I heard an American preacher in the radio today telling his frustration about his Pinoy associates who are feeling pressured in the ministry. But instead of encouraging them, he lets them feel guilty by stating that "pressure" is mentioned in the Bible and its only connected to temptations to do wrong. There is no reason for a person loving God to be pressured in the ministry.
He then contrasted this dilemma by saying it's a pleasure to serve the Lord and those that are pressured in doing so should quit serving God. He then added that it is love that should motivate us to serve the Lord and never be pressured. Okay.
These are all Biblical truths that we need to receive wholeheartedly, however, the pressure of the young pastors, in reality, is not connected in serving the Lord and the people. The real pressure has something to do with LEGALISM in ministry. Let me explain this.
He didn't mention the fact that,
1) 200 visitations of individual persons has to be done only in 5 days and if not totally done, these young pastors won't get their full salaries for that week and less or no gas allowance will be provided for them the following week.
2) Not finishing the quota for the week will result to the supervisor losing a part of his or her salary as well for that week because she or he is accountable to that person involved. Losing a Church member too will have financial consequences.
3) Those that didn't complete their quota will receive a reprimand from their supervisors and eventually the thing will reach to the highest ranks giving them a bad name at work.
4) Visitations if not done 100% all the time will eventually lead to termination of that pastor. All efforts are not acceptable unless it meets to that kind of standard.
5) While out in the field, a pastor must turn on GPS so that his supervisor can track his or her whereabouts and receives random checks if in case his/her location is not aligned to the itinerary he or she submitted to his supervisor. Suspicions arise anytime these two data are not aligned.
6) These pastors have a lot of other responsibilities like daily 1 to 2 hrs. Bible studies, weekly meetings, a whole day and a half in Church assisting people. A 13hr workday is the minimum time they are required to fulfill that eventually causes them to not spend enough time for their own families.
What's happening is that the quota cannot be met 100% of the time and eventually the pastor either falsify records, quits the ministry or fulfill the job most of the time but neglect their spiritual lives or their families altogether.
I feel sad to hear this old song sung over and over again. I know that if I were to count the pastors who left the ministry over the years under this American preacher, I can fill a 100 seat room to capacity. Where are those servants of the Lord who once enjoyed the work of the Kingdom but are now gone?
I encourage you if you are one of these people I'm referring to, lift up your eyes to the Lord for He is the lover of our souls. He is your first love. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Always remember that our labor in the Lord is not in vain so keep serving Him and never do it just to please someone.
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