Identify Solid Members who have a “Call” in this Area and Empower Them.
I am a pastor so I “get” the history of people in your church who have a passion for social issues and governmental concerns. Often times (unfortunately) their passion becomes your pain in the neck. They call you, bug you, and generally stress you out over an area that up to this point you weren’t that concerned about. Please hear me out on this one…
There was a time I was just like that as well…
But the Lord had to arrest my attention and candidly, theirs too.
My story goes like this…
A dear lady started attending our church and was involved in pro-life outreach. She graciously invited me to come out to the abortuary and simply “pray”. I politely declined for a time as she repeatedly asked. However, her good spirit and disposition won me over to go out to the site (which by the way, was only a few blocks away from the church) and simply join a group in prayer. It was at that moment, my heart was broken and God dealt with me concerning this national sin. That moment became the open door, really the epiphany, for me and my involvement in various cultural concerns. The problem became, there wasn’t enough of me to pay attention to everything that was happening in the culture, in the church, in my family, in my marriage, and life in general. Every area had a ring of importance and immediacy to it, but I was going to either spread myself superficially to many things or focus on a few things.
That’s when I began to identify good, passionate people in these various areas of cultural concern who could be the “point” people in making sure the congregation was aware of what was happening and could be involved in “salting” those arenas. For me, it started by appointing a “Cultural Engagement” Director. A person who could keep their finger on these social issues and let me know when the pastoral “bell” needed to be sounded. They can watch for events, legislation, special dates, conferences, and other areas which might be of interest to me or the congregation. This position relieves me of trying to “spin dozens of plates” while fulfilling member’s passions for various ministry areas.
In order to pick a person for this position I had several requirements:
1. A member of the local church. (They had formalized their connection.)
2. Participating in the life of the Church. (They were a part of other ministries and the discipleship process of the church.)
3. They were competent in the area of cultural engagement and saw the broad spectrum of concerns and issues. (They could not be a “Johnny one-note” with a single issue. Those people could be single issue associate directors under the Cultural Engagement Director)
4. They understood that cultural reformation was an important “slice” of the church’s vision but not the whole “pie” of our focus.
5. They respected the Church calendar and understood that their area received the same attention and respect as other areas.
6. They respected and responded to the Pastor’s authority and carried the spiritual DNA of the church.
7. Demonstrated the character qualities of a leader according to I Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
If a pastor’s lead foot is not reformation, then the appointment of a Cultural Engagement Director can be a great answer for fulfilling the passion of certain members in this area of your congregation. I have often wondered why mega-churches have not opted for a template like this as it would extinguish much of the criticism many of these pastors receive with regards to the perceived lack of concern many people believe they have when it comes to social issues. This is an incredibly easy step in moving this direction.
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