This week, I had the opportunity to participate in several conferences for pastors. I try not to attend too many of these kinds of events because, too often, they become a trap and means for avoiding the real business of the Kingdom: reaching the Lost and training the Found. It is so easy to enjoy the 'safety' and appearance of relevance by hanging out in the confines of fellow ministers, presuming that the purpose is new insights and renewal, but what really happens is that most ministers put too much emphasis on 'self-care' (ignoring the priority of others) or become accustomed to believing their own press and assumptions about ministry and church models. If you really want to find personal renewal & zeal and want to know what the Lost are thinking and doing, then GO OUT AND BE WITH THE LOST!! Hanging out with other professional ministers who also live in secluded churches or ministry contexts different than your own, is not going to be an adequate means of benefit.
What I loved most about pastoring and being a minister is spending time with the LOST and those who are Saved and still interacting with the LOST. I guess that is another reasons why pastor conference and meetings are such a personal nightmare for me...it's so disconnected from my passions and personal practices.
Pastors - GO out and be a pastor and minister in your community and world. Not your style or cup of tea?; then, please, reconsider your profession. If you love working in the church and for the church, then consider being the Admin Pastor or take up Church Board ministry. The church is supposed to be a place when the Holiness of Heaven meets the Brokenness of the World. In order for this to happen, the leadership of the church, namely its mouthpiece and representative, needs to be interacting and ministering within their local and Lost world. Hiding out at a 'relevance' conference doesn't count and will only frustrate
everyone.
