{"id":10781,"date":"2020-01-17T14:55:06","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T14:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=conexion&p=10781"},"modified":"2020-01-17T14:55:07","modified_gmt":"2020-01-17T14:55:07","slug":"when-pastors-get-angry","status":"publish","type":"conexion","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/","title":{"rendered":"When pastors get angry"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Ben* was sitting in a meeting of senior church pastors, in a\ncountry in Central Asia. He was the odd-one out. The only foreigner, the only\nnon-pastor. What a huge privilege it is to be trusted by these men,<\/em> he\nthought.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

As the meeting progressed, someone raised a suggestion: how\nabout the church youth leaders work together to put on an inter-church event\nfor their young people?<\/em> In most contexts, this idea would be well received.\nBut certainly not here. Several pastors, particularly the senior pastors, spoke\nup. They were angry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

A bitter history<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

They had seen it happen so many times before: these kinds of\nevents (often organised by outside organisations) might be stimulating at\nfirst, but led to their youth becoming dissatisfied with their own church youth\nministries\u2026 they would end up leaving their churches to form a new group, but\nthis would soon collapse because of their lack of maturity. The final result?\nThe youth would be lost. This was the country\u2019s first generation of Christian\nyoung people. They were too precious to lose. They had seen it before, and they\ndidn\u2019t want to see it again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

In this context, how can IFES work? If the pastors said \u2018no\u2019 to their own youth leaders, how would they ever trust IFES to do anything to unite students?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"\"
Luan Cabral – Unsplash <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
\n

Slow work towards a long-term dream<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Over the last few years, Ben and his co-workers have worked very\nhard to re-build trust with church leaders, where it has been broken. They have\ndecided that they will only work in the space churches give them. They approach\nthe pastor, before they approach students from the church. They start by\noffering to run a conference in their church for their students, to encourage\nand equip them for evangelism. They insist that students belong to their\nchurches, and their participation in IFES must not undermine this.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Ben\u2019s hope is that, as the pastors see their Bible-based, gospel-centred\ntraining and their missional focus, they will begin to trust them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Ben\u2019s dream is to see students from different churches gathering\nto pray on and for their campus, encouraging each other to reach their friends\nwith the gospel. But this process will take years of building trust. Student\nministry in this context is not quick and dynamic as it is elsewhere. But that\nkind of model would not produce a long-lasting, stable movement which is a\nblessing to the local church.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

An encouraging end to the story<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

So how did the tense meeting finish? One influential pastor, with\nwhom Ben had recently met and outlined their plans for ministry, stood up and\nquietened the room. \u201cYes\u201d, he said, \u201cwe have seen this before, and it is not\nhelpful. What we need is organisations like IFES\u201d. He pointed to Ben: \u201cThey come\nand talk to us. They come into our churches and work with our young people\nwithout extracting them from context of the church. This is the right\napproach.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

*name changed<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":10894,"template":"","area":[457],"theme":[1220],"class_list":["post-10781","conexion","type-conexion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-eurasia","theme-partnership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhen pastors get angry · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ben* was sitting in a meeting of senior church pastors, in a country in Central Asia. He was the odd-one out. The only foreigner, the only non-pastor.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When pastors get angry · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ben* was sitting in a meeting of senior church pastors, in a country in Central Asia. He was the odd-one out. The only foreigner, the only non-pastor.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IFES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-17T14:55:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/200122-CON-Romain.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/\",\"name\":\"When pastors get angry · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/200122-CON-Romain.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-17T14:55:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-17T14:55:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ben* was sitting in a meeting of senior church pastors, in a country in Central Asia. He was the odd-one out. The only foreigner, the only non-pastor.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/200122-CON-Romain.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/200122-CON-Romain.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"200122 CON - Romain\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Conexi\u00f3n\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"When pastors get angry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/\",\"name\":\"IFES\",\"description\":\"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. Locally. Nationally. Globally.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#organization\",\"name\":\"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png\",\"width\":262,\"height\":262,\"caption\":\"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"When pastors get angry · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog","description":"Ben* was sitting in a meeting of senior church pastors, in a country in Central Asia. He was the odd-one out. The only foreigner, the only non-pastor.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"When pastors get angry · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog","og_description":"Ben* was sitting in a meeting of senior church pastors, in a country in Central Asia. He was the odd-one out. The only foreigner, the only non-pastor.","og_url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/","og_site_name":"IFES","article_modified_time":"2020-01-17T14:55:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/200122-CON-Romain.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/","name":"When pastors get angry · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/200122-CON-Romain.jpg","datePublished":"2020-01-17T14:55:06+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-17T14:55:07+00:00","description":"Ben* was sitting in a meeting of senior church pastors, in a country in Central Asia. He was the odd-one out. The only foreigner, the only non-pastor.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/200122-CON-Romain.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/200122-CON-Romain.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"200122 CON - Romain"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/when-pastors-get-angry\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Conexi\u00f3n","item":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"When pastors get angry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/","name":"IFES","description":"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. Locally. Nationally. Globally.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#organization","name":"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png","width":262,"height":262,"caption":"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/conexion\/10781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/conexion"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/conexion"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area?post=10781"},{"taxonomy":"theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=10781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}