Needy Saints?
 

We have all read or heard about controlling Pastor's. This is a question for Pastor's, Pastor's wives and children. Have you ever had one or more saints, that just couldn't seem to make decisions about their lives without your advice?
Phone calls, questions at church, or even visiting you at home?

Re: Needy Saints?
 

I'm not a pastor obviously but I know many who fit this description. Some have driven me batty with all the "....and I asked my pastor if it was alright to..." and "I need to ask my pastors permission to....", etc. They would often <gasp!> when I would just do something without asking permission, which of course is great fun to do once I have the hyper sensitive types pegged.

Re: Needy Saints?
 

A pastor is not a king.

A pastor is not a daddy to the saints.

Some pastors prefer to have the saints ask permission for everything and teach them to do so.

Some pastors try to teach the saints to grow up and stand on the Word for their actions.

People need to learn to just ask God in prayer for what they intend to do and seek out His Word instead of being like a gnat always buzzing around the pastors.

Re: Needy Saints?
 

I would think that once you are a pastor you pretty much have to make yourself available most of the time, 24 hours a day. Now, the pastor I grew up under would meet you any where, any time for any reason except you couldn't come to his house. This didn't seem odd to me because we ALL need our own sactuary. But I have seen him show up at the hospital at 2:30 AM in a nice suit, freshly laundered shirt with a tie & stay hour, after hour to support & love the people he "shepards".

P - Please call anytime
A - Always available in good or bad times
S - Solid individual (word is his/her bond)
T - Truly praying for you
O - Open & Honest with the congregation
R - Really care about you & your family

Maybe this is a bad example, but to me this is part of what a PASTOR's job includes... Not all "Pastors" are PASTORS.

I am sure there are needy saints as well, but if a leader/pastor teaches the saints to think for themselves and to not ALWAYS to look at him/her for God's approval there would be MANY less needy saints.

Re: Needy Saints?
 

Showing up at the hospital in the middle of the night is a totally different situation than to have a saint constantly calling ...for example...to ask if it is ok to go to Applebee's for dinner because they serve alcoholic beverages.

Re: Needy Saints?
 

Being the sarcastic kinda guy I am, I love finding these people and letting them know how we're going on a vacation, or even planning to move without <gasp!> getting the pastors permission! They usually then proceed to let our plans <slip> accidentally (oops!) while being in the pastors presence. This is when the art of releasing false, but still plausible, information comes into its own.:)

Oh the stories I could tell. As Bugs would say "What a stinker!".

Re: Needy Saints?
 

Randy did we go to church together????? Sure sounds familiar. :heeheehee

Re: Needy Saints?
 

Agreed, but that is why I added my last point about if a leader/pastor does what they can about teaching the saint's to think for themselves & work out their own salvation then there would potentially be fewer needy saints. Some leaders don't help themselves out because they make it seem that they are the authority on what God is okay & not okay with.

Re: Needy Saints?
 

LOL! There is a church in our area, not UPCI, where the pastor makes the people pay tithes if they buy a house, car, etc. I guess they call that their "increase". I would feel so trapped and smothered under this type of ministry. He also has a relative use software that tracks what his saints view on their computers - calling it accountability.

I like what I heard a preacher say once, "You're a big boy, you're a big girl. I don't have to tell you everything you can and cannot do, everything you can and cannot watch."

Re: Needy Saints?
 

The "needy saint" would no doubt welcome such software on their computers.

Paying tithes on house and car purchases?? What is the logic behind that? You pay on your income and then pay again when you buy something? Isn't this a bit like Clinton's "Value Added Tax" that he unsuccessfully pushed at one time?