Why You Don’t Like Pastors
He was one of the leading pastors in the city. But this pastor was getting the kitchen sink thrown at him. It was not something he had not heard before. It started like any other regular interview.
It went into the usual stuff – a personal story, family life, and his professional career. He was one of those likely to succeed as an investment banker before the detour to become a man of the cloth.
The interviewer asked him what the ministry he was running was doing to address social justice in society.
And that was where she came with all guns blazing.
According to her, the pastor was not doing enough. He needed to be setting up entrepreneurial loans. This would help the financially-disenfranchised access credit to set up businesses.
The school the ministry was running was not cheap enough until it could be near free. There was nothing the pastor could say about what they were doing that could change the interviewer’s mind.
The pastor was a big fat cat not doing his fair share of the work to make life better for the rest of the people on the bad end of Lady Luck’s deal card.
So, what do we do to make the pastors do their fair share?
When God Doesn’t Save You From An Unfair Boss
To him, he had the unfortunate luck of ending up with an unfair boss. He was doing his best but for some unexplained reason, he was always the one picked last
Last for commendation and last for promotion if he ever got any. His appraisals were very good but he wasn’t recommended for promotion. This happened more than once. It was clear to him – his boss probably had it in for him.
Fortunately, things were starting to smile his way.
A friend of his had told him told him about a position that opened up in another company. More pay and a better role – just the combination his skills deserved.
“And maybe a boss that appreciates my skills”, he said to himself.
He was about to send his CV and for some reason, he could not commit himself to the process. He was sure he would get the job so it was the fear of failing that was holding him back.
He remembered something he heard in church. “Don’t stay where you are not celebrated”, the preacher had said.
He was not getting the “celebration” vibe from his boss. He was sure it was ok to make the move.
“Time to go where I will be celebrated”, he convinced himself.
But what was holding him back from making the move?
Could God be telling him to stay in a bad situation?
Read MoreHow To Live With People You Don’t Trust
He was sure that they were talking about him in a way that would not win his trust.
Better put, he was sure his colleague was discussing the new idea he shared with him with his boss. His problem with that? He was sure the guy was taking credit for the idea. Trust is a big problem with this guy.
This was one issue he saw with the guy. He couldn’t be trusted not to want to have one over anyone and everyone – even if it meant stealing their ideas.
He mentioned what happened to another colleague. Guess what, the guy had done the same thing to her!
According to her, she had adopted an “avoid” strategy with him. She zipped her mouth when around him. She also avoided any non-official interaction with him. No need to show him any form of trust.
“So what are you going to do about him” she asked him.
“I haven’t thought about it” he replied.
But he was thinking hard
How was he going to deal with this “sneaky” colleague in a God-honoring way?
Read MoreWhy Are Countries Blessed
Over the last couple of months, I’ve had a guy who seems to want to refute any “God talk” I put online. He usually tries to make it a conversation about countries. From his comments, there are a few things I pick out:
- He believes the practice of religion (chief of which is Christianity) is one of the biggest reason for African countries’ underdevelopment
- He thinks that western countries have moved on from Christianity and live better by doing that
I try to always respect the opinions expressed by other people. No matter how much they differ from my convictions
In spite of this, I cannot help but wonder if there is a misunderstanding about God and Christianity. And if we stretch that thought to its end, a lack of connection between God and the prosperity of countries.
So what has God got to do with it?
Why Politics Shouldn’t Separate Brothers
There are a few things that get the blood pumping like talking politics.
The only other adrenaline pumping talk that matches talking politics is talking sports. Football, tennis, basketball, choose your pick. They turn one-time friends into strong rivals and create common ground between strangers.That is a conversation for another day.Recently, a pastor posted that any fellow pastor supporting a particular candidate is a murderer. Very strong words. Especially if you consider that no murderer has a place in the kingdom of God
So, is it possible for Christians to talk politics, support different candidates or ideologies and still get along?