Many years ago, during the dot.com boom, I worked at a company called Freeworks. They were trying to get an online payroll company going. Their goal was to provide limited payroll for free and then add on a “per client” basis. Alas, they could not get anyone to sign up to try it and they were bought by Quicken and all the employees were terminated. The CEO of Freeworks was a staunch atheist. He made that clear and informed the employees of his disdain for the things of God quiet often. He had the money to send his children to the finest private school in the land. Because he did not want to send them away, he sent them to a local private school. The highest rated private school was Redwood Christian which is a Christian private school. Every night he would sit down with his daughters and tell them that the story of Noah and David and Goliath were moral fables. My prayer during my time at that company was that his daughters would get saved and then their whole household.
Many years after the company dissolved, I saw him and his wife at a San Jose art festival. He informed me that he was now a patent attorney for Adobe. When he asked me what I did, I said that I was now a pastor. Without saying a word, he grabbed his wife’s hand, turn around and walked quickly away.
I find that people who do not go to church and who have a negative view of the church will usually stop the conversation when I say I am a pastor. If someone attends church they will usually ask me which church I pastor. This is because those who attend church are interested to see if they have heard of it or if they know anyone who goes there. People who are very involved in church, in leadership of their church will usually want more details, like our denomination and size.
Several weeks ago I was talking with a college professor at a college in Michigan. When I said that I was a pastor, he became very philosophical. He wanted to talk about the value of churches in society and things like that.
In America people used to be valued based on their jobs. One person might ask what another does. The answer is then judged based on how valuable this is to the asking person. Perhaps there is an interesting story or a stock tip or perhaps this person is someone that is good to know. If a person is a religious worker or a pastor, most lay people don’t know what that entails or what value that has. Most people will take all their experiences with priests and pastors and churches and focus them on me. So next time someone tells you they are a pastor, simply say, “how interesting, tell me about it.”
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| Freeworks.com |
I find that people who do not go to church and who have a negative view of the church will usually stop the conversation when I say I am a pastor. If someone attends church they will usually ask me which church I pastor. This is because those who attend church are interested to see if they have heard of it or if they know anyone who goes there. People who are very involved in church, in leadership of their church will usually want more details, like our denomination and size.
Several weeks ago I was talking with a college professor at a college in Michigan. When I said that I was a pastor, he became very philosophical. He wanted to talk about the value of churches in society and things like that.
In America people used to be valued based on their jobs. One person might ask what another does. The answer is then judged based on how valuable this is to the asking person. Perhaps there is an interesting story or a stock tip or perhaps this person is someone that is good to know. If a person is a religious worker or a pastor, most lay people don’t know what that entails or what value that has. Most people will take all their experiences with priests and pastors and churches and focus them on me. So next time someone tells you they are a pastor, simply say, “how interesting, tell me about it.”
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