I rarely pick up books that I don’t expect to enjoy, unless they are assigned. However, I received a free copy of Church is Team Sport by Jim Putman last week, and decided I would suffer through its pages. What a surprise to discover that I actually enjoyed the read and was completely convicted.
Jim is the Founding Pastor of Real Life Ministries in North Idaho and has written a book that flips the contemporary church on its ear and challenges pastors to shepherd their flocks and not just direct them from the pulpit. Jim tells of a church built on the concept of pastoral care for the flock. So great is their commitment to the membership of the church, that even with 8000 members, each person who misses on Sunday is contacted the following week. Knowing that a church of that size can accomplish that goal has really challenged me to step to the plate make certain that we do a better job of caring for our flock at Malvern Hill.
As good as that aspect was, I was disappointed with a few weaknesses.First, Putman’s downplaying of the preaching act in the church was disheartening.
Sunday is not the best time to teach deep theological truths, however. Most people have short attention spans and don’t retain knowledge through the lecture method…Don’t try to do too much, your main goal is to inspire people to go to the next step.
Certainly, preaching is foolishness to us, but it is the ordained means by which God’s word is proclaimed. Secondly, I felt that he made too much effort to make sports analogies to the church on occasion (for instance, he refers to staff meetings as team huddles). Some of the comparisions just felt made-up and stiff.
All in all, I would recommend the book and would expect that most of you will be as challenged as I was by his commitment to pastoral care.
I know for a fact that RLM does not contact their members who miss a Sunday or two. My mother broke her foot and missed 2 almost 3 months and not one person contacted her. I have a friend who’s sister was a long time member. Her sister was lying in a hospital bed dying. Not one minister showed up to talk to her or the family. So, it is hard to believe, the statement you made about making a better effort in your church is a great way to serve God and show how Christians should act. Keep trying to do the right thing but be aware, you cannot believe everything you read. Shalom (Peace) be with you.