Pastors in the Middle: Motivational Thoughts for Pastors in the Middle

By Rev.Dr. Hennie Brown Jr.

In this book Dr. Brown explores several reasons why pastors are in the middle. He says it is not by choice but by Gods divine plan to bring churches and Pastors closer together and to confront Satans attacks on churches. He encourages Pastors and the Christian community to know that God is our present help in times of trouble and he will protect them by his power, as written in Psalm 46:1. He challenges pastors in the middle to stay strong in the Lord and continue to put their trust in God who is our strength and sustainer and continue to work together to equip our churches and communities to confront Satans attacks on churches and Pastors around the world. Pastors are in the middle because they are appointed by God to become servants, and servants are always in the middle. Dr. Brown believes that just as sheep need human shepherds to feed and guide them, Gods sheep need spiritual shepherds called pastors to feed and guide them into stronger ministry. In this book Dr. Brown digs deeper into causes why pastors are operating in the middle in their churches and uses scripture to support these premises.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 19, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496901651

Book preview

© 2014 Rev. Dr. Hennie Brown, Jr. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/04//2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-0164-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-0165-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014906050

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

KJV—King James Version

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Table of Contents

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Introduction

Chapter 1 Scriptural call of the pastor

Chapter 2 The church call to the pastor

Chapter 3 The work of the pastor

Chapter 4 Pastor/member relationships

Chapter 5 Pastor/family relationships

Chapter 6 Pastor/community relationships

Chapter 7 Retirement of the pastor

Chapter 8 Post retirement activities of the pastor

Chapter 9 Legacy of the pastor

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

About the author

About this book

INTRODUCTION

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Have you as a church member, preacher or pastor felt yourself as being in the middle? Well you just might be and don’t know why or how you got there. If you have felt this way this may be just the book you need to read now. It may not have all the answers but it may help you understand why you are where you are in your spiritual walk with the Lord. It may also surprise you to know that God may have put you where you are so he could better use you in His purpose for your life. This book is about God, pastors and members, and how God places pastors in certain churches around the world and works through them to strengthen His church which is basically centered on pastors who are in the middle of the churches they pastor. One of the major problems facing pastors today is that they are truly in the middle in so many things involving the church and other issues around the world and oh how seriously a book of this nature is needed in the Christian community. In my opinion most pastors from time to time certainly find themselves in the middle in their churches. It is also my opinion that many churches around the world are under serious attacks from certain strong satanic forces within the church as well as forces outside, and unless there is some serious understanding between these two it may remain just that way until Christ comes back for His church.

What I am writing about may be controversial among some but it is certainly true with many pastors in the predominately African American churches and I believe also among other churches throughout the entire world. A great number of people look to pastors to find answers for many problems in our world today. In many cases when the world is faced with serious and difficult problems pastors are sought out for their opinions on how to deal with them whether they are church related or not. This puts pastors in the middle of so many things that go on in the church as well as outside the church. Although some pastors may have opinions about certain problems, and other pastors may have different opinions about the same problems. But because of their opinions about these issues pastors then become the ones in the middle. However, it is not always a bad thing to be in the middle in this way. I must say, however, it is different from one looking in the mirror, or as the expression often goes looking at the one in the mirror. What one sees when looking in the mirror is just a reflection of one’s self, but what pastors see from day to day is the true reality of one’s self. Truly this is the situation many pastors are facing in our churches today.

Some people may consider this as a Tell-Tell or a Tell-All kind of book that is written to reveal some personal inside or secret issues that go on between pastors, church members or in Pastoral Ministry as a whole. Perhaps there may even be some pastors and members who may not want to admit that this type of situation is present or is a problem in their churches and that’s all right. I certainly don’t want to come across as an authority on pastoral ministry, or to appear as one who knows more about this situation than anyone else. But maybe what I have to share will help some people in our churches today, or perhaps it could be considered as just a little talk between us Christians.

So many times we seem to think of Christ as being in the middle, but in reality He is not really in the middle, but instead He is all around us, as Paul puts it in II Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation.. He is all around us and sees everything we do, and hears everything we say. Surely he knows all our feelings and thoughts, and certainly His eyes are on his church. Pastors can stand strong knowing what He said to Peter, one of his apostles concerning the church in Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. This certainly will let those in His church know that Christ is in our midst. He also says that in Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. So, this being true, certainly, he is actually in our midst all the time. Therefore the pastor is really the one in the middle because God put pastors there knowing they would be in the middle. I intend for this to be a book that really tells it like it is, so to speak. I also intend to support this premise with certain selective scriptures and topics to give biblical support to what I am writing. You will also notice that in order to make this book more gender friendly I have consciously refrained from using (male or female) gender in reference to the title pastor.

I truly believe my own pastoral ministry would have been more fruitful and easy to cope with if I had read a book of this nature during my early pastoral ministry.