Truly Caring for People

Pastoring Paper People

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that is not profitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17)

At the beginning of each month, a report which tallies the giving, and the attendance from the previous month's services is compiled. We send this monthly report to our District headquarters, and to other denominational offices. On the bottom of the back side of this report, there is a section which asks for a count of the church membership. This membership is divided into active, and inactive status.

As a small church, we readjust this number to provide a fairly accurate accounting every few months, and it is a somewhat easy thing to do. I know that large churches do not have an easy time accurately keeping such statistics. Some large churches throw out general numbers, hoping to be close to the mark, and others have elaborate software programs charting the attendance, giving, and involvement of their members.

Even in a small church of 75 people or less, it can be very easy to lose track of the spiritual condition of some of the members. A month can go by, before we really notice the fact that Bill hasn't been there; or that Mary hasn't been attending the home fellowship group, to which she had been faithfully committed.

As the membership, and attendance numbers increase, the complexity of keeping up with the spiritual pulse of the people also increases.

The dilemma of Acts chapter 6 is an example of the early church being faced with this same problem. The neglect of the Grecian widows was brought to the attention of the apostles, and much like today, there was murmuring among the congregation.

Just as the early church was faced with the problem of neglecting the sheep, if by no other reason, than the sheer size of the church, so we too are challenged in the same manner.

As I fill out the membership numbers on the back side of the monthly report, I wonder, how many of these have become "paper people."

Paper people often have no faces. They are just signatures on a membership form. They have names, but we couldn't remember those names without the membership directory. Some of them have families, but we are not sure if those families are healthy, or if they are on the verge of relational collapse. Others are very lonely, but we do not hear their cries, or see their tears. They have become just paper people.

Some paper people may have faces, but they are vague shadows. Sure, we could place the name with the face, but beyond this basic information, we are sadly lacking in any accurate accounting of their souls.

It is easier to track monthly giving, than it is to gauge godly living. It is simpler to count attendance, than it is to number tears, troubles, and tensions. It is easier to monitor a member's church involvement, than it is to know their reputation. So it is, that very naturally, our membership becomes paper people.

Paper people are easy to pastor. Paper people have no needs. Paper people are usually happy. They have no hurts. They do not get divorced. They do not abuse their children. Paper people have few money problems, and no relational problems. They have no addictions, no sorrows, few sicknesses, and fewer misgivings about their Christianity.

Real people with real names, and real faces have the full range of problems associated with this fallen human race. They are addicted, lonely, frustrated, struggling, and hurt.

Pastoring real people is a messy job. For every victory, there seems to be a battle lost. For every friend gained, there seems to be a desertion. For every glimmer of hope, there have been a number of shots in the dark. Oh, how we have hoped against hope, that something would break through and reach these real people.

When real people leave us, we know why. I hate knowing why people leave the church. Often, it is just too personal. This tendency to shy away from the such personal interaction, is evidence to me, that sometimes I would prefer to allow people to remain paper people. When they become real, I become vulnerable.

Perhaps, I should stick to the desk during the week. I could study. I could pray. I could organize. I could preach, and smile when Sunday comes around. I could handle the few people who force themselves into my little world, but for the most part I could pastor a very nice church of paper people. Doesn't it sound simpler?

Somehow, I don't think that is what Jesus had in mind, when He said to me, "Feed my sheep."

Monitoring beyond the basal metabolism:

When our members have become paper people, there are certain small bits of information we may be able to accurately monitor, but getting beyond these basic pieces of knowledge becomes an impossible task to perform.

For the sake of pastoral care, it is good to know whether a member is a liberal giver, or (as we may so often use as a gauge of surrender to the Lord in the arena of finances) if they are tithers. This can be one thermometer of the temperature of one's love for God.

Church attendance is also good to count. A person's spiritual health may be seen in the attendance records. Infrequency in attendance is often an evidence to a backslidden condition.

Knowing the involvement of an individual in the activities, and ministries of the church is another positive piece of information we can keep. Working in the ministry of the church is evidence of one's zeal for the things of God. Likewise, non-involvement in kingdom work is evidence of one's lack of concern for the things which concern God.

Yet, these basic bytes which we load into our church membership software programs are insufficient pieces of information, from which to monitor the spiritual condition of the people we pastor.

They can tithe, and not even be saved. The Pharisees tithed, and it was not enough to ensure their inclusion to the kingdom of God.

Our members can be there every time the doors open, yet this too is not enough to guarantee their place in heaven. I am not a Christian because I attend church services, rather I attend church services because I am a Christian. The person who does not understand this difference, may not understand Christianity at all.

In the day of judgment, there will be people who will stand before God, and boast of their accomplishments for Him. "Did we not cast out devils in your name?" they will say. Yet, the Lord will remark, "Depart from me I never knew you, you workers of iniquity." (Matt. 7:21-23) Apparently, involvement in the work of the church is not enough to get a person to heaven.

If these pieces of information are all we are able to track concerning the spiritual welfare of the individual, then we have only pastored them as paper people. And, if they are paper people, then we are truly ignorant concerning the condition of their souls.

Giving, attendance, and church work are not even the basal metabolism of Christian living. These may be outward signs of an inward work of grace, but they may be evidence of legalism as well. The monitoring of these outward signs is similar to finding a man's body lying motionless in the street and saying, "That body has brown hair, brown eyes, and is about six-feet tall. Therefore, it must alive." The heartbeat has not been monitored, and no one has checked to see if he was breathing. How can we be sure that he is alive? In similar manner, neither are giving, attendance, and church work conclusive evidences of spiritual life.

There are other spiritual bits of information, which may be kept concerning the spiritual life of a church member. The date of a person's commitment to give their lives to Jesus, the date of their water baptism, and in Pentecostal circles - the date of a person's baptism with the Holy Spirit: These are all good things to know, and although they are certainly more accurate in determining the spiritual condition of the individual, they are still not absolutely conclusive evidences of salvation.

Many people have gone to the altar for salvation, and still are bound for hell. We may walk to the altar, and we may talk the Christian talk, but God saves us through repentance, and faith, not because we walk and talk.

In reference to baptism, Coleman Phillips, one of my former pastors used to say, "A person can go down a dry sinner, and come up a wet sinner." The act of water baptism, as important to the life of the church as it is, is still by no means proof that salvation has occurred.

The baptism with the Holy Spirit is a fairly accurate gauge of one's place with God. There is certainly not the room within this book to discuss this issue, so it must suffice to say, that I believe, that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is a work of empowerment in the life of the believer which is available to all who are saved. The release of the gift of tongues is the primary evidence we have of determining whether this baptism has occurred. Yet, I have personally heard, and seen demon possessed individuals speak with tongues. Certainly, it was not God's Spirit, Who spoke through them, and so, even tongues is not absolute evidence of salvation.

Even though these spiritual markers (the date of commitment to the Lord, water baptism, and the baptism with the Holy Spirit) are much more accurate gauges of spirituality than giving, attendance, and church work, they are still by no means conclusive of salvation to the outside observer, who can only gauge what he can see, and can not see the heart.

Although, I too, will readily deduce that the person who has gone to the altar, been water baptized, and baptized with the Holy Spirit is a Christian, I am still left with a gaping hole in my information. I may be able to assume that they are saved with relative surety, but I am ignorant concerning the health of their walk with Christ. This information does not tell if they are growing in grace.

Perhaps, I have felt for the pulse, and I have seen that someone is breathing, but am sure that he is healthy? The day of our salvation does not bring us to spiritual health, it brings us to spiritual life. Even the sick man has life, but he certainly does not have health. His heart is beating, and he is breathing, but he may yet be in serious condition. I know many saved people, who are spiritually sick - sometimes I myself fall into that category. I am sure that you know people like this too.

Relational Christianity must break beyond the tendency to be satisfied with information which monitors only the basic information concerning the members of the church. By doing so, will we be able to develop healthy Christians. We must learn to do more than monitor the basal metabolism of the spirituality of the people we pastor. Until we do so, they will remain just "paper people."