A couple years ago, our old pastor was removed from his position after he was found engaging in behavior he should not have been engaging in.
It took a couple years but our church has a new pastor now and I’m starting to have some concerns. He’s younger (I’m guessing late 20s or early 30s) and has some new ideas for the church such as embracing youth outreach and remodeling parts of the building to make it more modern and, as he puts it, “inviting.”
He is working on his doctorate in theology and frequently talks about it from the pulpit and how close he is to earning his degree. I’m concerned that he may be exhibiting signs of pride surrounding this accomplishment.
All this to say I’m concerned about spending church money on unnecessary renovations (the church looks like it was updated 10-15 years ago and doesn’t really need renovations), that he is embracing watered down sermons to appeal to the younger masses, and about the frequency with which he discusses his pursuit of his doctorate. But the biggest concern I have is this: is this an issue of me pointing out his splinter while I have a log in my eye? Am I just being an old grump resisting change? How can I know for sure?
As I write this, I’m realizing the issues I’m bringing up seem mild but it feels like a bigger deal to me for some reason. I’m not really sure how to describe it. Hypothetically, if this is the beginning of a slippery slope and things start getting drastically worse, would it be wise to approach the pastor and share my concerns or better to find a different church to attend? What does the scripture say about the method and appropriateness of confronting church leaders?
It took a couple years but our church has a new pastor now and I’m starting to have some concerns. He’s younger (I’m guessing late 20s or early 30s) and has some new ideas for the church such as embracing youth outreach and remodeling parts of the building to make it more modern and, as he puts it, “inviting.”
He is working on his doctorate in theology and frequently talks about it from the pulpit and how close he is to earning his degree. I’m concerned that he may be exhibiting signs of pride surrounding this accomplishment.
All this to say I’m concerned about spending church money on unnecessary renovations (the church looks like it was updated 10-15 years ago and doesn’t really need renovations), that he is embracing watered down sermons to appeal to the younger masses, and about the frequency with which he discusses his pursuit of his doctorate. But the biggest concern I have is this: is this an issue of me pointing out his splinter while I have a log in my eye? Am I just being an old grump resisting change? How can I know for sure?
As I write this, I’m realizing the issues I’m bringing up seem mild but it feels like a bigger deal to me for some reason. I’m not really sure how to describe it. Hypothetically, if this is the beginning of a slippery slope and things start getting drastically worse, would it be wise to approach the pastor and share my concerns or better to find a different church to attend? What does the scripture say about the method and appropriateness of confronting church leaders?