That's a question that's long been debated in many circles. There's a lot of pressure put on the pastor of churches to grown the church and fill the seats. But is it really fair to the pastor to have such high levels of expectations for a job that is so overwhelming?

Growing a church is no easy task. Ask anyone who has ever been involved with ministry of any kind and they will tell you it's not easy. But, people tend to think that all she/he has to do is preach the word and come running they will. Not so. It takes quite a bit of planning and strategy to grow a church to any size, whether that's 50 or 100.

Starting this week, we will look at just who IS responsible for growing congregations and how much shouyd be realistically expected. As we go on, I would love your input and comments, especially from those of you who are pastors. This should be an interesting journey!

        

Hillary was pretty put out by the remarks made by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. She was so put out that she made the remark that "if that had been her pastor who had made those inflammatory remarks, she would have left her church." Does Hillary go to church? Sorry, I digress...

Per the Huffington Post:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a wide-ranging interview today with Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporters and editors, said she would have left her church if her pastor made the sort of inflammatory remarks Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor made.

"He would not have been my pastor," Clinton said. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."...

"You know, I spoke out against Don Imus (who was fired from his radio and television shows after making racially insensitive remarks), saying that hate speech was unacceptable in any setting, and I believe that," Clinton said. "I just think you have to speak out against that. You certainly have to do that, if not explicitly, then implicitly by getting up and moving."


While Hillary is absolutley right on Rev. Wright making those offensive remarks, I still take issue with her point of "choosing your own pastor." Do you really get to do that? Or should you even want to do that?

In the Pentecostal arena (where I grew up), folks were "led" to a pastor, to someone who could feed them the Word of God and teach them how to grow. In this current religious and political climate, it seems more that folks are choosing who they want to lead them, what they want them to say and how they should say it and if they don't get their way, they're subject to hold them hostage until they do. Leading people is more about dictating and directing. When the spiritual leaders of my day were your authoritarian's, they were more concerned about your well being and how you fared spiritually than just telling you what to do. So when someone "chooses" a pastor, are they really choosing someone to lead them or someone they can lead?

What do you think?

        

I blog daily on a website designed for women in business called Biz Chicks Rule. The blog is designed to offer tips, advices and resources on how women in business can advance and make the most out of their business efforts.

        

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The Scientology following has recently added a new member to its following - - actor Will Smith.