Have you ever met a Christian who needed to be coddled in order to maintain a somewhat normal level of Christianity? You have seen it, I have seen it, countless others have seen it. In today's society, and especially in American Churches, the members constantly need to be pampered in order to serve. They come up to the pastor and inform them of what they did that week for the Lord. "Reporting" what they said to their neighbor and of how their neighbor was rude to them for their attempts of witnessing. They make sure they tell everyone how they cleaned the toilet or restocked the toilet paper. They need to hear "good boy" as it were in order to feel accomplished.
I realize that everyone likes to be noticed, and appreciated in some form or fashion. However, the Pastor that pampers one of these believers leaves a bucket-full of problems for a Pastor who is trying to lead them to Spiritual Maturity. For whatever reason, the pastor who pampers the member (whether newly saved or saved for years)causes the next guy to get a migraine.
The pastor calls for a work day. instead of getting all of the work done in a timely fashion, the pastor is halted by people informing them of every detail. "Pastor, I took out the trash!!" "Pastor, I refilled the hand soap!" "Pastor, I just exhaled!"
Why does the Pastor need to be told what they did or did not do? Their reward is in heaven.
Then, the next work day, the pastor forgets to "praise them" for their Work As unto the Lord and they get offended. The pastor is then "ungrateful" and unloving. There must be a fine line between edifying and pampering.
Baby Christians need lots of encouragement. I agree. Church members who are brand new to the faith or recently returning from a life of disobedience need lots of attention. So do seasoned saints in their time of need. How does a pastor balance it?
Pastors who continually pamper the people and nurture them on praise rather than teaching "as unto the Lord" are doing a disservice to those who follow his pastorate.
Giving grace is one thing, but pampering is another.
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