Recent conversation with my mother reminds me of the time when my pastor asked me, after countless refusal of of taking any leadership/teaching roles in the church, "What do you want to do in the church". To which I replied very promptly, "Cleaning" (My church like many Chinese churches here, have lunch time where the church cook/order take out/etc., after the service).
Although, contrary to the matter, I heard in church yesterday, when some guy is offered a position of vice president for the coming retreat (one which I not associating myself with), he replied "I will do all those tasks required, but just don't give me the title of vice president". I know this guy, I know the type. And there are plenty of this type amongst the Chinese men of the Chinese churches in America. Most likely, the refusal of the "Title" means the refusal of responsibility "should something go wrong".
So it simply saying: I will obey, I will follow orders, I will help, I will support, I'll be as "Good son", but if anything goes wrong, don't blame me, I have calculated very carefully not to be responsible for things that will go wrong on my account. If someone from outside comes to me with questions about this or that, All I need to know is to whom I can direct that person to for answers, don't ask me to study the questions myself, unless it is in the description of responsibilities that I have carefully and selectively agreed to.
So in the end, the whole church is in agony every year trying to find someone to take a leading responsibility (with titles), especially among guys. This is one general problem of American Christianity. Somehow I feel Malaysia has yet to suffer it. Yet. Though I have a feeling that it is coming to Malaysia, if they keep absorbing Western culture without discernment. Everyone would just want to do the job, but not the titles, so there will be no pastors, no teachers, no presidents, but just people acting like those roles, which will lead to chaos.
As for me, no, I do not relate myself to that type. Because I would just say, if you don't want the title, why do it at all? As Rev. Dr. Tong once said of those part time pastors who have great churches but running successful business at the same time, that if the church can provide for the pastor's living? why one needs to feel embarrassed of taking money from the church and make a living from other businesses? Which shows that the person actually despises pastors, seeing pastors as beggars, regardless of what adoration they display before other pastors.
If we are given a title, we accept it with humble dignity and do our job, or we don't do it at all and return the title; Nor should we maintain ourselves to be mere backup supporters, it is not an attitude of a faithful slave of true and perfect Lord.
