A Straw Poll

I remember seeing a college football coach giving an interview after being asked to leave the school he worked for. He commented that there were only two types of college coaches, "those that have been fired and those that will be." I remember thinking that there was something a bit cynical about his perspective, but it also rang true.

Recently, I was told that two different individuals had asked how to go about taking a vote of confidence on me. I have always wondered about the way churches use that phrase. In most parliamentary bodies it is not called a "vote of confidence" but rather a "vote of no confidence." Maybe church folks just want to say it in a nicer way. Well, nice or not, I have now come face to face with the issue for the first time in my pastoral career. I really did not know how to take this and I suppose my emotions were all across the spectrum. What was particularly irksome about all of this is that I had mentioned through the years that if folks wanted me gone, all they needed to do is come and explain to me why and tell me who agreed with them. That is not to say that I would leave over one crank, but there would at least have been the possibility of resolving the conflict rather than inflaming it and running the risk of embittering folks.

All of this led to a "straw poll" being taken while I was on vacation. I knew it was going to happen before it did and I suppose it had the virtue of assessing the feelings of folks before they polarized. Only 61 people voted and it was 44 to 17, or about a 70 / 30 split for me to continue as the pastor. Now, if I were a politician I would be elated with such an approval rating. The problem is I'm not a politician, I'm a pastor. The question I have to ponder now is, can I be effective if 30% of the church are wishing for me to move out of the parsonage? It is also troubling to me to think about who would follow me. Now, I have a healthy ego, but I don't think I'm close to being the best pastor to ever open a Bible. Could the church attract a dynamic, hard working, energetic guy who could motivate those who have not been motivated or better yet, find enough new folks, to remake this church? I really don't know the answer to that. I don't suppose anyone does.

One thought keeps circling through all of my thinking on this issue. Were people just thinking of this "straw poll" as a vote for the "status quo" or a vote for change? I would think that just about everyone would like to break out of the strictures of the status quo. I am convinced that Bethlehem Church could do more and be more than it is. I suppose that working at that for 15 1/2 years may have tired me out a bit. What I know for certain is that the critical issue here is not keeping either the pastor or the 30% happy. We must remember that we have a biblical mandate, a mission to fulfill.