Inherited Deadwood

Two days ago, I blogged a bit about the Soldier transfer process. I got a couple of comments and one asked a good question I was going to answer as a comment, but decided it should be posted under its own entry. In my own words, this is the question:

What do you do with the "Deadwood Soldiers" you inherit?

First, some housekeeping: 1) A "Deadwood Soldier" is a person who was made a soldier under someone else's tenure and either they shouldn't have been made a soldier in the first place (I have led a Soldier to Christ for the first time before) or they have backslidden from their initial commitment to God and The Army. Either they no longer attend faithfully or they have developed into wonderful pew-warmers (who usually have a lot to say about what goes on in the corps). In other words, they remain on the rolls, but are effectively "deadwood." 2) I will assume the word "you" here means me- not "what would 'one' do..." This means my response is my own answer and not some politically correct answer I am trying to be safe with.

The prophetic side of me wants to cut them off ASAP. Basically tell them: "get out- what are you wasting space for?" But that is not the answer I believe Jesus would give and it's not the way I have ever handled anyone. So I respond from my pastoral side. I believe if God allows them to come, they deserve my attention and prayer in order to get them on the right track. I don't want to see a single person under my ministry lost and usually go to great lengths to deal with them. However, I have seen God remove people from our fellowship- usually he urges them to leave on their own and I consider that God's blessing of relief. When that happens, I will not chase them down and try to get them back, if I feel they are harmful to the larger body. Rather, I trust God to deal with them as appropriate.

Often it's not the people's fault if they are not taught truth. How can they know truth if they've never heard it in the first place? The under-shepherd (CO, pastor) is responsible and I believe God will hold each of us who take this position accountable one day. It is a huge responsibilty to be in a place of such leadership and should not be taken lightly!

It takes time to change direction. If I am driving a small waterski, I can turn around very quickly. If I have one passenger, it takes a little longer (assuming I want to keep the passenger on board!). The more passengers I have or the larger the boat, the slower the turn needs to be to keep everyone from falling off. If a huge aircraft carrier takes miles to turn around, imagine the time it takes to turn a whole corps!

So I realize that leading people to change (my ultimate task as a CO) is going to take time. I must be committed to this change and everything I do must point in the same direction I believe we need to be headed. I need to start where they are, practice what I preach, and pray, pray, pray! Only the Holy Spirit can bring about real change in people.

On my first Sunday in Bangor, my CSM came in the building early to get things ready, which is his usual practice. He found me praying in the chapel, having been there long before he arrived. From that moment on, I "had" this man of God; he knew he could trust me and I've seen his loyalty. He has said: "I don't always understand what you're doing, but I trust you know what you're doing!" By the way, every Sunday I'm in Bangor since that first Sunday, you'll find me in the chapel early- fasting and praying. God answers prayer, so I'm seeing the fruit of my efforts.

I believe we should never give up on people and even the worst can be "rehabilitated." I've seen it too many times and I know the power of Yahweh!

Jesus teld us to let the weeds grow with the good plants. In the end God will sort them all out- it's not out job. Have you ever noticed that the weeds never become good plants? Eventually, I believe we'll either see deadwood come around and grow new shoots again or it will die of its own accord- refusing to hear and heed God's truth.