I grew up in a church parsonage. I still remember most of them that we occupied when I was a boy. The State Youth Director's parsonage in Little Rock had a wrap-a-round porch. The one in Tulsa had gas heaters built into the walls. Osceola, Arkansas saw us living in the country. In Miami it was close to K-Mart. The first one we lived in Pahokee even had wall-to-wall eyes at night because of the lizards that would crawl in when the lights were turned out. The point is as a boy and as a man I have had my experiences living in a church parsonage versus now living in my own home.
My mom and my wife never left a parsonage dirty. In fact, we would usually have the clerk of the church come out and check them before we left so the next pastor's wife wouldn't have to clean as much when they moved in. That was the way that I was raised and the way that my wife and I have always tried to be as a pastor. It's my house while I live there, but it is a parsonage and belongs to the church. So if I am living in a parsonage I'm going to be a good steward and make sure that I keep it and the grounds in great condition while I'm there.
Many of our churches still have a parsonage, but due to neglect or a lack of finances in the local church they are in not in the best shape. Becky and I moved from a beautiful parsonage more than once to a Mill House that was un-level or in need of repair. I am not the carpenter like my brother Dennis is, but I learned quickly that I had to learn how to do a lot of the repairs myself if our living conditions were going to change. I praise God for the good men and women we pastored who also made sacrifices to help get their church properties in good order. Without their physical and financial support we never could have made it happen.
Recently I became aware of how some of us in ministry are not as concerned about the appearance or condition of the properties that God has placed us over. I have pictures to prove how filthy and rundown some of those situations were and I wonder where has our love for God and for His blessings to us gone? Having to retire because of my health I realize now how important it is to have a place of my own to call home and Becky and I do every thing we can to keep it in tip top shape. We treated our parsonages and properties the same way. If something needed to be done at the church and the person who was supposed to do it didn't, I did or she did. The same with the parsonages we lived in. She and I treated those places we lived in and served as though they were our own. That's what we're supposed to do as an example to the communities we served as pastor.
When I realized that I could no longer do some of those things as pastor due to my stroke I stepped down. If I couldn't take care of what I was given charge over, it was time for someone else to take up the mantle. My point in all this is if God has blessed you with a good church make sure the property is taken care of. Make sure the parsonage is not in disarray. I learned again from experience what it is to have church property and no money to repair it. That's one of the most awful feelings for a pastor who is charged with taking care of God's business. Some messes you found you didn't create, but somehow you have to deal with the responsibilities left behind. Do your best to take care of God's property. Your people will speak well or evil of you based on what you do.
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