In the year 2000, I filled in as interim pastor for a couple of months in a small New Mexico town while the leadership searched for a new pastor. Then in December, the elders surprised me by asking me to be their pastor. I said "No."
The church had a history of ups and downs with a poor reputation. It was 200 miles from where I lived, and I already had a 55-hour-per week employment; so you might understand why I didn't want to accept the call. Part time at that distance was okay, but I didn't want to commit to full-time.
The elders and I discussed the logistics, and they eventually offered a parsonage we could use, agreeing that I would keep my current employment.
But a 400-mile round-trip every weekend? Huh-uh!
They asked me to pray about it. Now I was trapped. Christians, especially pastors, can't refuse to pray: that's against the rules.
I found out that God must have a sense of humor, because after praying about it, it seemed like the Lord was prompting me to accept. So on Jan. 7, 2001, hesitantly I accepted the call.
Now my attitude was different. Why? Instead of merely filling the position while they were supposed to be looking elsewhere for a pastor, my new objective was to find out why the church was having ongoing problems. Maybe I should have already known, but I had decided to let the next pastor figure it out.
However, I did my pastoral homework and it didn't take long to discover the problems. To put it mildly: a lack of Christian love ruled the roost. The owner of the local grocery store told me the church was known as "the Fighting Church." That didn't make me feel any better.
Part of the problem was, as is common in many local churches, poor communications and unwillingness to compromise on small issues in order to make headway on larger concerns. How was I going to turn it around?
Did I mention that God has a sense of humor? Keep reading.
After the service one Sunday morning, two of the elders and I were discussing an idea that I thought would help the church. They didn't agree, so I invited them outside the church building to look at the situation. I hoped that by looking at the problem, it might help them understand my point of view.
Reminding me that they disagreed, they listened anyway.
The church building was in the countryside, and a ranch was across the fence. Choosing my words carefully, I laid out my thoughts, and I was convinced I had won them over. But at the very moment I said my last word, the donkey in the adjacent field spoke!
I haven't heard a donkey bray that loudly before in my life! Of course, the elders and I began to laugh at the timing of the interruption. But to make matters worse, my lead elder said as loudly as the donkey, "My sympathies, exactly!"
The three of us broke out in an uproarious laughter, and the tension that had been mounting between the three of us was shattered.
When I muttered, "Dumb donkey!" the other elder said, "He's not dumb. He spoke his mind quite clearly." More laughter ensued, and we went back into the building to get some coffee -- mine with cream and sugar.
As we went back inside, I remembered what my father told me when I was in high school: "Take others seriously, but don't take yourself seriously. Be willing to laugh at yourself, but not at others."
Then Romans 12:3b came to mind. "Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (NLT)"
Over coffee, I asked them to state their opinion -- again -- and I would listen carefully. In the next half-hour, I realized they were right, and we worked out an alternate plan.
That incident did more than settle a disagreement. As word got around to the church members that their pastor was willing to listen, they began to trust me.
Still working on the other problems, I preached on forgiveness four times a year -- that's what it took to settle the other personnel issues. And when I eventually resigned as pastor, that same groceryman told me, "Your church has a new name in town: the Loving Church."
I thanked God for prompting the donkey to speak.
GENE LINZEY IS A SPEAKER, AUTHOR, AND MENTOR. SEND COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS TO [email protected]. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.
Editorial on 01/23/2019