"The church in a sense has lost its mission to go out and love the people," said Steven Mayo, pastor of Elm Street Congregational Church in Fitchburg, Mass. "We've become useless in a society that desperately needs us."
How to become useful again, however, is a matter on which there is no consensus. Cornelius Plantinga, president of Calvin Theological Seminary in Michigan, urged pastors to talk less about fulfilling personal potential and offer more from the likes of Old Testament prophet Joel, who warns God's people to wail and repent before the Lord scorches the earth.
But church leaders responded to Plantinga's prescription with a reality check.
"For pastors, it's very easy to lose a job by taking your advice," said Rachel Stahle, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in Carteret, N.J., after Plantinga's 45-minute lecture. "It's even harder to find another one by taking your advice. So what wisdom do you share with us to take what you've said back to the churches?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102303674.html
Easy to lose a job by obeying the Lord? Please help no one in The Church of God ever take this approach. We are to preach the Word, regardless if the world likes it or not. We are called to preach His Truth as He leads us. Lord please help me to speak your will regardless of the outcome.
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