people who work at churches

i talk to a lot of people who work at churches.
(too many probably.)

i'm in seminary & everybody there works at a church pretty much.
a lot of my friends i talk to work at churches around the country.
i know and collaborate with lots of peeps nearby who work at churches.

and honestly, from all my conversations... it seems like most of their work experiences suck. like, they don't say it sucks, but i'm thinking it when i hear some of the crap they put up with!
[and NO, i am not thinking of anyone or anything specific. just generally speaking.]

sometimes they talk to me about stuff going on at their church. i find myself having very little tolerance or patience.
i give short responses like:

Quit.

leave.

FIRE that person. 

tell the volunteer they can't do that anymore.

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO PUT UP WITH THAT!

maybe i'm just not patient enough?
or maybe i'm just spoiled.

*man, i don't know how church peeps put up with church peeps.
i literally do not know how many of the peeps i know who work at churches continue to do it. how they stick with it. i wouldn't keep doing it i don't think. i would just quit working at those kind of churches. [i did, actually.]

but i guess they're called to that or something :)

i am so thankful i don't deal with the crap they do. i'm sure i deal with my own crap, but not the normal "i-work-at-a-church-crap" that everyone else seems to deal with.

maybe when you start a church for people who don't like church - that's the secret? maybe? i don't know.
      [side note: which is interesting to me - i like our church a little too much for a church designed for people who don't like church. which probably means i just don't like "church." ;)  ]

and i'm thankful for a leader with some backbone! man, you wouldn't think it's too much to ask to have a leader who leads a church and doesn't back down from it no matter what... not afraid to make the hard calls... not afraid to lead us TOWARD the messes.
but apparently, this is not normal. i have heard about some really crappy leaders from these "i-work-at-a-church" peeps.
i'm thankful to serve with an amazing leader in Chris Brown = the pastor, not the rapper.

but i'm most thankful to get to be on mission. spreading the renown of the greatest Name in history. introducing people to the greatest thing in life.

and this is probably the thing all the other "i-work-at-a-church" peeps are most thankful for too. they probably look at me and wonder why i put up with whatever it is they feel like i put up with.
maybe they're writing a blog about me right now -- "how could my friend Patrick work at a church that doesn't even have a building or an office or tons of $ or only meets 1 time a week or has no membership or..." and i'm sure they could go on & on.

to each his own.