[I wrote this a couple of days ago. Apparently I did not publish this as I found it in "drafts". Last night Konerko got #2,000 in a losing cause....]
Yesterday the Chicago White Sox won 10-0. They beat a superior team for the second straight day. It has given a bit of hope to their fans, who have watched this team flounder all season. Everytime we reach .500 (which means win as many as you lose) they seem to drop four straight. One of the highlights of this otherwise disappointing year, has been the play of Paul Konerko. Last year, at age 34, he had his best statistical season, an anomaly for a power hitting first baseman. This year one expected some regression. Instead, he has followed up with a year only slightly less magical. The last month he has been lights out great as a hitter.
A few years back, having suffered through a sub-par year, he made a comment that he needed to work out harder in the off-season. Reaching his early thirties (at that time) he suddenly experienced a loss of skill. I assume he did work out and I think it clearly has produced results. His next hit will be his 2,000th and in late September he is on schedule to hit his 400th home run. Both of those are acheivements of note in baseball history. I have enjoyed his success.
Achievement. Most of us, unlike baseball players, do not have extensive statistics to measure our success. That is not all bad. Sometimes statistics are not as telling as we would like. In the church world, one measure of a pastor's success is the Sunday attendance. If lots of people go to your church, then you must be good. If there are fewer people, then you have done something wrong. From occassional articles on the subject, apparently I work in a field where lots of men are very distressed in their work.
When a minister is anxious or depressed, it is a double problem. First of all, their are the issues which produce the emotional reaction. Secondly, there is the response of others to the minister's distress. Ministers, after all, are not supposed to be distressed. They are supposed to be happy. And upbeat. And full of faith, hope and joy.
In general, though, the "church business" is not good. The media loves stories about wayward ministers, especially scandals. It is rare that one hears about the hard work of a faithful minister. But misbehavior, especially of a sexual nature, has lots of air time. This is not a gripe. I do not think ministers should escape scrutiny. But it has produced some issues. The role is diminished. The collar is viewed with suspicion by many. When I smile at a young child I sometimes worry that I am considered a predator. That is not just paranoia, people have made comments indicating that they consider priests a threat.
As the church in the USA continues to decrease, more and more church leaders are saddled with a growing sense of failure. In general, many of these leaders are men of a certain age, their 50's and 60's. As much as we would like to focus on loving God and following Jesus, there is still a nagging concern that diminishing attendance (or financial losses) are a proof that we are "not very good." We understand grace, but we also fear judgment. 'Fear of the Lord' and 'judgment' after all, are also resurring themes of the Good Book.
Lay people, by and large, are no less free of achievement anxiety. People who think and ponder such things recognize the gap between who we are and what we are called to be. Some claim that they rest in faith with no anxiety. They trust in the mercy and rely on grace. Such claims would be a source of great consolation IF those same people understood grace to be extended on the same terms to everyone. But even "only grace" Christians are able to identify individuals, even entire populations, which will be visited with judgment for sins unforgiven.
Jesus says, "Fear Him who can throw you into hell." Jesus says we are accountable for every word we utter. The New Testament has lots of mention of wrath, judgment and accountability. I do not think we should live in misery. I think we should trust that God desires that all be saved. But I think we need to be more focused. We will all be held accountable. And there is no statistical almanac where we can look up and see where we stand. And there is danger in turning a relationship with Christ into statistics, even stats like church attendance or financial giving.
It is good to take serious things seriously. It is also important not to sit around counting hours spent in prayer, chapters of the Bible read, or even the number of people we have witnessed to...
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