Should Pastors Join Unions?
After almost fifty years in the ministry, I've noticed among ministers that the ones who talk most about joining a union are those who view the ministry as a job rather than a calling. When I was at seminary many years ago, our professor gave us this advice: "Never step down from the pulpit to become Prime Minister!" I've never forgotten this wise counsel. After all, a minister's life should result from a summons from God and this puts him into a different category of job than practically anyone else.
Following the great servants of God in the Bible, including Christ Jesus our Lord, a true pastor is convinced that God will take care of him (cf. II Timothy 4: 17, 18).
He has no need for a union to protect him and agitate for what he needs. He takes it to the Lord in prayer believing that God will work out His will in the hearts of His people. If his life and ministry are to be genuine at all, he must reflect that life of faith which God demands from those who give their all to Him in service.
I noticed that some ministers in Canada according to the paper had joined the UAW (United Auto Workers). I mused inwardly, "Is that because they can drive? Or it it because the union has 'united' in it?" What must our people in the pew think when we so crassly put our ministry for God on the line. A good pastoral relationship between pulpit and pew is based on both biblical preaching and on what a pastor exudes from his life. He never has the option to say, "Do what I say but not what I do!" His ministry, for better or worse, is tied up with the way he lives (cf. I Tim. 3:1-7).
If you knew me more intimately, you would know that I bear the inward marks for horrendous battles for the Lord. The ministry, I am sad to say, has left indelible marks on my soul and mind which cannot be erased. Some have purposely tied to derail me and my family spiritually simply because they disagreed with me on some issue.
Others just haven't liked my personality. In spite of all this negative input, with the help of prayer and God's Spirit as well as many who have gone out of their way to show love and kindness to their pastor and even defend him in time of need, I have survived and come through earth's spiritual battlegrounds with a deeper and more profound love for my Saviour and His service than ever. As a lad I wanted to be nothing other than a pastor. Today, I feel the same way. To serve the Lord as His anointed servant is life's greatest calling and challenge.
So, then, what about pastors and unions. I fear that ministers joining unions will only further muddy the waters as to what God's work and service are all about. And, as an interesting aside, I have noticed that those who desire and feel the need to join a union are usually from church groups that have half emptied their churches because of downgrading the Bible on moral issues and true doctrine. We can only speculate, "False doctrine and the teaching of moral values contrary to the Bible have half emptied these churches. Will the craze to join unions by their ministers finish the job?"
Following the great servants of God in the Bible, including Christ Jesus our Lord, a true pastor is convinced that God will take care of him (cf. II Timothy 4: 17, 18).
He has no need for a union to protect him and agitate for what he needs. He takes it to the Lord in prayer believing that God will work out His will in the hearts of His people. If his life and ministry are to be genuine at all, he must reflect that life of faith which God demands from those who give their all to Him in service.
I noticed that some ministers in Canada according to the paper had joined the UAW (United Auto Workers). I mused inwardly, "Is that because they can drive? Or it it because the union has 'united' in it?" What must our people in the pew think when we so crassly put our ministry for God on the line. A good pastoral relationship between pulpit and pew is based on both biblical preaching and on what a pastor exudes from his life. He never has the option to say, "Do what I say but not what I do!" His ministry, for better or worse, is tied up with the way he lives (cf. I Tim. 3:1-7).
If you knew me more intimately, you would know that I bear the inward marks for horrendous battles for the Lord. The ministry, I am sad to say, has left indelible marks on my soul and mind which cannot be erased. Some have purposely tied to derail me and my family spiritually simply because they disagreed with me on some issue.
Others just haven't liked my personality. In spite of all this negative input, with the help of prayer and God's Spirit as well as many who have gone out of their way to show love and kindness to their pastor and even defend him in time of need, I have survived and come through earth's spiritual battlegrounds with a deeper and more profound love for my Saviour and His service than ever. As a lad I wanted to be nothing other than a pastor. Today, I feel the same way. To serve the Lord as His anointed servant is life's greatest calling and challenge.
So, then, what about pastors and unions. I fear that ministers joining unions will only further muddy the waters as to what God's work and service are all about. And, as an interesting aside, I have noticed that those who desire and feel the need to join a union are usually from church groups that have half emptied their churches because of downgrading the Bible on moral issues and true doctrine. We can only speculate, "False doctrine and the teaching of moral values contrary to the Bible have half emptied these churches. Will the craze to join unions by their ministers finish the job?"
posted by Chaplain Laird at 12:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home