I got a chance to go have lunch at a pastors roundtable (they were more rectangular...who knew!) at C3 church in Clayton, NC just south of Raleigh. C3 is an ARC planted church with a great relationship to Seacoast. Last year at one of our all-staff meetings in Mt. Pleasant I got to meet and pray with Matt Fry, the senior pastor at C3 (although I don't think he remembered that). It meant a lot to me to be able to pray for a guy I look up to in ministry.
One thing is for sure, C3 knows how to host and make people feel special. On arrival, we had our picture made with Matt and his wife Martha along with the special guests for the roundtable Joe and Lori Champion from Celebration Church in Houston. We went in for lunch and on Carries chair there was a goody purse with earrings, bangle bracelets, and lotion! I got a Starbucks card, a notepad and a coffee mug. Sweet!
The discussion was fantastic. It was uncanny how a lot of stories around the table sounds the same as mine in a lot of ways. The main point in the discussion was the balancing act that pastors have to make in regards to people in their churches seeing them as friends or pastors. It is really hard to be both. I knew it was hard in youth ministry, but it is twice as hard as a pastor to adults. I have great friends in our church and I desperately want to pastor them, but it is tough when you have close relationships with them. It can sometimes color the way you treat them or keep you from confronting when you need to. A great discussion that opened up a lot of thought for me as we move through building this campus.
Oh, BTW when we were leaving we received a framed copy of the picture we had taken upon arrival. A great touch! We were blown away by the generosity and thoughtfulness.
Overall, today my passion for our church was renewed and I met some awesome leaders. I am so incredibly fortunate to be able to rub shoulders with guys like Surratts, Frys, and Champions. One thing that I do know is that God has me in that position to learn so that I can accomplish some great things for the kingdom. Im ready to go!
1 comments:
Okay... so are you y'all like the celebrities with the swag bags at the Emmy's or what??? Sounds nice that they did all that--and a Starbucks card!! :)
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