"I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask him the real questions," a quotation from the book Night by Elie Wiesel. In 2010 when Francis Chan left his mega-church where he served as pastor for 16 years to move to a poor section of Asia with his wife and four children and to give away profits from his best-selling book Crazy Love which has sold 2.2 million copies, some told him something like Estas Loco! (Are You Crazy!)
Yet God doesn't call everyone into Christian ministry to be a pastor or to even remain a pastor for life. God will compel us to change. Acts 6:1-4 New Living Translation Bible says, "But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”"
Like the apostles gained greater freedom to teach the Word by delegating some of their other duties, Chan has greater freedom to teach the Bible to more people now that he is free from being the pastor of one particular church.
Feeding people and being a pastor are important Christian ministries. Matthew 25:34-40 the Message Bible says, "“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’"
Ministry leaders are of various types. Ephesians 4:11 Amplified Bible says, "And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers."
Instead of calling people crazy who have the audacity to give up pastorates at the height of their success or to reduce job duties, why not encourage them in the proclamation of the Word of God? Romans 10:13-14 English Standard Version Bible says, "For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"
Chan is both a Christian speaker and writer. The Apostle Paul was both a speaker and writer. Paul wrote most of the New Testament. Paul spent a lot of time studying the Bible and other reading materials. One of the nice things about the written word is one can stop at any time to pray, think and meditate without being compelled to go onto the next sentence. Use books, magazines, newspapers, CDs, DVDs, speeches and other media to study the Bible and apply its teaching to everyday living. 2 Timothy 2:15 Amplified Bible says, "Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth."
Intimate study of the Bible should establish that those like Chan are not insane but in tune with the will of God. Chan is now back in the United States after nine months of ministry in Asia. He is focusing on one-on-one discipleship. Civil Rights Activist Ella Baker who helped to found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and had various jobs with the NAACP including national director of branches said, "You didn't see me on television, you didn't see news stories about me. The kind of role that I tried to play was to pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come. My theory is: strong people don't need strong leaders." Baker didn't mean that leaders shouldn't be strong but rather all people should be strong, and all people are called to lead. In Genesis God gave all people dominion over the planet. Genesis 1:27-28 Complete Jewish Bible says, "So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.” "
Some families will consist of couples of domestic engineers and their spouses some with children some without children, singles, single parents, dual-income couples with children some without children and other types of families. All people can benefit from one year or more of paid leave from employment to help them fulfill God's command to rule the planet. Read my articles "Push for Paid Leave" and "Something Horrible Happened?"
Many women have spoken in favor of paid maternity leave. Dads and moms what do you think about one year or more of paid leave from employment? Singles what do you think of one year or more of paid leave for mission trips, volunteerism and other activities?
Do we even really need to give employers a reason for taking one year or more of paid leave?
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