Being an associate is like walking a tightrope. Well, I’ve never actually walked a tightrope. I’m afraid of heights. So I guess I’m saying that being an associate is like what I imagine it would be like to walk a tightrope. Or maybe it is more like a Johnny Cash song. Either way you have to walk the line.
The line we associates walk is the fine one between overstepping and paralysis, between competing with the lead pastor and waiting for her/his blessing before doing anything, between being a help and being a burden, between owning your ministry and disregarding the rest of the ministry of the congregation. Lean too far either way and you are headed for a crash.
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Caulk is the gooey stuff used around windows and sinks that fills the gaps. It stops water from seeping into cracks, getting behind your tub, and doing damage that would be costly to repair. Caulk is also used to seal window and door frames to keep the cold air out in the winter and the cool air in during the summer, making those in the home more comfortable. Caulk is wonderfully useful around the house, but it is a terrible ministry model.
New Year’s Resolutions are passé. Many of us tend to make the same ones each December, and find that we have broken and forgotten them before February. We have been frustrated by them and defeated by them. But the idea of starting the year with a list of things we would like to change or improve in 2012 is a good one that intrigues many of us.
“The only person you have the power to change is you.” You have probably heard this more times than you care to count. I tell my children it is “Dad’s Secret to Life” (please don’t tell them I didn’t come up with it). Our recognition of this truth helps guide our relationships with our spouses, our children, and even the members of the congregations we serve. But I have met many associate pastors who have a great deal of trouble applying it in their relationship with their lead pastor.