I came across this post on Facebook and shared it. I’ve learned to be more careful about what I say on Facebook. I don’t care what people think, but I refuse to enter petty battles with people on social media. I like for my page to be healthy and not a battleground. I’m not afraid of what people might say. I’m afraid of who might read the comments and see people being nasty. So where I occasionally step near controversial topics on Facebook, I don’t go “all the way there” on that platform. And my record on Facebook isn’t perfect. I have broken my own rule a few times. But here, well, here, this is mine, so I don’t hold back.
So, when I saw this post on Facebook, it brought back all kinds of emotions. I thought that sharing it might quietly trigger the folks in Tree Town to remember just what their pastor was capable of doing but also as a subtle warning to other churches and pastors not to repeat such dangerous practices.
I started following the author of the post in early 2020. I found a podcast called “Recovering Fundamentalists.” It was a group of pastors who got out of the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement and began to tell their stories. At the time, it helped me work past some of my childhood church experiences, and some of the stories were even similar to things I had also experienced in the Southern Baptist realm. I will say, I do not agree with everything they talk about on their platform, but this post was something that caught my attention.
Anyway, here’s the post.
I worked at a multi-sight church once where a goal for baptisms for the year was set at the start of the year.
– The constant pressure to get people to sign up, was real!
– The fear of not meeting your designated # each week/month, was real!
– The constant dread of the “Help me understand why” conversation because you didn’t baptize anyone that week, was real.
I hate to admit this… But there were a few Sunday mornings I would send a text to my staff and ask if there was ANYONE we could get in the baptismal because the pressure too baptize was that real. Sadly and regrettably, we put people, kids even at times in that baptismal who shouldn’t have been there. They weren’t ready to be baptized, didn’t even know what they were doing….But, we didn’t get chewed out and our numbers were met! I’ve ask God to forgive me for this over and over again.
Baptism, is an outward sign of an inward change. It’s a public celebration of a personal decision to say YES to Jesus. I have to be honest; I cringe a little every-time I see a church promote # of baptisms and not the person and their salvation story. I worry it’s all just a show and they are making “false converts” for high fives/pats on the back, write up’s in magazines, blogs and likes on social media post.
Pastor, I beg you, make sure you are doing it for the right reason and not for personal gain or self-agenda. Don’t leave a wake of confusion and false converts in your attempt to make your ministry look successful. JC Groves
When I read this post, it brought up all of the feelings I had in Tree Town. It brought back all of the dirty feelings I felt when required to do the same thing at Tree Town. I have also spent time repenting, asking God to forgive me for any time my motivations weren’t pure. Because in the end, I will answer for that.
Some people might read that post and think that it would never happen at my church, but I’m here to tell you that it happened to me.
I remember when the youth pastor at Tree Town and I were first asked to make our baptism goal in October of 2018 for the calendar church year.
If you’ve been following along with the blog from the beginning, I first told this story in blog #19, Tree Town (Part 8).
That baptism goal would end up being one of the last straws for me because when we reached my evaluation, discussing that goal would be a standout moment. Again, you can go back and read more about that evaluation in an earlier post in detail, but because from October 2018 until June 2019, I only reached 9 out of 10 baptisms for the year, my evaluation reflected that near miss.
And when the youth pastor and I subsequently pled with the pastor to remove those “goals” for the next year, he refused, saying that those goals made us work harder.
Y’all, even as I write this, I can remember the pastor opening a small drawer on the right side of his desk. In that drawer, he kept a piece of white paper taped down, and on that paper were hash marks and names. This is where he kept up with salvations and baptisms. And he divided them between adults, youth, and children. During nearly every staff meeting in his office, he would open that drawer and give us the current tally. And also told us we needed to work harder. It was high pressure.
When I think back on that, I get sick to my stomach. And after reading that post by JC Groves and realizing that Tree Town isn’t the only church that operates this way, it makes me even sicker.
What are the motivations of a pastor? What makes them tick? What makes them feel successful?
I know for certain that at Tree Town, it was a number game. And although I fought my flesh and begged God to remove that goal number from my mind, there was enough human in me, enough of me wanting to do a good job and be recognized for it, enough of me wanting to be in good standing with the pastor and keep my job, even potentially get a raise for meeting all of my goals… you can’t take that out of someone’s mind.
Imagine at your secular job that you are given a list of goals or even asked to make a list of your own goals… then at the end of the year, your evaluation and your pay depend on whether you met those goals.
Now take that same mindset and place it in a ministry environment. Imagine that those goals are now the precious souls of adults, youth, and children… how does that make you feel? Dirty? Because that’s how it made me feel. When a child would come to me and want to know about salvation, that moment was so sweet, but right after that, I would need to talk them into baptism, which felt so wrong. The pressure was real. The goals were stifling. That all became obvious when the youth pastor and I ended up in a friendly spat over who one baptism would count for, me or him. Thankfully we realized how wrong that was and took our concerns to the pastor, only to be told there was nothing to be done; the goals had to stay.
You see, when we met our numerical goals, the pastor, in turn, met his. When the raises were given at the end of the year, if we made him look good, he would be rewarded.
As I scrolled through Facebook this morning, I saw at least 6 churches advertising for VBS. Now you all know that VBS is one of my favorite things. I genuinely think that kids can be reached through these programs… but parents take a pause, ask all the questions, and check the motivations of the pastor, children’s pastor, or youth pastor at the church of the VBS your child is attending. Because here’s the truth. A child in an environment that is all about them, where the gospel is being taught on their level, a place decorated to the nines, fun songs, good food, crafts, time with their friends… all those things are good… but it’s also an environment ripe for manipulation. A kid can be talked into something very easily. They want to please the adults around them and possibly follow their friends… it makes for an extremely complex environment for a genuine, personal salvation experience. A situation that, if handled carelessly, can have an eternal impact.
So, parents, send those kids to VBS. Let them enjoy everything the church offers but keep your guard up. Ask the kids all the questions when they get home. And if they come home saying they asked Jesus to be their Savior, rejoice, but dig deep to find out what your child really understood and what your child thinks that following Christ really is… Did they just follow a friend, or did they just want to please the pastor or adult assigned to talk to them…
Or are they just a number on a white piece of paper taped inside the pastor’s desk? Has their salvation experience been reduced to a hashmark to further advance the pastor’s agenda?
After working with kids for many years, I have found that a child’s salvation experience is often best handled through a series of conversations. It is imperative to slow down and make sure the child really understands. Sometimes VBS is the vehicle that gets that conversation started, but a child can get caught up in the things around them. This is your child’s soul, not just a number. As a parent, you might have to fight for that.
Because I know that on Monday mornings at a staff meeting in a town with many trees, we discussed in detail the numbers that the church needed to see in a year to be “successful.” And it sickens me even to admit that. We were required to play a number game. Numbers were a sign of success for us, for the church, and most importantly, for the pastor.
Are all pastors and churches the same? No, probably not, but I know of one who is just as described above. I know of a white piece of paper just waiting for a new hash mark. In fact, it was probably discussed this very morning.
The souls of children… reduced to a number to meet a goal…
Keep your eyes open. Your child’s soul is more than a number. Your soul is more than a number… All souls are more than a number…Make sure your pastor feels the same way.
Until Next Time,
Whitney