  When going by John's place, he reminded me of a great book I had to read for Summer classes this year. The name is Codependent No More by Melody Beatty. It was required for our pastoral care class to alert us to the dangers of emotional entanglements involved in pastoral care. But all of the students saw bits and pieces of themselves in the chapters. I suppose this brings out the societal nature of us humans; we are all codependent on each other to some degree.
But as the chapters flew by, I saw little bits here and there that freed me up quite a bit. I am only responsible for my actions and no one else's. I may try to help here and there, but ultimately, the responsibility to change belongs to that person. And there is nothing you can do about it. As a pastor, my hope is to change the world in some way. What I realize now is that the world must want to change first. Oh, I'll be there offering to help (in my little corner if it) when it asks, but I can't force it. It's a hard concept for some to grasp, or at least it was for me. I'm one of those whose identity was wrapped up in helping everyone but me. It feels selfish sometimes, and just a little scary only being me. But there is also a great freedom that comes with it. One I can't describe except to say, a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I believe this will help me in my professional career as a pastor too.
That should be a given as the church exists in the minds of many to change the world. No, the church exists to witness to God and be a place of learning and sanctuary. Hmmm, I'm getting off the subject a little here and I haven't quite thought this out totally. But it sounds right so far. I'd better sign off now and think about this. 
