How close should a pastor get to the members?

[Amos]

Originally Posted by MissBrattified

Acid Alert!!!!

God doesn't play favorites...but He does show favoritism. How's that for a contradiction?

He gives everyone the equal opportunity to find Him, to spend time with Him, and then tends to pay the most attention to those who make that effort.

God is no respecter of persons--but He IS a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. I paraphrase the verse for my kids like this: "The sincere prayer of a man who does right is important to God." Notice it doesn't say that MAN is more important [than any other]--but that his PRAYER "availeth much."

You and I were posting at the same time.

[Amos]

Like a message I preach sometimes--God takes care of His regular customers.

[MissBrattified]

Originally Posted by Amos

You and I were posting at the same time.

[My Own Eyes]

Originally Posted by MissBrattified

Acid Alert!!!!

God doesn't play favorites...but He does show favoritism. How's that for a contradiction?

He gives everyone the equal opportunity to find Him, to spend time with Him, and then tends to pay the most attention to those who make that effort.

God is no respecter of persons--but He IS a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. I paraphrase the verse for my kids like this: "The sincere prayer of a man who does right is important to God." Notice it doesn't say that MAN is more important [than any other]--but that his PRAYER "availeth much."

Not so much acid...as about 20% hurt, 20% anger, 50% sarcasm and about 10% dramatics

I had been thinking yesterday that I had been so calm lately, no outburts, no cutting remarks. In fact, I thought that maybe all my "triggers" were dead and buried.

I should have known that just thinking that was asking for trouble! LOL (Kinda like taking pride in one's humility )

[My Own Eyes]

Originally Posted by Amos

Sis,

I don't know Bullwinkle, but I doubt if his intention was to hurt your feelings.

Of course you are important to Him and worthy of His time.

He simply tried to point out that Jesus, while often among the multitudes, did take out times where He was alone, or else with only a few of His inner circle.

The nice thing about the New Covenant is that since He went away and sent the Comforter, we can all have access to Him at any time.

And while I think the Scripture will bear out that He does indeed have "favorites," it also makes it clear that anyone who is willing to seek Him and walk in His ways can be one of them.

He is no respecter of persons, but He does respect hunger, faith, and obedience.

If you or anyone else is willing to make Him their number 1 priority, I can promise you that you will have His favor.

Originally Posted by MissBrattified

God doesn't play favorites...but He does show favoritism. How's that for a contradiction?

He gives everyone the equal opportunity to find Him, to spend time with Him, and then tends to pay the most attention to those who make that effort.

God is no respecter of persons--but He IS a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. I paraphrase the verse for my kids like this: "The sincere prayer of a man who does right is important to God." Notice it doesn't say that MAN is more important [than any other]--but that his PRAYER "availeth much."

Believe it or not, my problems in this area are not with God. We've actually gotten pretty tight these past 6 months or so. Especially compared to the anger and dislike that I had for the past 2 years.

I know that I've blamed alot of my experiences on the UPC (and no matter what anyone thinks, the first church I attended was seriously unhealthy, and the second only a little better), but the truth is, I was headed for disaster the second I walked into church.

Between my authoritarian alcohol Father who's approval was impossible to attain, and who never let me forget how truly worthless I was at a human being, to my older sister, who convinced me for 30 years of my life, that I totally and completely inadequate in everything I attempted.

So I walked in believing I was nothing, and though I came to believe on some level that God loved me, truly I never stopped fearing that eventually he would realize his mistake and turn away. And the fact that I ended up in a congregation that was taught that God was waiting to smite you for the smallest infraction....

So I had a lot to work through, and I think that i have come along way. And I am really happy with the relationship that God and I now have....

But I confess, when someone hits that trigger, I am suddenly that little girl again, abandoned by her Mother, belittled by her Sister, and abused by her Father, and I tend to do now what I couldn't do then...which is fight back.

[OneAccord]

Originally Posted by My Own Eyes

Believe it or not, my problems in this area are not with God. We've actually gotten pretty tight these past 6 months or so. Especially compared to the anger and dislike that I had for the past 2 years.

I know that I've blamed alot of my experiences on the UPC (and no matter what anyone thinks, the first church I attended was seriously unhealthy, and the second only a little better), but the truth is, I was headed for disaster the second I walked into church.

Between my authoritarian alcohol Father who's approval was impossible to attain, and who never let me forget how truly worthless I was at a human being, to my older sister, who convinced me for 30 years of my life, that I totally and completely inadequate in everything I attempted.

So I walked in believing I was nothing, and though I came to believe on some level that God loved me, truly I never stopped fearing that eventually he would realize his mistake and turn away. And the fact that I ended up in a congregation that was taught that God was waiting to smite you for the smallest infraction....

So I had a lot to work through, and I think that i have come along way. And I am really happy with the relationship that God and I now have....

But I confess, when someone hits that trigger, I am suddenly that little girl again, abandoned by her Mother, belittled by her Sister, and abused by her Father, and I tend to do now what I couldn't do then...which is fight back.

As I read your post, In My Eyes, I thought of these verses.

Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired [to have] you, that he may sift Unregistered as wheat:
Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted , strengthen thy brethren.


We tend to think of Satans desire to "sift us" as a bad thing, but Jesus implied that this, in fact, has a positive result. Peter was sifted (his denial of Jesus) but it was that betrayal that helped Peter to rid himself of the last remaining vestages of doubt and unbelief. He was converted only after he been "sifted as wheat" by denying the Lord.

The walk you've been on is the same walk I am still on- being sifted of all the "stuff" that has hindered, rather than helped, me in my walk with God. I started out well enough, but, over time, I became weighted down with "stuff" that helped to grind to a halt in my walk with the Lord. Then came the sifting- time to take all of this "stuff', examine it, compare it to what the Bible really teaches. What didn't measure up to THAT Standard (The Word) was laid aside. And I still find things to lay aside. Weights, the Bible calls them. Sins that "doth so easily beset us". Hbr 12:1 Some of these weights are sins that we neglect in our lives. Some are unbiblical religious instruction. And some are the seeds of inadequacy and worthlessness that have been sown into our hearts and minds by people who are suppose to be role models in our lives.

You've been being sifted. All the "junk" you have been fed, all the negtivity, is being sifted out- thats why you are happier in your relationship with the Lord. Thats why many of us see the gradual change in your process. You are being converted.

I think, if we would be honest, we all have denied the Lord in some way. We deny the fact that truth sets men free, choosing rather to believe truth requires rules, rituals and regulation. We deny the Lord by saying OUR plan of Salvation is much more important than God's plan. We deny Him by saying "He is NOT truth- our church, our organization is truth". We deny Him by saying He requires nothing of us, rather than accepting that our very lives are His.

Adam was sifted. He denied the Lord's commands by accepting Satans suggestion. Job was sifted and emptied himself of what can only be described as "self-righteousness". Sifting is a good thing! After our sifting, our faith is strengthened, rather than weakened. We are converted and we can can help others thru the sifting process.

[Rhoni]

Originally Posted by OneAccord

As I read your post, In My Eyes, I thought of these verses.

Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired [to have] you, that he may sift Unregistered as wheat:
Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted , strengthen thy brethren.


We tend to think of Satans desire to "sift us" as a bad thing, but Jesus implied that this, in fact, has a positive result. Peter was sifted (his denial of Jesus) but it was that betrayal that helped Peter to rid himself of the last remaining vestages of doubt and unbelief. He was converted only after he been "sifted as wheat" by denying the Lord.

The walk you've been on is the same walk I am still on- being sifted of all the "stuff" that has hindered, rather than helped, me in my walk with God. I started out well enough, but, over time, I became weighted down with "stuff" that helped to grind to a halt in my walk with the Lord. Then came the sifting- time to take all of this "stuff', examine it, compare it to what the Bible really teaches. What didn't measure up to THAT Standard (The Word) was laid aside. And I still find things to lay aside. Weights, the Bible calls them. Sins that "doth so easily beset us". Hbr 12:1 Some of these weights are sins that we neglect in our lives. Some are unbiblical religious instruction. And some are the seeds of inadequacy and worthlessness that have been sown into our hearts and minds by people who are suppose to be role models in our lives.

You've been being sifted. All the "junk" you have been fed, all the negtivity, is being sifted out- thats why you are happier in your relationship with the Lord. Thats why many of us see the gradual change in your process. You are being converted.

I think, if we would be honest, we all have denied the Lord in some way. We deny the fact that truth sets men free, choosing rather to believe truth requires rules, rituals and regulation. We deny the Lord by saying OUR plan of Salvation is much more important than God's plan. We deny Him by saying "He is NOT truth- our church, our organization is truth". We deny Him by saying He requires nothing of us, rather than accepting that our very lives are His.

Adam was sifted. He denied the Lord's commands by accepting Satans suggestion. Job was sifted and emptied himself of what can only be described as "self-righteousness". Sifting is a good thing! After our sifting, our faith is strengthened, rather than weakened. We are converted and we can can help others thru the sifting process.

Amen. The truth has been spoken.

God Bless,
Rhoni

[Charnock]

What did I miss?

[2020Vision]

Some of these threads are like relays. Immediately the board scatters to three positions. FOR, AGAINST, and the lurkers who sometimes chime in to call a "bump". HA! Nice to see leave and come back and completely different people have continued the conversation. Love it.

This particular post can be one of particular semantics. For example, what is "close"? Or, the question says "how close", so how do you answer that. The rest of the revolutionaries that want to separate the classes from those oppressive preacher classes and the peasant laity class, haha you got it all wrong. We are all looking at this so many different ways. Enjoyed the discussion though. I have to get ready for dinner tonight - with my pastor!

[Dimples]

Originally Posted by 2020Vision

Some of these threads are like relays. Immediately the board scatters to three positions. FOR, AGAINST, and the lurkers who sometimes chime in to call a "bump". HA! Nice to see leave and come back and completely different people have continued the conversation. Love it.

This particular post can be one of particular semantics. For example, what is "close"? Or, the question says "how close", so how do you answer that. The rest of the revolutionaries that want to separate the classes from those oppressive preacher classes and the peasant laity class, haha you got it all wrong. We are all looking at this so many different ways. Enjoyed the discussion though. I have to get ready for dinner tonight - with my pastor!

Then you have a newcomer like yourself that comes to straighten out everyone.