Pastor Doris G. Deckard

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Dallas, Texas, United States
Pastor Deckard is a native Texan and lives in Dallas with her family. She preached her first sermon in 2004 and was ordained in 2008. Pastor Deckard has continued to preach and teach at Church of the Solid Rock. She has made her life all about service and participated in many workshops and seminars, from parenting symposiums to diversity conferences along with speaking engagements. Pastor Deckard has traveled locally and internationally, preaching and singing for the Lord. She is a Partnered Ally with the University of North Texas Equality and Diversity Programs and received many awards for her various community-outreach programs and volunteer services. One ministry very close to her heart is Sand Branch. As a Preacher of the Gospel, Pastor Deckard desires to introduce more souls to Christ as she encourages others to focus more on spirituality and their relationship with the Lord. Pastor Deckard founded D. G. Deckard Ministries in 2007, a 501c3 Christian organization. She is also the founder and Pastor of Church the Solid Rock, Dallas TX; a place of worship, acceptance and spiritual growth.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Serving Real People in Ministry

There is a strange sort of phenomenon that occurs the longer someone works within the context of Church Leadership. It's almost as inevitable as Sunday coming every week.

The phenomenon goes something like this: The more you do a great job of leading people, the more people are attracted to you and your church. The more that people are attracted and get connected to your church, the more it grows. The more the number of people at your church grows...the further you get from them.

The very thing that was essential to your growth (Ministering to people) is now a system, a strategy, an abstraction...an idea??? "This is inevitable", you tell yourself. "I simply can't be with all these people because I'm too busy with ministry "stuff all the time." There's only one of me and more and more of them, something has to give." So over time, we replace Actual people with the Idea of people. We subconsciously convince ourselves that all these meetings are ultimately about "those" people. All these emails are about real people out there... somewhere. Our sermons that we write in an office or coffee shop [in isolation] are for "them" too. Our Evangelistic efforts and strategies are for "all those lost people out there"....and believe me, there are many lost souls just wondering in the arid deserts of their souls. We see them at church...for a moment...from a distance. They are there But are they more of an idea than a reality???

If we're being brutally honest, some of us don't really want to deal with or even lead "real people" so we 'play it off' as if we do. Our Idea of People is much easier to lead and somewhat manage and care about than all those Actual People. Why? Because Actual people are at times unpredictable, uninterested, inconsistent, moody, needy, demanding, hurting, and basically messy....some real messy.

The more we get involved with real people, the harder it gets. Better to just buckle down in our offices, get busy making ourselves look busy with Meetings, Emails, and such. Better to create busy work for those actual people than obtain any amount of time with you. It's much easier this way - just so happens that this is the furthest practice from the way of Jesus. Yes, He stole away to be with God..to pray...meditate...seek but He got right back in the fight!

For Jesus, people were not an idea, they were and are today, Real People. This World that God so loves, is filled with Real People, with real lives, having real struggles, with real needs, telling real stories, acting on real rebellion and experiencing real redemption. These are the people that surrounded Jesus. From His days of small town obscurity to His intensely demanding days of public ministry, Jesus surrounded Himself with the unpopular, the ridiculed, the outsiders, and the "peculiar." He actually Invited them in; the sick, the poor, the despised, even the self righteous; men and women and children; you name it..they were invited to know Him!

Real People were Invited, Real People Invaded but ALL were welcome.

While it's true that there were many whom Jesus did not surround himself with, there were always 3, 12, 50....Jesus even surrounded Himself with one of the 12 that would eventually betray Him...the one who broke bread with Him...the one who kissed Him...BUT, Jesus always knew who was with Him and who really wasn't...

There were always people [Real People] at His birth, through His life, at the cross, and at His ascension. He was rooted in God's love, grounded in relationship with everyday people...even His enemies.

I'm not sure what it looks like for you to intentionally surround yourself in relationship and proximity with Real People but why don't you give it a try. I know that our jobs are demanding. I know that our time can be limited But the stakes are way too high for us to be elusive now.

Our inaccessibility is no longer acceptable to God. Anyone have time for hospitality???

We can serve more humbly and accurately, and can lead much more effectively when we allow ourselves to be invaded by real people...not the folks with an underlying motive or opportunists..but real people with real matters.

How can you volunteer somewhere in your church?
How can you lead a small group of people [lead by the Spirit] who are young in their faith?
How can you stick around after church and help tear down?
How can you intentionally create time and space this week to know and love and lead and serve the Real People?

A Real God has called YOU to serve...really...so, why aren't you operating in your calling...really???

Obedience is better than sacrifice....and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. 1 Samuel 15:22(a)-23(a).

God bless and may He keep you is my prayer!

- Rev.

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