“As a pastor, I don’t like being viewed as nice but insignificant. I bristle when a high-energy executive leaves the place of worship with the comment, “This was wonderful, Pastor, but now we have to get back to the real world, don’t we?” . . .
“I bristle and want to assert my importance. I want to force the recognition of the key position I hold in the economy of God and in his economy if he only knew it.
“Then I remember that I am a subversive. My long-term effectiveness depends on not being recognized for who I really am. If he realized that I actually believe that the American way of life is doomed to destruction, and that another kingdom is right now being formed in secret to take its place, he wouldn’t be at all pleased. If he knew what I was really doing and the difference it was making, he would fire me.
“Yes, I believe that the kingdoms of this world, American and Venezuelan and Chinese, will become the kingdom of our God and Christ, and I believe this new kingdom is already among us. That is why I am a pastor, to introduce people to the real world and train them to live in it.Peterson, Eugene,The Contemplative Pastor, pp. 27-28.
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