“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
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Baseball has many distinct features that separate it from other sports. One of those features is that the officiating is done by a group of umpires rather than the standard referees that are seen in a majority of sports. The umpires have always been a key part of the game, and since the dawn of the sport’s existence, the never-ending feud between umpires and managers has been a core aspect of baseball’s history. Even those who don’t particularly care for baseball are well aware of the all-out shouting matches that are bound to take place.
In much the same way, congregants and pastors may get into heated discussions. Over the past few years, I’ve heard so many pastors talk about how glad they are that they no longer pastor a church because of the kinds of things that people say to them about a sermon. The kinds of hate and anger that would be thrust upon them by members of their own congregation, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, is unbelievable to say the least. As a result, many people end up leaving that church or even going as far as abandoning church altogether.
This doesn’t mean we should sit by quietly if we feel something may be wrong and unbiblical with a sermon. In baseball, the manager can challenge a call. With a sermon, going to that pastor and asking the reasoning behind something that was said is going to be far more beneficial than going all-in on them.
I see a lot of similarities in these two occupations. Not to say that being an umpire is the same as being a pastor, but both of these jobs require knowing their field better than most, are thankless the majority of the time, and they only really get noticed for their work if people feel they aren’t doing their jobs well.
The kinds of things that are said to umpires and pastors are somewhat exclusive. The type of things a manager would say and how he’d say them to an umpire he’s disputing would probably be very different than how he would talk to anyone else. The same goes for a church member to a pastor.
It’s important to remember that at the end of the day, they’re just people. Pastors (and umpires) are flawed and broken by sin and will sometimes get things wrong, no matter how much experience they have. But we can hold them in regard in love because of their work for the Kingdom. We are told to work at living in peace with each other, so we should make every effort to do that, even in our questioning.
— Gannon Parker
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