MIDWEEK CONNECTION
Last week we came across a CNN article from December of 2010. It was about an extremely successful pastor who resigned from his church because he was getting to be too famous. Yes, you read that correctly. He stopped because he was becoming too famous.
Here’s a brief excerpt from that article:
He pastored a 4,000-member church in California. He was a sought-after speaker at major conferences, wrote two best-sellers and launched a DVD teaching series.
Then he abruptly resigned and left the country.
But in Francis Chan’s unexpected journey there apparently is no hidden scandal, no money trail, and no ‘other’ woman.
“I just want to disappear for a while,” he said in late September as he prepared to leave Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California for an undisclosed location in Asia.
Before selling his house and packing up his wife and three children, Chan was becoming “Christian famous” in Evangelical circles.
“Even in my own church I heard the words, ‘Francis Chan’ more than I heard the words, ‘Holy Spirit’,” he said.
That was a big part of the reason he walked away at the peak of his professional career.
“I think there has been too much emphasis on me. I want to be used by God, but I think we have this desire to make heroes out of people rather than following God and the Holy Spirit.”
He quotes the apostle Paul, who told his followers “I didn’t die for you.”
In his world of big conference crowds, multiple services each week, and instant access to social media, the notion of pastoral care had begun to change. His fame was straining his work as a pastor.
We share this story with you today because THIS is exactly how we feel about our role in Harrisburg.
If people leave our Sunday gatherings and they're only thinking about our singing, our teaching and our wonderful marriage, then we have failed.
If people feel that they MUST talk to Chris and Carol about their problems and they MUST get US to help them, then we have failed. Pastors have ONE job: To lead the sheep to the food and water. And we're not the food (the word) and we’re not the water (the Spirit).
A church or an assembly of Believers is not about the shepherd. It's all about JESUS!!!!!!
Although we are very thankful that the Lord is using our books, DVD’s and our internet outreach to bless many lives, it does not mean that we are to become some type of superstar pastoral celebrities. The whole point of everything we give away and pour out is to make sure that you know how to hear from God and obey His voice in your heart and in your home. It’s not to get people to look to us for the answers.
Already we are noticing that as God starts to elevate our names and our influence in this community, it immediately begins to attract people who want to get something from us that will provide them some kind of extra advantage in their life.
There is nothing we can do to help anybody except to offer them Jesus. If Jesus is not enough, then we certainly can’t do more for anyone than He can.
We have launched into another 31-day prayer watch and we are seeking God concerning our nation. The day will come when Chris and Carol, nor any other pastors and leaders will be able to give people an encouraging word or an extra boost. We won’t be able to give them a word of wisdom or a word of counsel. So now is the time to dedicate and consecrate ourselves before the Lord, fast, pray, seek His face, and obey His voice.
If revival breaks forth upon the land, you’re going to be needed in the trenches to disciple souls. If disaster breaks out upon our land, you can’t be in a mindset of trying to seek out a pastor to try to figure out what to do. You’ll need to have the word of God, already hidden in your own heart, in your own home, so that you won’t sin (or miss) the will of God.
We’re not interested in becoming famous pastors with a famous church filled with famous Christians. Our only desire is that we will all be faithful to Christ.
