Jump directly to the Content

PASTORING STRONG-WILLED PEOPLE

How do you follow the Lamb when you're shepherding lions?

It was my first Sunday at my first pastorate. After preaching with youthful energy and confidence, I went to the door to get my "strokes." Instead, one lady bluntly told me she didn't appreciate the doctrinal errors in my message. I was shocked.

I entered the pulpit more cautiously the following Sunday, and on the third Sunday a different person attacked my sermon at the door. It soon became clear that major doctrinal differences divided these people.

Quickly I called for a board meeting and asked point-blank about their basic beliefs. I found that half the board members disagreed with the stated position of the denomination!

What should I do? The seat of all unity-common belief-did not exist in the church.

First a lion, then a lamb

I decided if we didn't have a workable foundation, I had to declare a foundation and let come what may. Reminding the board of the doctrinal position of the church, I informed them what I would preach and what we would practice in the church.

Most of them didn't ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Preparing for Worst Case Scenarios
Preparing for Worst Case Scenarios
Interview with safety expert, David Dose.
From the Magazine
The Evil Ideas Behind October 7
The Evil Ideas Behind October 7
The Hamas attacks in Israel have a grotesque ideological history and deserve unflinching moral judgment.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close