Do pastors only work on Sundays? I could write a book with that title. While Sundays may be the most visible part of a pastor's work, being a Senior Pastor (or any pastor) is a full-time calling. Notice I said "calling," not a "job." It is as much a spiritual experience as it is a human one. That's why I believe that the call seeks the person… the person doesn't seek the call. From my perspective, a calling is different from a job in that being a pastor is much more than a means of paying the bills. Being a pastor is a complex collision of purpose, personal values, passion, fulfillment, and internal and external motivation (specifically, the Holy Spirit). Without sounding hyper-spiritual, pastoral leadership is so humanly crushing that I don't believe you can do it without God's Spirit leading, guiding, strengthening, and sustaining you. A community of leaders is also essential to shepherding and leading well. And here's why: not only is the Senior Pastor the human-organizational leader of the congregation (which is a full-time job itself), but the role is also responsible for spiritual leadership. This spiritual leadership includes preaching and teaching God's Word, becoming aware of and ministering to the needs of the wider community, seeking God's direction and vision for His church, ensuring people are shepherded and spiritually cared for, partnering and mutually supporting other pastors in their ministries, and carrying the burdens of people as their pastor.
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Sunday is Mother’s Day and here is where my heart is going into the weekend. Let me know what you think. We all are given an opportunity to thank God for giving us mothers - default, biological, adopted, surrogate, symbolic, and spiritual. There will be greeting cards, kind gestures, and plenty of burnt toast. And while all the activities may even exhaust the extroverts, each is an expression of love and thanksgiving. At the same time, this religious-now-become-Hallmark holiday has the ability to possibly make some people unintentionally feel shame, guilt, sadness, and grief. Afterall, it is the annual forced remembrance of a child who was never born. Sometimes the human body doesn’t work - even with human and medical assistance. Dreams can be lost or never come to fruition. And sometimes, it’s the prayers and dreams we hold onto for kids that scare us. I’m glad that God does not define personhood by parenthood. While being a mom is part of who a person might become, I believe that only the grace and love of Jesus can give us honor, value, and worth - by faith. A mom is first and foremost a child of God, loved, forgiven, equipped, and empowered through Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Having personally experienced with Beth a hard and long journey through infertility, learning we couldn’t adopt the child who was placed with us, unexpectedly having biological kids, and now parenting kids of our own, Mother’s Day brings joy and heartache. Add my personal adoption journey and it’s a day filled with all of the feels. As I lean into all of this, I am learning that joy and heartache can coexist in the same moment and space. I can place both my joyful thanks and saddest grief into the hands of Jesus. Afterall, moms are gifts from God to help us better know the heart and love of Jesus. I spent the week in St. Louis at the Multi-Ethnic Symposium and Multi-Asian Leadership Gathering. I’m leaving with so many questions and takeaways. Let’s find a time to meet up if you would like to hear about them. One takeaway from the Keynote Presentation Mi Casa es Su Casa is that there is a difference between multicultural, cross-cultural, and intercultural perspectives. The speaker, Rev. Dr. Leo Sanchez, shared that a multicultural perspective acknowledges the presence of different cultures, races, and ethnicities. However, there is little or no relationship or interaction with each other. I initially thought this was like our American understanding of tolerance, where everyone does their own thing and we coexist. He continues that cross-cultural perspectives imply that one culture brings gifts or “the goods,” and the other receives them. This perspective can lead to one-sided relationships, paternalism, and dependency. Typically, one culture dominates the other by default. This point was illustrated with a story of using a church kitchen where everyone can use it, but owned by one specific group who sets the rules. Dr. Sanchez shared that Jesus modeled intercultural perspectives for His disciples. He shares that, like a soccer team, everyone contributes. And each contribution brings something different; every contribution is equally valued. Together, each person and culture contributes to creating the whole. Reflecting on this point, I think of practical implications. Here are some initial thoughts:
Now, I did mention immigration in my note to you this week. And we did discuss that. Many of us are left with the conviction that as Jesus' followers, we first ask how we can love and serve our migrant neighbors within the bounds of the law. It’s something to reflect on and continue to work out. But leading with the love and service of our neighbors - as Jesus did, opens so many doors and builds so many bridges that there might not be much time for legalities. We can entrust that to God using those appointed to figure that out. We are called to love and serve our neighbor. What do you think? I’d love to hear from you. |
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Pastor Tim Meet Pastor TimTim Bayer has served as Our Savior's Lead Pastor since September 2019. He also serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Concordia University - Irvine, a National Leadership Facilitator and Resource, and a Community Mental Health First Aid Instructor. Archives
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