Thursday, May 28, 2009

Repost from Emil Turner's Blog

I haven't been reposting Dr. Turner's posts from the ABSC, but I thought this one needed to be seen. Check out Dr. Turner's blog on Fridays at www.absc.org


An old joke: she turned the wrong way on a one way street, and then increased her speed. “We’re going to be late,” she said, “Everyone is coming back.” Wrong. It’s funny from a distance, but up close it is dangerous and wrong.

Some things I have observed in churches that are just wrong:

  1. Someone wants to terminate the pastor while he is out of town on vacation.
  2. A pastoral candidate has an agenda that will require a major change in the church, but he never mentions it in the interview process.
  3. A church staff member does not tithe.
  4. A deacon does not tithe.
  5. A pastor preaches a sermon about the people who don’t come to church.
  6. A church leader plans to be out of town during a revival or high attendance emphasis, even though he voted on the dates in business meeting.
  7. A church staff member thinks his only responsibility is his area of ministry.
  8. A deacon refuses to tell a pastor search committee the truth about his former pastor.
  9. A pastor makes fun of his family in a sermon illustration. Worse than wrong.
  10. A church member criticizes his pastor while visiting prospects for the church.
  11. A pastor preaches a sermon about the men who came to him to complain that he was not providing good leadership for the church.
  12. A state convention employee makes a decision about which invitation to accept based on the size of the church.
  13. A Sunday School teacher thinks her only job is to lead a Bible discussion.
  14. A pastor search committee thinks they have the responsibility to call a pastor to change what they don’t like about their church.
  15. A church allows the person who writes the checks to balance the checkbook.
  16. Church leaders assume the Great Commission is an option to be considered only when the church has sufficient finances.

Arkansas Baptist churches are good churches. But every church has blind spots. Are yours on this list?

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