Consider what it means for both the pastor and the congregation to build on the assumption that both the pastor and the congregation are seeking to respond to God’s call. Since we are human, we begin with the understanding that though we have hopes and dreams of what that may look like, no one has a perfect understanding of what God’s call is for the congregation. Yet that is the real purpose of their life together. It is not to meet the human desires of each individual member or the aspirations of a pastor. It is to recognize that God has a purpose and God’s call does not always result in immediate human comfort. We are challenged to be part of something bigger than any of us.
From that perspective, even the conflicts and disappointments can be more than signs of failure. In fact, if it is true as Paul says, that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness, then the very discomforts may be a window onto God’s call even as they are a temptation to disobedience. As Gamaliel in Acts 5 suggested, human plans will eventually fail but you don’t want to be found fighting against God, so you must allow differences to open you to the possibility that God has more for you to understand. This is a hard truth for many Christians to understand in this age of anxiety. Yet for any congregation, it is an opportunity to grow in their response to God’s call.
The question for a new pastor is how does s/he guide a congregation in the discernment of God’s call in an age of anxiety.
