From the Pastor’s Desk (294)
After the House Church Conference for Pastors ended last Thursday, the pastor couples who are serving as the regional shepherds finished their meeting and went out for dinner. My wife and I were seated with Pastor Inki Kim and his wife, and Pastor Daeho Yu and his wife.
Pastor Inki Kim serves as the executive director of the North American House Church Ministry, and Pastor Daeho Yu is the senior pastor of God’s Family Church in Southern California. Both of them have a great sense of humor, and every time the conference is held, they bring a lot of laughter to the attendees. Pastor Yu, who is five years older than me, treats me like a younger brother and we’re comfortable around each other. We trade jokes so freely that people who don’t know us might find it a little awkward.
During the conference Pastor Yu approached me several times and persistently asked me to speak at the Southern California regional shepherds’ retreat next February. I’m still old-fashioned and need to check the paper calendar in the church office to know my schedule, so I told him I’d go back to the church, check the calendar, and let him know. To be honest, I didn’t really want to go. The Southern California regional shepherds’ retreat is a Korean-speaking shepherds’ retreat, and I thought there were many Korean-speaking pastors within the house church ministry who could preach far better than I can.
But at the dinner table he brought up the request again and said this:
“Up until now, very prominent pastors have come to serve as speakers at our Southern California shepherds’ retreats: Pastors Young G. Chai, Jae Jung Kim, Inki Kim, Sookwan Lee, etc. This time, because we couldn’t find a suitable speaker, we’re inviting the leftover pastor, Pastor Eric Shin.”
The moment I heard that I burst out laughing. Some people at the table seemed a little embarrassed by what Pastor Yu had said, thinking he’d made an overly harsh slip of the tongue. One person tried to cover for him by saying, “Leftovers are the most nutritious.” Another, apparently trying to console me, said, “Leftovers are much better than garbage.” Everyone laughed heartily at those exchanges.
Two thoughts came to me at that moment. First, I was deeply grateful that people could joke with me so comfortably. I was thankful that I wasn’t being seen as someone who made others feel uneasy—someone who forced them to be formal and stiff in my presence—but rather as someone they could relax with, joke with, and laugh with.
Second, being nicknamed the “leftover pastor” actually felt like a blessing and even a compliment to me. I know well what I am before God. I am far less than leftovers—I’m worse than garbage. The apostle Paul described himself, before he knew Christ, as “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man,” and he went further to confess, “I am the chief of sinners.” He also said that all his former achievements, before meeting the Lord, were nothing but rubbish and dung. Scripture tells us that we were sinners and enemies of God.
Because of this biblical truth, we have no reason to be disappointed, hurt, or resentful. How could the world’s worst garbage feel wounded or offended? In the Christian life, disappointment and hurt are luxuries. To say “I’m hurt” or “I’m disappointed” while claiming to be a Christian is to fail to see one’s true standing before God.
So I’m oddly pleased to be called the “leftover pastor.” If someone worse than garbage becomes the “leftover pastor,” how can I not rejoice and give thanks? I pray that all of us might become people who can laugh heartily when called “leftovers.”
Your pastor,
Eric
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