Pretend that I am Parson Brown
A few years ago when the opportunity was first presented to me to consider pastoring, I had my hesitations, but decided to go through the process and see what happened. I accepted an 8 month position as an interim youth pastor, meaning that the search would continue for a real youth pastor.

17 months after I started, I'm still the pastor, and on the first of September, I'll be starting my second contract extension, and a year after that, my position is indefinite. These two changes to my contract were made official a month ago, after a short review process, of which I was not a part. Of course getting the extension was an affirmation that I took seriously, but I was also made aware of some of the concerns that were shared about my work, which hit me harder than the compliments did.

Of course I know the various ways where I need improvement in my position, calling people for information, remembering meetings, remembering what was decided at previous meetings, sending in forms on time, planning ahead, etc. I acknowledge those problems, but those are institutional responsibilities, and my job should not be mostly institutional. We all need to be organized, but there has to be more to being a pastor than just administering programs and heading up initiatives. Of the pastors that I visited, one book is open on their desks more than any other. Not the Bible, not a commentary or some theological work, but their dayplanner. Practical, yes. Necessary, no.

I was driving one of my youth home from a fundraiser last night. He kept going on and on about how I was the best pastor he knows, because I'm cool, my sermons are good (funny and deep), and I connect well with people (teenagers and seniors). It was truly heartwarming, although he may have been influenced by the ice cream I just bought everyone. I thanked him, and then changed the topic of conversation. I was a little uncomfortable talking about how great I was, so we started talking about how messed up teenage girls are. Given my teenage experience, I could talk about that for hours.

Not that my concerns are fully alleviated, but that sure helped. I still need motivation for the organizing of the job, but it's good to know the rest of what I do is appreciated.

   [ posted by William @ 10:35 AM ]