Journal Week 20: A Unique Pastoral Skill Set

Readers of Reviving Old Scratch and Stranger God will know that on Wednesday nights I worship at Freedom Fellowship, a mission church that serves a meal each week to poor and homeless neighbors followed by a worship service.

You have to have a unique pastoral skill set to serve at Freedom. This week a fight almost broke out, twice, in the the dining room. Darrell was in the middle of both yelling incidents, at one point he and a guy I'd never seen before squaring off to "take it outside." Darrell has cognitive disabilities and was pretty agitated. Joe and I inserted ourselves between the men, focusing on soothing Darrell. Terry led the other guy out of the dining room.

I admire our leaders at Freedom. They are leaders because they have a range of pastoral gifts. They can teach and administrate. They are pastoral and people of deep prayer.

And they also know how to break up fights.