My friends at the Upstream Collective posted a note about their visit to a Taiwanese church on Sunday. The entire entry was interesting, but I found myself drawn to this particular thought:
We met Jerry, who introduced himself as a pastor. “What church are you the pastor of?” we asked. “Oh, I’m not the pastor of any church yet,” Jerry answered. “I’m the security guard of a large apartment building not far from here. I’m the pastor of all the people who live in that building.” Later, we learned that Jerry had only come to faith five months ago, and his wife, a former Buddhist who saw a radical change in her now-believing husband, decided to follow Christ as well.
For some reason we think that being a pastor means being on the staff of a church. Some people are also enamored with the title of pastor. It makes them feel important. But Jerry, well Jerry truly understands what “pastoring” is. He sees his “church” as all those who live where he works. He sees his job as a ministry. I suspect he sees his life as a ministry as well.
If only we could all adopt this mindset, what a difference the church could make in our world. Great job Jerry. We, in USAmerica, need more people like you.
