In Kevin DeYoung's blog, he deals with "Disappointment with the church"
“No one supported me.”
“I didn’t matter to anyone.”
“You didn’t even care.”
Those are among the hardest things a pastor can hear from his congregation, whether it’s about him directly or not. These lines are also some of the most biting things a church member can say and, no doubt, one of the most painful things a church member can feel. And yet the feelings are felt, and even the thoughts expressed, quite frequently in the life of the church.
The situations which lead people to feel unloved are easy to imagine.
• A pastor fails to visit a family after their daughter is tragically killed in a car accident.
• A new couple visits the church for 6 months. They never get invited to the pastors’ home. So they start looking at other churches.
The scenarios are endless and they are all painful, for the sheep and for the shepherds.
So how should church members respond when they feel unloved, unsupported, or like outsiders in their church?
And how should church leaders respond when they are criticized for being unconcerned or the church is faulted for being unloving?
If you want to read more, go to:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/
“I didn’t matter to anyone.”“You didn’t even care.”
Those are among the hardest things a pastor can hear from his congregation, whether it’s about him directly or not. These lines are also some of the most biting things a church member can say and, no doubt, one of the most painful things a church member can feel. And yet the feelings are felt, and even the thoughts expressed, quite frequently in the life of the church.
The situations which lead people to feel unloved are easy to imagine.
• A pastor fails to visit a family after their daughter is tragically killed in a car accident.
• A new couple visits the church for 6 months. They never get invited to the pastors’ home. So they start looking at other churches.
The scenarios are endless and they are all painful, for the sheep and for the shepherds.
So how should church members respond when they feel unloved, unsupported, or like outsiders in their church?
And how should church leaders respond when they are criticized for being unconcerned or the church is faulted for being unloving?
If you want to read more, go to:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/
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