I was thinking today about some of the comments that have so graciously been made about newLife, especially about those who have suffered because of a church.
I too have suffered from poor church experiences and know what it feels like.
But what makes it worse for me is to know that we have and probably will again fail others. And so this morning I just want to say Sorry.
I am sorry that decisions that I have made as a Pastor have caused some anguish.
I am sorry that at times my attitude has been selfish.
I am sorry that you felt unimportant because I ignored your needs.
I am sorry that once in a while I am not as prepared as I should have been.
I am sorry that I have changed in some areas.
I am sorry that I have said or done anything that might have caused you to stumble.
I am sorry that our church is not what you hoped it would be.
I am sorry that someone in our church family talked about your falsely.
I am sorry that we do not currently have the ministry that you need.
I am sorry that we don't agree with you.
In fifteen years because of my failures as well as others, I have lost good friends, at times hindered the work of God, and often hurt myself.
I am not a perfect Pastor nor are we a perfect church and that is not an excuse.
As Ambassadors of Jesus we have a long way to go to better represent His name in our community but we also have a heavy responsibility to do so correctly.
I will and have learned from my mistakes and sadly enough will probably make more, but I won't dwell there.
I am Sorry but it won't stop me from Serving Him.
I am Sorry but it won't depress me from Seeing Him.
I am Sorry but it won't hinder my Loving Him.
and while we can learn from our sorrow, that sorrow ought to motivate us to Love Deeper and Live Cleaner rather than be overcome with sorrow or overwhelmed by anger.
I love my LIFE
Your post reminded me of a passage in a book that I am reading!
ReplyDeleteA vital key to overcoming the Satan is humility. There is a strength of humility that it builds a spiritual defense around your soul. Satan fears virtue. He is terrified of humility...he hates it because humility is the surrender of the soul to the Lord, and the devil is terrified of Jesus.
When you have the Pastor completely submitted to God, teaching us these qualities, then we can be used!! Excited more than ever that God brought us to New Life!
Lynette
WOW, just want to say I was touched by everything you said, to often people dont realize that you even though a Pastor, your real, you share some of the same hurts, and you, like us learn from our failures, and yes we dont always make the right choices,and because of that we end up hurting others, not intentionally but we do. But we all push on and continue the coarse for the same purpose loving and serving and winning souls for Christ, Thanks for keeping it REAL! SJ
ReplyDeleteThank for being so open hearted and honest. We are at the point if being babes in Christianatey and have no deciplfship under our belts about being married, being Christian and raising our children up in the Lord. We need that at this point so that one day we can serve others this same purpose!
ReplyDeleteWe come To you for you honest! It's hard to swallow at times but we just need to chew better. Your honesty and openness towards our family lead us to become members of Newlife
I am so blessed to have found a church that is not about religiosity but about Jesus Christ. I appreciate your being so real with all of us. That is what keeps me coming back.
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