How much information should the saints expect from their pastor?
 

I am curious, our pastor is the DS and an active participant in the politics of the UPC at these General Conference...things.

David Bernard wrote a letter to his constituency, yet I haven't heard one single utterance of what happened at GC, much less any position of where the church or the pastor stands in light of the new developments, i.e....the television resolution.

I think the people of the church, if they are the ones who proudly and loudly wear the UPC badge, should have an expectation of their leadership to tell them what is going on in the org!

What say ye?

Well every leader is different in regard to communication, DB is one of the best in that regard.

I think his letter only was sent to the ministry, very few lay people know, knew what was happening in regard to the resolution.

It's really up to that local pastor to what he shares with the local church.

i agree kieth, that is very interesting , every pastor treats that differently, our pastors have said nothing about it, to the congregation, for the most part our people arent interested in the politics of the upc , they just love the church and want to be a part, lol, dt:hypercoffee

The truth is.....

You just belong to a church whose pastor is involved in a ministerial fellowship. The impact is more with him than the individual saints. You will find very few pastors, IMO, who will get up and share with their congregation the politics of the organization in which they belong to.

amen, well put, dt:hypercoffee

In my experience the UC certainly do share such things with the pew, since it gives much new sermon material. :driving

I would qualify as one of your "UC's" and haven't said a word to the congregation. Probably won't...

Its possible Carpenter that the decisions made did not change nor hinder your pastors personal convictions whatsoever so he does not deem it necessary to burden the church with GC stuff.

I assume that means you are focused on more important things, and for that I commend you.

There were Video Restrictions that were adopted at the 1983 GC allowing some video use that our congregation did not hear about until after 2000. :winkgrin

To God be the glory, we had 17 receive the Holy Ghost in the last month....with Old Paths as the evangelist!!!

There are things that are important to me regarding ministerial fellowship, but I endeavor to keep the church focused on living for God and winning souls.

I would say your pastor was not pushing his responsibilities off on the UPC. More power to him!!!!

Actually, it back-fired.

There were several men that were upset about hearing this kind of news almost 20 years later.

I guess some men don't enjoy being treated as dumb sheep. :dunno

Well, I think that in many cases the pastor tries to shield his church as not to upset the balance. I also think that if the garden-variety saint receives a bastardized message that "HEY! the UPC now accepts television", the few who did not own a television would certainly consider it...but maybe not.

I think that if a people are influenced to consider themselves UPC, they hold up the banners and are proud to have that moniker on the front of their church, they need to know and should be interested in what goes on in this "ministerial organization."

It is an interesting concept to think that a pastor could control the amount and content of information that could affect the folks in the church, as though a "what they don't know won't hurt them" mentality and furthermore consider that people are not able to handle the truth or make decisions based on this information.

...but then again, people may not care and that is unfortunate, because it means they are being lead by emotion, to an extent.

If the saints really wanted to know what was going on in the organization they could find out without the pastor. The UPCI itself posted results of the business sessions and any Apostolic can join good ole AFF. There are ways to gather information concerning the org and if the saints don't know it is not necessarily all the pastors fault.

Or they could read it here :runhills

Carp,

You heard more than we do from the pulpit.

why everyone else thinks the laity has to hear all about what ugly warts exist is beyond me too.

The Southern Baptist Convention has had some really nasty bouts in the last 10 years. just about every year their national convention has some kind of contention.

Every year all their dirty laundry gets drug out in the news media. It doesnt seem to hurt them.

However, I really think for the most part a pastor who remains UPCI with no thought of pulling out over this resolution, has no need to say one word to his people about what the vote was. Now if he decides to put an AD on TV, then the subject might come up and a simple "we voted it in" is enough.

by and large, UPCI churches remain autonomus on a certain level....Unless you are in the Texas distrirct and you somehow get crosswise with the DS...


so really, I dont know that a pastor owes much information on what goes on at GC....MOST saints really dont care. many dont even know what GC is.

Isn't there more important things that a pastor should be concerned with, rather than making sure his congregation is informed on what new resolution is passed?

IDK, there is so much going on in a life of a church and its members, perhaps church politics is low on the totem pole with some pastors.


jmho..:bubble

Depends on whether or not, or how much, the pastor preaches organization to the church. Some preachers preach the organization (whichever one it might be) as though it's Gospel. Others never make the first mention of it period.

How much info...???
 

I think it is very important to know whatever your pastor or your organization stands for or againest.. It is just as important to your soul/and salvation .. as knowing what our leaders as far as presidents etc.. stand for when we vote for them.. You may not always agree with what is going on.. but you need to be aware of what the person you are sitting under believes in.. It is not wise to not be "informed"....It is always important to know what you believe in and why you believe it.. so that when times like we are facing these days.. you can deterimine if something is "Bible" or it is just a personal opinion.. or if it is the person you are sitting under the minstry of.. just straying away from what we were taught in years gone by to be "Bible truths"..

I agree 100%, if our pastor got up and started talking about UPC politics from the pulpit, most of our people wouldn't have a clue what he was talking about. It just isn't part of what is going on, on the local level, our people are working for revival. The few who would understand what he was talking about, already have the info.

Well it looks like to me your pastor's priorities are in the right place---plus like you said those who understand already knows.

With EVERYTHING on the internet these days its hard NOT to be informed :D

Right!!!! :highfive

When you have been taught to live a certain way, according to certain principles, and rules put in place within UPC guidelines, then the ministry decides to make some changes, and uses a rule that became effective almost 20 years earlier, it just doesn't make for the best of situations. :dunno

I think the concern I saw was that some in the congregation felt a little betrayed at worst, or just a bit disillusioned at best, toward the ministry. Of course there were some that just didn't care.

Unless of course you come from a congregation that discourages you from the use of the internet, or going to meetings outside of your district.

I dont go to that kind of church--:lol

My pastor was a little surprised I knew two days after it happened :)

The pastor I grew up under said the church paid his way and he felt he owed it to them to tell them what was going on.

We are in a new generation of everything is a secret.

USED to we knew when the church across town was having revival. NOT so now.

Not really sure why all this has changed. I personally don't think it is for the better.

I never, ever, ever talk about the political junk of the UPC from the pulpit.

I pastor people who wouldn't have any idea who Kenneth haney even is.

I am a member of the UPC.

They aren't.

That's a little different though, don't you think?

Or maybe it's not - - maybe it's actually the right thing to do.

Now that is interesting.

My thoughts EXACTLY! I don't go to church to hear about politics. :scoregood

It's not some carefully calculated plan to keep vital information from them; it just so happens that when I am in the pulpit, I preach from the Bible, not the newspaper, Chicken Soup for the Soul, or the Herald.

They know plenty of good men, I just used him as an example because he doesn't come into our orbit much.

Also, please don't take that as belittling toward Brother Haney, because that was not my intent.

I know that was not your intent. :) I just thought that most people in a UPC church know a little about who is in office.. etc.

I didn't take it as that at all and I completely agree about the "no politics in the pulpit". Guess I would just think they would have some exposure to the GS or UPC - - guess you don't order The Herald for them?

We never discuss the upc in our pulpit. That's bible time as coonskinner said, and very few of our people could tell you who the GS or the DS of our district is.

If I told them then I would have to kill them. :reaper

Hahaha!!! That is just WRONG! :killinme