![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Dinah on April 2, 2005, at 23:06:18
Our church rotates them regularly.
I'm worried. I'm very picky about my theology. This one has numerous flaws, but his theology is in reasonable agreement with my own.
I can't be guaranteed that his replacement will be equally in agreement, not even if they all received their training in approved Divinity Schools. I know this, because my husband won't let me go to services when our pastor is out of town anymore. Or he'll let me go but makes me sit in the rear of the church.
I know I'm begging trouble, because I haven't met the new pastor yet. He or she might be perfectly acceptable. But it is anxiety provoking, because the only other alternative in our current denomination is one I'd rather not choose, because we know too many people there. And I can be an embarassing liability for my son and husband in church.
And we worked so hard to find this denomination. I don't think we could find another as much in tune with our beliefs.
Ok, I really shouldn't worry yet.
The denominational belief seems to be that it is your fellow churchgoers that make up a church, and you choose the people you want to go to church with and live with the pastor, whether you like him or not. Because he won't be there that long anyway.
Arrrrgh.
Posted by rayww on April 3, 2005, at 8:52:55
In reply to We're getting a new pastor :(, posted by Dinah on April 2, 2005, at 23:06:18
A little boy handed a tithing envelope to his Bishop and said "this is for you". The Bishop accepted it and told the little boy he should write on the envelope whether the money inside was tithing, humanitarian aid, or missionary fund. The little boy replied, "no bishop it is for you. My parents say you are the poorest bishop we have ever had".
We are all just a bunch of imperfect people trying to do the perfect work of the Lord. We don't always like the members of our congregation, or our leaders, but our faith and belief should be constant. It takes one person to make a congregation spiritual. that same person can also do the opposite by being critical. Be the one who is one with god and look at the glass that is half full, rather than the half empty. Go to church and worship the Lord however you may. Make community.
Will your former pastor become a member of your congregation now, or will he move on to another area? One thing I appreciate at home is that old Bishops never go away. They can be the Bishop one day, and a primary teacher the next. Which one is the more noble calling? Answer: both, there is no call in the church greater than any other. As Paul said, "the church has need of every member."
http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/84/110#110
http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=%22member&search.x=27&search.y=8
Posted by Dinah on April 3, 2005, at 10:27:38
In reply to Re: We're getting a new pastor :(, posted by rayww on April 3, 2005, at 8:52:55
They go from church to church like professional football players. :(
This one had some interpersonal shortcomings, according to other members. And some complained he was too "high church", although I don't think you could get me to complain of that. I like a dignified service. And he gossiped. That I saw myself.
But I was reasonably sure that I wasn't going to have to tell my son that although some Christians believed what the pastor said in his sermon, not all did, and that I in fact didn't, and here were the historical reasons behind the different beliefs.
Sometimes I worry about Sunday School.
I do understand the position that the congregation *is* the church, and the pastors come and go. But I don't think I can subscribe to it, personally, although it's fine for those who make more interpersonal connections at church than I do. But for someone like me, the pastor always will be the church, and I can like or dislike the fellow congregants without worrying about it overmuch.
I keep promising myself I won't worry about it. But the relief ministers they've sent us while our minister is on vacation have been a scary lot. One of them attended our Sunday School and basically prayed for my immortal soul, which was apparently in great jeopardy. And she's one of the two who my husband will not let me attend her sermons, even in the back row. While my current pastor holds that learning and investigation and reason are some of God's great gifts to us, and that the church has no objection if I use mine to come to a slightly different position than the norm.
I don't think I want to go to a church where the pastor feels they need to literally pray for me in front of others, however delicate the actual words are. (Yes, she actually used my name. It was the last time I attended Sunday School, probably six months ago.)
Posted by Dinah on April 3, 2005, at 12:00:55
In reply to Re: We're getting a new pastor :( » rayww, posted by Dinah on April 3, 2005, at 10:27:38
We heard something about the new pastor, and it probably won't be too extreme a change.
Whew!
I was afraid it was going to be the one who prayed for me in public.
Posted by rayww on April 3, 2005, at 12:22:58
In reply to Maybe not so bad, posted by Dinah on April 3, 2005, at 12:00:55
At first I caught the humor in your comment, but then remembered many prayers offered in public for individuals that were actually answered. Was yours?
Posted by Dinah on April 3, 2005, at 13:45:28
In reply to Re: Maybe not so bad » Dinah, posted by rayww on April 3, 2005, at 12:22:58
Well, since the purpose of the prayer appeared to be that I should believe the way the others believed, I imagine it didn't really. :)
But then, I like to think my immortal soul wasn't in too much danger to begin with. And I don't particularly like people to pray for me in that particular way.
Posted by mair on April 9, 2005, at 6:22:53
In reply to Re: Maybe not so bad » rayww, posted by Dinah on April 3, 2005, at 13:45:28
Dinah - that sounds awful and would pretty much have mortified me to be placed on the spot like that.
You'd think that ministers would truly appreciate people who think about faith and theology as much and as deeply as you do. At least you're intellectually engaged. Isn't someone like you preferable to someone who just sort of goes through the motions? I guess if that were the case, there wouldn't be such things as heretics.
I'm glad you can keep going - at least until you've got the new guy figured out. (;
mair
Posted by Dena on April 13, 2005, at 10:55:25
In reply to Re: Maybe not so bad » rayww, posted by Dinah on April 3, 2005, at 13:45:28
Dinah -
How is your new pastor working out? Are you able to connect emotionally/spiritually?
Are dissenting views and/or questions allowed, or even encouraged?
Do you feel respected and heard?
I hope so!!!
I'm learning that all truth is able to be questioned, scrutinized, and even deconstructed.
If it's truly true, it will remain.
If it isn't, then it should fall by the wayside...
And, ULTIMATELY, I'm not qualified to say what's truly true! Only God is - and He seems to ensure that much of it remains a mystery to us...I'm learning to walk that tenuous path of not completely knowing, and yet still trusting...
Shalom, Dena
Posted by Dinah on April 16, 2005, at 21:37:34
In reply to Re: Maybe not so bad » Dinah, posted by Dena on April 13, 2005, at 10:55:25
Sorry, I hadn't checked this board in a while.
The new minister won't be here till June sometime. I ought to go enjoy the old one for a while, until he goes. But I haven't been going to church regularly since the incident with the guest minister. And I hadn't felt comfortable in Sunday School for even longer than that, since our old Sunday School teacher left.
It's bad of me, I know.
Posted by Dena on April 16, 2005, at 22:24:26
In reply to Mair and Dena, posted by Dinah on April 16, 2005, at 21:37:34
>>>It's bad of me, I know.
Nah... more like understandable of you. We tend to avoid getting burned again...
God understands. He'll lead you to those you can connect with. Stay open - they may show up in *quite* unexpected venues!
Shalom, Dena
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Faith | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.