Thursday, May 5, 2011

I'm Sooooooo PO'ed!!!

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

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One of America's most popular evangelists and best-selling authors used the "S" word while speaking to our elders when I was an undershepherd in a fabulously well-to-do church in Kansas City.

When a rather religiously proper one of 'em scolded Tony, he said after bobbing his head in apparent/staged disbelief, "Our world is plagued by wars, starvation is rampant, people don't know Jesus, and people who say they know Jesus treat each other like ___; and you have the nerve to tell me that you don't like me using ___ to shake you out of your lazy lukewarm Christianity? Is that the extent of your concern? Does my offensive language matter more to you than everything going to hell because you care more about me saying ___ than leading people to Jesus and loving like Jesus?"

Go on!

Parenthetically, I'm coming to realize some not most pulpiteers/pewsitters paralyze/pollute churches by their pettiness over, uh, petty ___ because that diverts their attention from consequential matters beyond their influence/control/whatever. In other words, while the world is on fire, they start little ones to distract their noodles from...

Kinda sick.

But, uh, didn't He say the healthy don't need a...?

Anyway, making no apologies apart from my desire to clean up my language in an Ephesians 4:29 kinda way that's still a WIP, I'm sooooooo PO'ed!

Let me explain.

After 35+ ordained/installed years, I can take the thanatos libido of my ecclesiastical franchise, transferred angers of members/staff/others who need me as an occasional scapegoat - Yes, blame me! - to avoid the mirror's reflection, family members who regularly point out my limitations and failures to meet their expectations, and other ___ symbolizing a greater kinship to the Adamsons than...

I'm used to that ___; and if I weren't, I'd be among the 1400 to 1500 pastors who split from the vocation every 30 days.

Experiential calluses supported by increasing intimacy with Jesus have enabled me to overcome the cultural obstacles to authentic undershepherding a little more than less.

I can still be as full of ___ as anyone; but, not asking you to excuse the grammar 'cause I can't think of a better way to say it, I'm more better than more worse a little more than less.

Be that as it is with a confession that I'm probably still not as more better as my mommy advertises or I hallucinate, I'm sooooooo PO'ed because a woman who's even more of a geezer than moi spent three days in the hospital and no one in her family or church told me about it.

With current laws prohibiting anyone outside of hospital employment to review computer listings of patients and hospitals very, very, very rarely calling reports to us anymore, it's next to impossible to know if someone is hospitalized unless relatives or friends of a patient call and squeal.

So the woman who assumed I could check the computer listings and assumed someone must have told me felt I had ignored/abandoned her; not giving a ___ about the state of her...

And despite telling her over and over and over again that...

Simply, I'm sooooooo PO'ed because she didn't/doesn't think I care about her because biological and spiritual family members didn't care enough about her to provide the privilege to me to care about her concomitant to my call.

Or something like that.

While, again, I am as full of ___ as anyone else sharing my vocation, He has gifted me for bringing the care/compassion of Jesus to folks in such challenging moments; and so I still get sooooooo PO'ed when I don't know...

Surely, cynics will say I'm more concerned about my reputation than love for...

I'm so full of ___ on/about so many things that I can understand their cynicism about me.

I'm such an awful person/pastor/partner/parent that I understand cynicism about my motives as well as enfleshments.

But I just have this OCD call to be with people when they're scarred ___less in the hospital.

Believe it or not, I want to help as enabled by Him.

No ___.

AAAAAAAaaaaaaahhhhhhh, I don't feel better even after venting.

I'm sooooooo PO'ed.

Maybe if we really cared just a little bit more about really caring for others, our world wouldn't be filled with so much ___; and maybe our Lord wouldn't think we're so full of ___ when we say how much we llllllluuuuuuuvvvvvvvsssssss everybody as a by-product of loving Him.

We better check to see if Matthew 25 is in the latest revised too standard version of the...

It's kinda like Tony said.

If you've read this and are more concerned about the ___s than what hasn't been filled in...

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Blessings and Love!

9 comments:

Reformed Catholic said...

Brother,

I can sympathize, my wife has gone through this at least once in the year she's been part-time (35 hours HAHAHAH) pastor at Cannoli UPC.

She found out, when one of our members said something to her about what the member had heard from one of the saints in the church.

Of course, it was not complementary, something along the lines of "that new pastor ... ". You get the drift.

SWMBO however, did take the bull by the horns, and made it known during the announcement time that she is not a mind reader, she cannot call and find out who's in the hospital, and unless someone tells her, she's basically in the dark.

Well, that's the way I heard it, I know she said it in a much nicer way. ;)

Hang in there !!

Blessings!

Anonymous said...

Isaiah 36:12 in KJV ought to make interesting reading.

Presbyman said...

Tell me about it. In my last call, the general expectation was that I had to find these things out for myself, because "that was what they were paying me for." It was apparently unreasnoable and lazy of me to expect to be notified of such events.

The same was generally true of home visits as well. Asking for specific invitations was out of bounds ... I had to keep trying to get my foot in the door like the Fuller brush man.

After all, "that was what they were paying me for."

By God's immeasurable grace, I am now serving another church.

Grace and peace,

John Erthein
DeFuniak Springs, FL

Dan said...

ANSWER: OK, so here is an idea that has merit . . . get hold of your Congressman and US Senator. Ask for an amendment to the health care laws so that a patient can OPT-IN to letting their pastor get access to the information in the hospital . . .

A great idea that could have enormous positive benefits . . .

Dan G

John said...

Dear Bob,

As usual, the same thing happens here all the time. What is wrong with those people? Thought you might get a laugh out of that.

Miss you guys. I am outnumbered here in Denver 102-28. Still looking for the other 27.

Keep the faith!

John

Dr. Robert R. Kopp said...

Presbyman,

Unfortunately, brother, I empathize!

Dr. Robert R. Kopp said...

Reformed Catholic,

We're hanging together or...

Crystal said...

Dr. K.,
Can you imagine how Jesus felt, too?! Proving over and over and over that He loved people, it still wasn't enough for most of them/us...so He went to the cross...to the tomb...and came out on the other side of death for them/us...and still we question if He loves us. Why is it that we become so concerned over the unimportant and give the important so little concern?
Bless you,
Crystal

Dr. Robert R. Kopp said...

Crystal,

Good word, sister!

Blessings and Love!