Why Pastors Leave

Some stabilising thoughts from Eugene Peterson on why many pastors leave their ministry...

"I wonder if at the root of the defection is a cultural assumption that all leaders are people who 'get things done,' and 'make things happen.' That is certainly true of the primary leadership models that seep into our awareness from the culture - politicians, businessmen, advertisers, publicists, celebrities, and athletes. But while being a pastor certainly has some of these components, the pervasive element in our two-thousand-year pastoral tradition is not someone who 'gets things done' but rather the person placed in the community to pay attention to 'what is going on right now' between men and women, with one another and with God - this kingdom of God that is primarily local, relentlessly personal, and prayerful 'without ceasing.'"

From "The Pastor: A Memoir"

What do you think?

Book Review: Gabby, God's Little Angel

Gabby, God's Little Angel is a cute little book and my girls love it. It's about a little guardian angel whose first assignment is a girl who turns out to be a bit of a handful - the main message being that God loves each and every one of his children, and he's sent his angels to protect us.
Having said that, though, I'm still a little unsure what to rate it. This whole idea that each of us has a guardian angel protecting us is not really in the Bible. And the book shows the angels up in "heaven", sitting on clouds and watching us down below.
One of the most dangerous ideas that Christianity has picked up is that heaven is a place of clouds and angels that we will go to when we die. This book obviously doesn't say anything about "when we die", but I wonder if it doesn't help when we tell our kids this is what heaven is like?
I was just flicking through a new book for kids yesterday, which was basically written to help them through the grief when a child loses someone they love. Brilliant concept. But their pictures of heaven - the place we're supposedly looking forward to, that makes all of this pain worthwhile - were of a place of fluffy clouds, with angels flying round, where we'll sing songs forever. It's a shame really.
Here's what's really going to happen - and it's much more real and worth looking forward to than that shallow image: One day God is going to restore and renew everything - flowers, trees, mountains, streams, hippopotamuses, chrysanthemums, the earth, the planets, the universe, and us too. God is going to bring heaven (the realm of God) and earth (the physical realm) together, never to be separated again. It's going to be like what we have now, but unimaginably better and more amazing. Fluffy clouds? Come on. I'm looking forward to the breathtaking beauty of mountain ranges, pacific islands, people with no limit to their creativity. A restored, renewed UNIVERSE, with no more pain, violence, cancer, crying, or death.
Now THAT'S worth looking forward to. Can't we tell our kids that instead?
But as for this cute little book about Gabby, God's Little Angel, I guess I'm ok with it. God is in a different realm at the moment, and I'm fine for kids to imagine he's in the clouds. And he does send his angels to protect us.

How to Smell like Jesus

A few years ago I did a series of talks for a youth camp called "How to Smell Like Jesus." The idea came from 2 Corinthians 15, where Paul writes, "Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God."

How might we become people that smell like Jesus, I asked, so that we can make the world a little more beautiful, and so that others around us will begin to notice the sweet fragrance? The goal, I told those teenagers, is for people to come up to them and ask, "What is that heavenly aroma?" I know, this might seem a bit of a stretch of the imagination if you happen to know any teenage boys....

Can you think of any people in your life who give off this kind of Christ-fragrance? I can.

But unfortunately, I can also think of some Christians who give off an entirely different kind of smell. Matthew Paul Turner agrees, in his book "Relearning Jesus"...

"Most of the weirdest things I have encountered in my life have 'Christian' written on them.... The stench of Christians is revealed more through evangelism than anything else. I smell it often, the scent of misplaced words and poor, inexcusable timing. When mixed with uninterested patrons it becomes an especially nasty odor."

Hands up if you've smelt that one.

I was going to go on to give some ways of becoming a less nasty and more heavenly fragrance, but I think I might leave that for another post. For now let's stick with this question:

When do you think Christians smell the worst? Or if you'd rather not dwell on the negative: When have you seen someone doing something that had an undeniable Jesus-aroma to it?

Love to hear your thoughts!