Is proffesionalism relpacing compassion in christian ministry?

Is it posible that we folks in ministry can become soo proffesional that we lack compassion?
I'm not thinking here of a super spiritual compassion, but a simple humane one!
Maybe we see all answers to problems in a theoligical setting? Maybe we cant move beyond our dogmas into a world of copassionate reality?
Our colleges/seminaries, teach us to be good theologians, teachers, organisers...but compassion isnt something that can be taught!
Jesus compassion comes to us in humane form, as a man He walked amoung us, wept with us, suffered our sufferings, and ultimatly edured agony for us on the cross!
Also, are we soo concerned about our own selfs appearing kinda perfect, instead of letting our own imperfections, humanity, be seen?
The only perfection I communicate to people is the Lords! I have no humane perfection, I have trials, moods, tears, stresses, and physical suffering, and yes share the fears that humanity has!
I am well taught in theology, missions, as are my many ministry friends throughout this world.
Although Jesus does speak theology, He is more noted for His compassion and love in the gospels. Is it the case, that we in ministry are more noted for our theology, teaching, ministry, abilaties, than possibly for our compassion?
I think when I was more theologicaly minded this question didnt enter my thinking, after all, all was right with my world, and theology had all the answers! But personal sorrow, pain, hardship, and my own awarness that I need the compassion of others, has shown to me, my past, and many at present in ministries failure!
Today I sit more besides people as a fellow humane being than some evangelical guru with all the answers in some book somewhere! I share their humanity, their suffering, as I am as they are!
Dont get me wrong, in no way have I deserted the gospels neccesity for salvation of souls, and I have not for a moment stopped teaching it! Its just I'm finding I share more than preach! Isnt this what Jesus did? Jesus off course preached, and taught, but Its His compassion that touches people, and quite frankly annoyed others!
Maybe we can only learn compassion through suffering? Personaly I would hope that this isnt always neccesary, but its seems that way! Those who suffer seem more compassionate and understanding, than those who dont!
My book shelfs are lined with many books on theology and missions. But my heart thats full of pain seems more valuable than all my books!
Minsitry friends, tommorrow when folks come to you, as you are preparing that sensational sermone, will compassion direct you or theology? No, I dont want you to cast aside theology, but all our teachings without compassion I beleive are as nothing!

As we seek reason...Do we loose it?

We all seek "Reason", a reason for our lifes, for our very existance on this plannet. We are creatures who need a reason for our existance, for our continuing to exist!
People seek this through a career, through marriege, etc! Others trace their linage, their family tree, most often looking for a noble past. We all, if we are truthfull need a reason to live, to explain our existance!
I, we all, need to feel valued. In my ministry I need to feel worthwhile, wanted, needed, childish as this may sound. I need to feel my employer values me, that I am of some worth, some good. Its a horrible experiance to find oneself not valued, it strikes at the very core of our existance.
We need to feel needed in personal relationships, this is why single folks often hurt so much, they can feel, not wanted by another, therefore of no value!
Children need nurcherd in that feeling of belonging, of being wanted, of having values, to be congratulated in even the smallest acheivment. If this is missing in a childs upbringing we will be left with a person who see's no value in themselfs!
As a christian I was taught about how God values me...that "If I had been the only sinner Christ would still have died for me". But does the church pass on this truth in an emotional way to me, too you?
We are receiving messages every day from society...If you have that good car you are a success, a person of value! If You have that position of power, you are a person of value! If you have the perfect family, you are a person of value, and so I could go on.
In touching the Leper, sitting with the tax-collector, being loving to the prostitute, Jesus not only healed, and saved, but He communicated to them their value in God's eyes! We often miss this out in our evangelism, we tell folks they need "To be saved", but do we give them a sense of their value?
We are all different, we all broke the mold. But one thing that we all share is a desire for reason, for our existance, for our coninuing existance.
When we are betrayed, rejected, ignored, are though badly off, whether justified or not, our sense of self value plumits, and our reason for existanse is brought into question!
If I cry out for help, for assistance, for understanding, yes for love, and I'm ignored, then this will, does affect, my fragile humanity! My humanity is part of the whole person I am spiritualy!
Who am I? There is the question? I'm a child, I'm an adolescent, I'm a young man, I am a theoligical student with dreams, a young husband, a husband, a father, a muture man, a man who has been in ministry for 27 years, I am all these at one time, as all the experiances, hopes, dreams, joys, and pain, make me the person I am today.
I suppose, I'm a "Nuclear Child" as Henry Nouwen would put it, still seeking for reason!
Oh dont get me wrong, I am totaly committed to God and His Kingdom. But, its that feeling of personaly value, "Reason" I seek for. This value this reason is communicated to me by those I know, worship with, work with, am employed by! If they dont find value in me, see a "Reason" for my existance, see me as a valued person, then how can I?
I phoned someone this morning, in an attempt to let them know, they are valued, that in my concern, they have "reason" their existanse is noted and valued!
I find most of the phone calls I get are worked related, or someone wanting something from me...nothing wrong with this. But very very seldom, does anyone phone me to celebrate my existance on this earth, to make me feel valued for myself!
We all seek this reason to value ourselfs, to be noted, worthwhile, wanted, needed, cared about! Often we can be left with only a feeling of being used! This leads us to feel, when we are past usefullness, we can be discarded!
Surely I/you are more than our work, our position, our possesions? I'm a person passing through this world but once, I am a vapour that vanishes in the rising sun. But I am also an etternal soul...a soul with feelings, yearnings, wanting reason for my existanse on this earth.
I hope and pray, that today, someone will reach out to you and me, and give us a feeling of "Reason" or worth, or tragicaly we may loose it!
Someone might shout out, "Hold on, God is your reason!" Yes I agree, but God communicated worth to the Leper , through Jesus, bye Jesus touching him. God works through us, through His people, if His people feel I am off no worth, the message isnt comming through, if they do, and communicate it to me, then there is hope in even my darkest night!

The Christian and Depression.

Many in this world suffer from what is loosely termed "Depression".
Many commit suicide each day because of it.
I would always advise against suicide obviously, but do think of the terrible suffering that causes a person to do such a thing!
Medicine has good resources, often the correct anti-depresant will help enourmously. To a lesser degree, counselling can help, but again counselling is just that, "Counselling"!
Depression can be hormonal, though I feel over emphases is given to the hormonal angle, as depression seems in most cases, to be caused by events, stress, etc! Or simply by how people are treated!
Various careers cause fepressions of various kinds. Law Enforcment does now recognise that the experiances of that career can lead to forms of isolationism and depression. Simply, folks in that proffesion can become isolated in their experiances from others in society, and yes the church!
The ministry itself is a fairly high depression incidents proffesion. Many factors may come into this...salery....lifestyle...always being the giver and never the receiver...not be supported properly...being unapreciated...etc etc.
But I want to take my thoughts even further. Why is there so much depression amoung christians? We have so many Bible passages promising wholeness, healing, peace,...and yet seem to have churches full of people who dont experiance these things. Tragic thing is, to my thinking, christians seem to accept this failure in their midst, to make excuses, or even simply blame the person suffering!
Also, as christians do undoubtedly commit suicide, we are burying our heads in the sand regards a major problem in our midst!
I beleive truthfully, that many start out in the christian life with high hopes of great things to come, of wonderfull experiances of God, that they slowly but surely become depressed as they realisticly see little, experiance little! Sadly many christians flirt from church to church, teaching to teaching, looking for that fix they yearn for...and yes, I dare to say it..NEED!
My simple observation is..that the emotional spiritual needs of people are not been met in our churches! This my friends is a disastor we are not facing up too. We may just simply not wish to accept that our churches are failing..are missing out...or dont have God in reality in our midst!
In fact, some christians feel we shouldent even discuss suicide as it may cause people to feel suicide as an alternative to their continual suffering. While totaly agreeing that suicide is never the answer...we miss the point...christians are already suicidal, or deeply depressed at least..and our not wishing to talk about the subject does nothing to help the issue!
Many long years ago at a ministers conferance, I heard a talk on "Ministerial Depression". I still remember it today because I have not heard such a talk since!
My feeling is...and its my person Blogg...my personal Journey...is that God dosent wish for soo many christians to be suffering depression. I feel there is an answer, but one I see very few christians looking for!
I would love to see more realistic care of christians suffering from this curse! I would love to see a more realistic scritural/spiritual reasearch being made into , Why christians continue to suffer so much from it?
What do you think? Have you any comments? suggestions? answers?

The Sinical Christian.

I prefer to look for positive things in my Journey through life and my spiritual experiance. I gave my life to God many long years ago and have no regrets. I gave my family to God also, and although I have suffered pain in this area, I still have no regrets.
But being sinical is often a temptation that is with me, sadly often well founded when I look at the church!
I have truely often found more love, careing, assistance from the world than I ever have from fellow christians.
But it was God Who saved me through Jesus, not His church! It is God Who loves me, even when His church fails. It is God Who I bare my heart too in the depth of the night, when I feel no christian cares!
Yes, I'm sinical regards much claimed by the church, and the attitudes of many in it. But I have no sinical feelings in regards to God, Who so loved me that He sent His "Only boggoten Son", that in my darkest night I have hope!

The fellowship of lonely tears.

Was travelling through some nice neighborhoods tonight looking at what appeared to be happy, pleasant homes, but remembered that behind those doors there would be people who suffer emotional pain, who bear scars, who feel alone!
Sometimes I feel if we listening intently enough we will hear the groan of suffering humanity. Lifes once so full of dreams, brocken, and brocken hearted!
I guess most folks dream of happiness in some way or other, probably most imagine a loving partner, children, posibly the family together cumfy and cozy on a winters night. But dreams shatter, loved ones die, families are torn apart, hearts are brocken, etc etc.
Why are people left so lonely in their grief and suffering? It could be the society we live in? It could be they arent the most sociable of people? It could be they withdraw from a world they feel never cared? I dont know all the answers I just know that folks are lonely and broken all around us.
But, folks are this way also in our church/christian communities! People who yearn for humane warmth and love in our midst dont find it! People go to church, smile, then go back to their lonely painfull existance! Maybe we expect, demand, too much from people! Someone said that sometimes evangelicals majored on praise and not on careing! As an evangelical I must say I agree with this statment. I have found people more interested in my theology than in me as a person! In many ways evangelical circles taught me to hide my feelings, fears, and pain. I learn that many folks werent really interested in who I am. I learnt to be accepted for certain theological points of view, not because I'm me! Who is me? I doubt that many know, or have wished to really know. They made up their own oppinions of me, for good, and many for bad, without every really finding out anything about me! Thus I, and others, are forced into, even in christian circles, lonely lives, as no-one has cared to find out who we really are, what tares us apart, etc!
I experiance times of lonely desolation, and if I do, then many others do as well. But maybe people will continue in the fellowship of their lonely tears because no-one cares to every know them?

The death of love in the christian church!

We christians talk a lot about LOVE...the Love of God...the LOVE for the lost...and the LOVE for one another.
I wonder sometimes how much we really LOVE God? Surely to LOVE God means we keep His commands? One of these it, "To LOVE one another".
I wonder how much we really LOVE the lost? Jesus wept over Jerusalem, do we weep for the lost anymore?
I wonder sometimes, do we really LOVE one another? How can there be a christian church if we dont?
Maybe we are too strategy orientated today, the work becomming everything? Maybe we are too proffesional? Maybe we are just kidding ourselfs often, that God is pleased with us?
I want to be LOVED, I need LOVE, but not just in words! I need it, as you do, in a practical way!
Jesus told us to go the other mile, but if we request help from our brethern we are often ignored!
If I ignore my wifes requests, my childrens needs, do I LOVE them? No! is the simple answer to this question.
If we ignore our fellow christians plight, sufferings, appeals for help, then is the LOVE of God in us?. This again brings forth a simple clear answer...NOOOO!

Helping the war worn christian worker.

Having been in ministry for 27 years I feel I have the experiance to talk on this subject.
Ministry, the christian life, has many twists and turns, many ups and downs.
There can come times for the individual christian in ministry, and their famalies, when they have had such a beating by the spiritual warfare they are in, that they need assistance and healing. If we were soldiers on a battle field and got wounded, or were police officers injured in the line of duty, all help and aid would be available for our recovery! But if we christian workers are injured in ourselfs, in our lives, in our spiritual ministry, it would seem that often we are left to lick our own wounds, while nearbye resources are withheld!
As in all my posts I point out, these are general statments and not directed at any specific persons or groups.
Christian ministry, through no fault of organisations, has to be a poorly paid proffesion, this means that the christian in ministry has not, usualy, the finacial resources, to aid themselfs and their famalies in times of need.
Also, the war worn christian, does feel the affects of their enviroment, spiritual situation in which they live and work, as does any other person.
The war weary christian often just needs a loving arm around them, practical support that often costs nothing, to be appreciated for all they have done, are doing! Sadly christians arent very good at recognising work of others!
So, kind words, an arm around ones shoulders, practical help, appreciation, are often all thats needed! But yet, many good christian workers lie on the battle field licking their own wounds, while help is nearbye but never released!

Is the church all movement and no life?

This again is a general question and aimed at no specific bodies.
We are well organised today as christians, we have missions, outreaches, various schemes going, but very little to show for it. Church numbers are either stagnated or going down! This at time church has more resources than it has ever had!
Christians look here and there for the answers to this dilema but seemingly without any results! In fact, we seem to repeat the same things over and over and over again.
May I suggest its not what we do thats failing, but we christians ourselfs!
We hear much talked about the Holy Spirit today, but truely see little evidence of Him at work!
In previous bloggs I have talked about christians seeking help and not getting it within their fellowship. About christian love being often absent, etc etc. These are all symptoms of a church going on in its own strenth, but not on the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is interested in people, where as the church often seems more interested in projects, just using people to fullfill these schemes!
When was the last Holy Spirit revival in the west? Some would say the last real one was on the Island of Lewis in north west Scotland 1949-1953!
Billy Graham certainly reached many, and many were saved, but can we call his campaigns revivals?
I will beleive I'm seeing the Holy Spirit moving again in our churches when I see real love being shown for other christians, when I see sacrificial christianity reach out to christians in need, and the lost!
I will beleive the Holy Spirit is again moving in our midst when people are looked on, not as means to be used to an end, but as vital individuals with needs of their own.
Remember always, revival begins within the church, amongst its people, not in is programmes!

Has true christian love deserted the church?

When I became a christian, as a young man, I beleived I was enterying the most wonderfull movement on this earth, The Church of the Living God! I still totaly beleive it is, because of its potential under God's authority and power!
I also felt in entering the church as a young man, I was enterying a fellowship full of LOVE! I loved reading I Corinthians chapter 13, which christian hasnt? In fact scriptures stress LOVE so strongly, that without it you really havent a christian church!
But I find, that we christians really find it hard to love, especialy each other..why is this? What is wrong with us, when we function without love...can this ever be christian?
Some times faces, class, ideas, charracters, dont fit, so folks are excluded to the side lines..this does happen!
Sometimes folks in real need are excluded from any real help...because a humane decides so!
What is going wrong when this happens?
Simply my friends, we are ignoring clear scriptural teaching, the commands of Jesus!
I love the church, I yearn pray for its being blessed! But if we allow love to desert us..yes love for even the unlovely..all out outreach, missions, seminars, praise, wont help us one bit, because we have left out the most vital ellement of true christian life, LOVE!
If you are reading this, THINK! Have I/we, excluded, refused help too, passed over, someone who is a christian because of some personal, institutional, predudiced? LOVE dosent allow us to make such decisions! Go and make it right, and be reconcilled to that brother/sister!!!

Has truth left the church at price of survival?

OK, lets be clear here, I'm not thinking of any one particular church, denomination, instituation!
But is it possible for some, to love their own good name, their financial needs, etc, that they will hurt, exclude, folks they feel are a threat?
Will some lie, blackwall, folks who might protest?
Or even ignore the needs of some who they feel havent given enough, or what they require, to them?
In this "My Journey" I am asking hard questions, questions others have brought to me, and I have fallen over personaly, in my 27 years of ministry.
To be clear for all readers, as a worker with London City Mission, I'm in no way talking about my mission between the lines!
This is a general question, do christion instituation seek survival more than , what pleases God?
Do individual christians seek their own welfare, benefit, before what pleases God?
I feel many do, and this should hurt us all. It should hurt us, because it hurts God, and other christians.

When christians cry for help!

Its a real fact that christians need help as well as anyone else in this world. Christians face the same financial issues, social issues, health related issues, crime issues, that other folks do!

Christians like others communicate their need of help just like other humanes do, and christians usualy do it within fellowship circles that they belong too. Scripture clearly states we are to "Bear one anothers burdens", to me this dosent just mean a sympathetic ear! But sadly many dont even get a sympathetic ear! We are told, "You will know they are christians by their love!" Is loving really showing itself in many christian circles today?

So, if I, or any other christian askes for help, what should be the reaction from other christians? Its simple really, isnt it, our brothers and sisters in Christ should rally synpatheticaly and practicaly to our aid, and that of our families, if families needs are included! Yet my own experiances, and the shared experiances of many other christians, show this dosent always happen!

Maybe we all have become so functional that we have forgot the main function of the church is LOVE!

Love for God .
Love for each other.
Love for the lost.

Its three poles that support each other to make the christian whole!

We cant love each other and the lost, and not love God...that can never be christianity!
We cant love God and each other, and not love the lost...that can never be christianity!
And dear friends, We cant love God, and love the lost, but not love each other...this also can never be christianity!

Has a christian cried out for help today, have they been heard, or are they being ignored!?
You who read this blogg will know the answer in your own situation!

Let us love one another...to do otherwise denies the whole christian principal!

What is fellowsip? What should it be?

I guess we all have a desire to be loved, to be worthy of others liking us, wanting to be around us, to be willing to help us in our times of trouble and heartach.
Society seems to say, "Do something worthy of respect!" In a real sense we are what we make of ourselfs. I guess most choose a career path for some self gratification, to be respected. After all life has taught us we must earn respect.
How does this develope into christian fellowship? I guess, this is my observation, christians have favourites, and will help those they approve of, whom they like! Some folks faces fit, others dont! I guess a sense of self worth, of self importance, helps folks feel worthy enough to fit in!
What if lifes experiances has led someone to have little sense of self worth? We are all different, does fellowship really concider this? I'm not sure it does!
There is meant to be christian love in fellowship, and christian love is meant to be something deeper than worldly love. Yet, christians seem often ignored, left alone, in their trials and troubles. I know christians who have just given up shareing their pain, problems, simply because folks stopped listening to them, they were reaching out, but got nothing back.
Maybe if I have to become worthy of christian love and fellowship I'm best without it, as that isnt christian fellowship!
Christian fellowship therefore is a spiritual ideal, not a man decided process. Who are we to decide who is worthy of our love, respect, help?
How many times does a person need to ask for help, to cry out with lifes burdens? Is it one or a hundred times? Surely sypathetic noises arent the best we can offer folks?
Maybe we just have that inbuilt yearning for to be loved, and love that is just words, well its false! God's love was words put into action. This is what He told us to do for others in fellowship, show sacraficial love. My simple observation is, I dont see much of it about in many fellowships!