June’s Dilemma: A Short Story

Embracing Discipleship Opportunities in Pastoral Leadership

Dear Reader,

Some time ago a friend, who is an accomplished writer, told me that the best way to get beyond being a horrible writer, is to introduce yourself to the world as one, then continue improving. It was meant to encourage getting started.

Instead of writing short stories and deleting them, I’m going to take my friend’s advice.

Hi, my name is Meshach Kanyion

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Rev. Juniper K. Josiah, affectionately known as “June” to his friends, quickly became disheartened with pastoral ministry. In just six short months, his vision of teaching the Bible, offering spiritual direction, and meeting with small group leaders to discuss the spiritual development of their group participants had been dashed.

Instead of engaging in those “spiritual” activities, he found himself immersed in what he referred to as administrivia. Of course, he understood the importance of the administrative functions of the church; after all, owning a building required facilities management, collecting an offering meant financial management, the 5 staff he had needed an HR department and, as the lead pastor, he had a seat on all of those committees.

“How’s that prayer meeting you started going?” One of the neighborhood pastors asked during their monthly clergy meetings.

June scoffed and said. “Three people attend!”

“We started with 10, but in 4 short weeks, it’s down to just 3 of us!” he said. “I been there for about 6 months and guess how many people I’ve about to talk about their spiritual lives?”

He waited a microsecond, then held up his hand and touched his thumb to his pointer finger. “Zero! I have meetings about the kind of coffee we serve, moving the flag back to the sanctuary on the 4th of July. My favorite was to discuss the budget… We literally have a treasurer whose office is right next to mine!”

The other pastors nodded humorously, recalling their own pastoral frustrations.

“It sounds like you just want to make disciples,” said the eldest in the group. His name was Musa Arnold, pastor of the smallest of the churches in the neighborhood. “Imagine that!”

June laughed and shook his head, happy to see that he wasn’t alone in his frustration.

“Then do it,” Musa said, with a smile that raised all the wrinkles on his face.

The other pastors knew Musa as one who made molehills out of mountains. He had a way of listening to their complaints and offering simplistic solutions, so the rest knew to not complain too much around him. They also warned June about him, saying, “Don’t take any offense. His church is smaller, and the problems aren’t as complex as ours.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do!” June said, realizing he was the victim of one of Musa’s mountain-reducing comments. “But I can’t force people to come to class or prayer; I can’t make them come for spiritual direction.”

“No, I suppose you can’t.” Musa said. “What can you do?”

The air in the room grew awkward. These meetings were mostly for venting or complaining; they didn’t come for this sort of thing. Besides, they’d all experienced what June was now experiencing, they just learned to accept it.

When June didn’t respond, Musa asked, “Why don’t you watch for moments during the administrivia? Insist on discipleship when you got em there.”

June felt the discomfort in the room, but read the amiable seriousness on Musa’s face. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“When you’re in a meeting, watch for moments to help people follow Jesus,” Musa said.

He paused to glance at the faces of the others around the table, then continued. “Jesus didn’t tell anyone to make prayer meetings or Bible study classes, did he? He said make disciples; so use what you have, don’t worry yourself with becoming busy with religious stuff, that’ll come later. Besides, they don’t participate in them for a reason, so no need to start there. Just use the time you have with them and trust God.”

Confounded, June said, “I’m not tracking with you, doc.”

“You ever been in a meeting where someone was impatient, or rude; maybe they were fearful, or gossiped afterward?” Musa asked.

“Of course,” June said. “You’ve literally described every meeting!”

Musa laughed. “Well, there’s your opportunity. As their pastor, you can help them respond faithfully. Help them see how they can be like Jesus.”

“Wait,” June said, slightly annoyed. “You want me to confront everyone who is rude?”

“Not confront,” said Musa. “Help them live as disciples. Pull them aside. Do it in a way that won’t embarrass, but help, them.”

“Oooh, I can’t wait to hear from June next month” A pastor said, spreading laughter throughout the room.

When the laughter died down the conversation shifted to the standard questions like, “What are you doing for Lent?”

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That evening, June was in a leadership team meeting. His normal irritations began gnawing at his soul as he listened to the fearful prognostications about their financial state. Suddenly, Musa’s words reverberated in his mind, “use the administrivia… insist on discipleship.”

With not a little discomfort, he said to the group, “Let’s pray about this.”

“Good idea, pastor,” a board member said. “I’ll add that to the list for the end of the meeting.” Then, looking around at the rest of the board members, said, “I’d like to hear some plans we can make this week to bring this issue to the church. What do you all think about a Town Hall meeting?”

Feeling a little embarrassed, annoyed, but emboldened, June said, “Isn’t prayer one of the most effective plans for disciples, or is it just a bookend to our meetings?”

The room grew quiet.

He continued, “Peter said we should cast all our concerns on the Lord because he cares for us... James said if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously… so I think our time would be best used praying about our problem rather than rushing into planning our way out of it. Let’s get God involved.”

The discomfort in the room was heavy.

“Go on and pray then, Pastor Juniper,” the board member said. So he did.

The rest of the meeting went on without disruption, but there was an uneasiness because of what June had done.

As he was getting into his car, an older lady approached him, grabbed his hand, and said, “Pastor June, I’ve been at this church for 42 years. I’ve served on the board 6 times. That was the first time one of our meetings actually felt like a Christian meeting. Thank you for listening to God and helping us follow him.”

June, caught off guard by her statement, thanked her, entered his car, and, for the first time in 6 months, drove home feeling like he’d done his job as a pastor.

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