I had an interesting conversation yesterday with someone who was crushed that their best friend didn’t seem to be interested in what was going on in their life at the moment. (The person was in the midst of an emotional crisis.) That led to a conversation about how the pastor of their church didn’t seem interested either, though this was big enough that it was impacting the extended family.
The Daily Bread today had a devotional about friends and my mind wandered back to yesterday’s conversation. I thought about times I wished my friends had been calling. I thought of the solitude I felt, and imagined how this person felt. And I recalled the sadness when your spiritual leader doesn’t seem to care either.
But more than that, I thought about the churches today. Pastors don’t seem to have time or the inclination to visit the sick or new members like they did in the past. (I'm not saying that was the best use of pastorl time.) I struggle with the balance that’s needed in this area. Some churches, which can afford it, have someone on staff doing visitation, or they have a volunteer team.
Then I thought about Christ and how much time he spent “visiting.” I couldn’t think of a lot of examples. He even took his time when Mary & Martha had sent an urgent plea out to him on behalf of their brother. Then I thought about what Jesus was doing that made him too busy for “visitation.” He was winning lost souls.
Sometimes I think our pastors are forced to spend all of their time doing the work of maintaining a church building and overseeing the running of all the programs, leaving them without enough time to do the work they were called to…reaching lost people, and helping others grow in their faith so they in turn can do God’s work. And I wonder if we would be so hurt when we don’t hear from our pastors during a crisis time, if we knew they were ministering to other people, or sharing Christ with the lost.
And I wonder where I fall in the grand scheme of things when it comes to friendship and ministering to others in my church. It’s no wonder people spend so much time on Twitter, or on Facebook, or MySpace. And I wonder, what kind of friend am I?
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2 comments:
I think the key point is "IF" they are doing those things.
I know we had a VERY frank conversation with our leadership when Z was in the hospital because we'd heard from absolutely no one and we knew at least some people knew what was going on. The greatest despair we had was knowing we were on our own as far as support went. After that talk, things changed but gee whiz -- why was a confrontation even necessary?
I know it has kicked me in the pants to step it up a notch.
You know Lonnie I have experienced this feeling of isolation for much of my life and understand the frustration it brings. There are times where I have handled it well and sought the Lord for my comfort and there are times I did not handle it well and had a pity party for myself. There are also times I have learned that pride has gotten in the way of me picking up a phone and seeking out support from those who would have been more than happy to be there for me if I would have just asked. The bible says we have not because we ask not, so I would encourage your friend to ask for the support they need for no one is a mind reader (not even pastors lol).
Love in Christ,
Sandy
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