention wasn't fully on the word as it should have been. Thing is the ones who are leading youth aren't fully set on youth every time. One of my professors stated that the majority are just using it as a stepping stone, so they use it to hone in on their skills. Basically getting the rough sermons while they work on their delivery. The main thing to remember though is just because you don't get drawn in doesn't mean the people in front or behind you don't. The thing I did during those times was just try to listen and take it in for what it was, being the message... That sounds like my church. What church to you attend, if you don't mind me asking? Sorry just saw this. I was a member of cross pointe off sugarloaf hwy. Love the pastor, but I help some at the church I attended before going there. Gotcha, I go to west ridge church in paulding county. It's a big church compared to most out here, but the outreach is the best I have ever experienced. The love of Christ is very evident there. This weekend was community makeover where close to 100 projects were taken on. I guess there's between 3000-5000 members so small groups are a big part too. |
|
We had a "substitute" pastor today, which happens a couple times per year, as our regular pastor goes on vacation, etc. I have seen two different pastors, once each. They each have known our pastor for 20+ years. All 3 share the same message overall, but the two definitely have a difficult time. I think this is mainly due to just not knowing everyone well, not knowing exactly what was said last week, etc. I like this pastor better than the pastor for the church which my wife went to, and who married us. I live and work 120 miles from there, so she moved to where I live.
If you are not comfortable with the alternating pastor, maybe you can bring this up to the main pastor and see what he says about the issue. Maybe you can attend the services that the main pastor preaches at and avoid the alternating pastor. Have you considered maybe attending a different church to see if there is something more traditional that might suit you better? Keep in mind we live in a town of only about 400 people, and only about 15-20 regularly attend the only church in town, so we are definitely on a personal level with the pastor. Also the two substitute pastors are from a town about 60 miles away. |
|
As a church staff member (children's pastor), I'd offer this perspective. When our pastor is out (a couple times a year), our youth minister and I alternate. I'm sure there are wide opinions of each of us and our styles and that's ok. It's a great thing for a pastor to share his pulpit with his staff as I believe it shows humility and openness. I understand that the alternate pastor may not resonate with you as much but why not view it as a chance to build up and "reverse train" him. I find some of the best help in learning to preach is from the audience. There are the usual "critiques" but when someone points out something helpful or meaningful I tend to focus on that. When the alternate pastor preaches, listen/find one or 2 things (either style or content) that clicks with you and let him know - in person if possible. Ministers are human and open to feedback. Chances are if his tone is "juvenile" you aren't the only one to notice it. By reinforcing the good points of his message he will move towards those in the future.
This is a great opportunity for the congregation (I don't like to say "audience") to serve and help the ministers. Just my thoughts. |