Well, everything in my church has the potential to "hit the fan," so to speak...and very soon!
We have another opening on our board. The Sunday School teacher I posted about earlier who is leaving is married to one of the board members, so he has resigned.
Since we'd had two viable candidates at the business meeting, our pastor suggested the possibility of just moving the other man on. But the female board member (the troublesome one who launched my posting on this board in the first place!) insisted that we needed to hold another election and get more nominations.
Now we all know why. She had a meeting with the man that, at all costs, we need to keep off the board (he is very controlling, and has no respect for pastoral authority whatsoever, and pretty much ran the church until our pastor came on the scene...he made our SP's and YP's life miserable for the first couple of years that they were here!), and stroked his ego a little bit, and ended up nominating him.
So what will happen is:
1. Since the current board needs to approve all candidates, there is a good possibility that this man will not be accepted. In that case, this man and the woman who nominated him will most likely leave the church.
2. He will be, by some fluke, accepted as a candidate, and will not get voted on by the congregation. Then, again, both families will most likely leave.
3. He will get voted onto the board and our senior pastor will resign. Then I'll be out of a job, since I will have to resign as well.
My DH thinks that this is Satan's last-ditch effort to stop what God wants to do in our church, and he, our YP and our SP have a peace about the whole thing - that everything will turn out right. Unfortunately, since I work a full time day job, I was not there for their prayer meeting, and so I still need God to give me that peace that they all got from praying together.
It sounds silly, I know. But I am just so tired right now. I am tired from fighting for a church that I don't even know wants me around. I am tired of this woman affecting my ministry, my marriage, and my friendships. I am tired of the looming threat of this man getting back on the board. He was the one who was against my coming in the first place, because "When he was a little boy, he didn't need a children's pastor, so why do we need one now?"
I don't know how much longer our little church can hold on. They voted the last pastor out, and drove out the previous one with a nervous breakdown. This was all orchestrated by the would-be board member.
I have had words spoken over my life that I am a fighter...that I don't give up...but right now, honestly, that's what I feel like doing. I know I probably won't end up giving up, and that I will keep on...but I need prayer that I can make it through one more day - one more Wednesday night - and that I can have this same peace about the situation that everyone else seems to have.
I just come to you right now as an humble child. Puppetmaster & I need you right now. We see what is happening in the natural in our churches. Yet You see what is happening in the spiritual realm. We see the turmoil. We feel the tension. We think of "what might happen." Yet You are the peace speaker. You are the Comforter. You know the great things that will happen. You know the plans that You have for us.
Lord, I pray that You will come now to us and give us the superenatural peace that only You can give. Lord, I ask that You help us to walk in peace today, no matter what may happen. I ask that You come down with your supernatural love and allow it to flow through us into those who come against us. You are so awesome. You are so worthy. And You are the only reason we do what we do. Thank you Jesus.
Puppetmaster, I'm praying for you. A few questions...
Is your church sovereign (general council affiliated)? Just checking...by some chance...if you were district affiliated you know the district could step in and just tell them the way it is. That has saved many a church and many a pastor.
I am assuming your church must be sovereign due to the previous things that have happened there. Has your pastor called the Supt? It would be good if he could bring the district in to help him with this. This is really what they are supposed to be there for -- to be the pastor's right hand with something like this.
Has your pastor called the Supt? It would be good if he could bring the district in to help him with this. This is really what they are supposed to be there for -- to be the pastor's right hand with something like this.
Honestly, I think my pastor is just hoping that both families will get mad enough to just plain leave the church. But I also know that he is not going to put up with this junk much longer. He is even talking about removing the first person (the lady) from the board, too. I wouldn't put it past him to call the district office eventually - but like I said, I think he's hoping first that the problem will take care of itself...we were in a meeting a couple of weeks ago, and we were talking about the treasurer position and how someone else on the board should at least be shown the process "in case she were to ever leave for any reason."
Our senior pastor jokingly said, "No! No one else gets to leave!" because part of the purpose of this meeting was to honor the gentleman who is already moving away...
The pastor's wife said later that she heard this woman mutter under her breath, "Well, we'll see..."
In other words, if she doesn't get her way or get enough power, or whatever it is she wants, she'll leave, too.
My view of people like that is to just let them leave. Even if they are big tithers. We may have financial trouble for a few months, but we'll bounce back. My home church lost a multi-billionaire and all his tithe checks, but boy, was it worth it to have him and his divisive, controlling self out of the way...spiritually (for the whole church) and emotionally (for the pastor).
Like I said before, I just don't know anymore. I am tired of this gloomy spirit that seems to have settled over our church, the board, and staff. It's like in "The Lion King," where they get to Pride Rock, which has been completely destroyed by Scar, and Pumba comments, "Gee, we're fighting your uncle for this? Talk about your fixer-upper!"
Is it even worth it to fight for this little church? Maybe we should just let it die. And at the same time, I know that isn't God saying that, or even me. Which leaves only one source. But honestly, I am so tired. I am having trouble even praying anymore. My emotions are spinning out of control and my first instinct lately has been to give up on everything - my friends, my ministry, my job - I know I am under severe attack, as is everyone else, and I am trying to take joy in the fact that that probably means God is getting ready to move in an amazing way, and the devil is trying to stop it.
Thanks for lifting me up in prayer - I really need it right now!
Puppetmaster: Just letting you know that you are continually in my prayers. I know in my heart that God has big plans for you. He has to be ... w/ how the devil's fighting you. I'm going to be waiting anxiously for the praise reports that I know you're going to be giving soon. Tracy
