The following e-mail has come into my possession from someone who reports that it was sent to all the staff members at North Valley Baptist Church by none other than Jack Trieber. You may remember Trieber from his previous appearance on SFL when he preached that “the Pastor is your shepherd“.

Dear Staff,

Another strange phenomenon has been taking place this summer, and it is one that is very distressing to me personally.

Mrs. Trieber and I have been attending the Tuesday evening soul winning meetings; and as usual, I am out at the Saturday morning program. The strange thing is that I see a vast majority of our staff at neither one of these events. Something is drastically wrong. Of course, I am certain that all of you enjoy having health insurance and benefits all summer long; and for those of you who work over the summer, you also enjoy your salary. But quite frankly, it is very upsetting to me to see the lack of love for the cause of Christ. I know that devotion and heart shows up in September, but that is way too late. I want this remedied immediately. I do not want emails or letters apologizing for actions—I want performance. Instead of asking for an apology, I would suggest falling on your knees and asking God to forgive you for a lazy spirit towards the things of Christ. Please let me know if this is not going to fit in your plans so I can help you make plans for another place of ministry. This is perhaps one of the strongest letters I have ever written to our staff. But if you only knew how hard we work to make sure there is enough to cover your salary, health insurance, and worker’s compensation only to receive little to no performance, it is very disturbing. I am expecting a huge change. I want it to be evident in our bus numbers,
soul winning numbers, baptisms, and salvations.

As I speak about attending these soul winning meetings, I do not believe you ought to be showing up right on the wire. You ought to be there as paid employees helping to create a spirit of excitement 10-15 minutes before these meetings. It is like a ghost town when I show up to these meetings—that is certainly not acceptable.

Consider this as a strong rebuke. I imagine some of you could take this to the HR department; but friend, this is the way the rules have always been at this church. Read your handbook. For some of you, I believe it might be very wise that you considered moving on. For others, and it might be very wise if you considered falling on your knees and confessing to God about your slothful spirit. For those who have been sold-out in these meetings and soul winning efforts, I commend you. Thank you for being faithful so many times when those around you have not been. I am looking forward to seeing a change this Saturday and next Tuesday. God bless you.

Your friend,

Pastor

Do you have an e-mail or a letter from a fundamentalist pastor or institution? Feel free to send it along.