This post has been inspired through 3 separate things:
- Daniel wrote a comment on my post about seminary from last week that made me think. He said, “I thought all believers were called into ‘ministry’….Where does this idea that certain followers of Christ are called into a deeper level of ministry come from? In scripture I see different giftings amongst the entire Body, but no secondary ‘callings’…There is only one calling, the call to pick up our cross and follow Him.”
- Kurt posted a video yesterday of Francis Chan talking about how we avoid taking risks all the time.
- Todd Rhoades posted about a pastor recently hired in New York being paid $600k a year.
The American church loves to pamper their pastors. Sure, tons of pastors go through burnout and are overworked, but tons of pastors also get loads of vacation, get paid some mind-numbing salaries, and speak once a week.
Jesus went through his entire ministry as a homeless man who traveled from town to town for the sake of ministry. He also encouraged his disciples to do the same.
It seems that churches and pastors would rather live comfortable lives than live radical lives for the sake of the mission. As Shane Claiborne says, the message of Jesus should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
I can’t help but think Jesus had something a little more radical in mind than what we’ve come up with.
