Just what are you pastors doing?

     Jeremiah 23 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. ² Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. ³ “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. ⁴ I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

     There is a small town in North West Minnesota that I pastored for a it.  I learned that that church and the church a 1/2 mile away had once been one church.  It seemed that the members of the original church engaged in a quarrel pitting one group against the other.  Eventually, those who believed differently than the others went their own way, built a church and began worshipping in their own church.  The churches never reconciled.  What was this grievous offense for which they deemed it necessary to split the church?  Where was the pastor and what was he/she not doing so that the church could be tended to?  You won' believe this.  They disagreed on what color to paint the downstairs bathroom!  I wish this was an isolated example of the sins of the pastor and the resulting scattering of the flock.  In the final analysis the members of the original church never prospered.  They didn't grow and they resisted the Holy Spirit.  Ultimately this church will die when the members grow old and die.  Across the country there are empty broken down churches standing as a testament of a church without a leader who represented God.  

     I would imagine that there are all kinds of excuses as to why pastors don't do their job.  Mostly because of one or two reasons.  The first would be they serve the idiosyncrasies of a selfish focused people.  Second, they have chosen to not serve God.  I know that sounds harsh.  However, I have plenty of my own experiences and the church experiences to speak here.  What do you do pastors when you are called to serve HIM?  You are not called by a church.  You are not called by a power family.  You are most certainly not called to be paid a large salary.  You are called to serve God whether you are pastoring a church, shepherding a flock, or being the intenerate preacher bring the Gospel across the land.  You are called to serve God.  Simply put, if you aren't doing what God wants your church is most likely dead.  If you aren't doing what God wants then your church isn't blessed and the Gospel isn't being spread, lives aren't being saved and the