Pastor

I check out other churches' websites occasionally. It's just something I do. Occupational hazard. I want to see if there's something out there we could incorporate into our own website. Unfortunately, much of what I find is outdated—not necessarily in terms of style, but in terms of information. Many churches leave stuff up way past the end of a particular event. (I ran across one that was two pastors behind!) But occasionally, I find something that intrigues me.

I often will read about the way a church talks about its staff or those who give leadership to it. There are lots of titles, lots of descriptions, lots of ways we talk about those whom God has called to steer this ship we call church. And one of the things I'm seeing more often is a declaration by lead/senior/solo pastors that they are far too busy to be bothered by the people in the church—or outside of the church, for that matter. Now, no website says it that bluntly. Usually it's couched in terms of "pursuing God's vision" or "doing what I'm best at" or "balancing my time"—all of which sounds good and spiritual and right. And all of which need to be priorities, without a doubt. However, when that comes at the expense of caring for people, it comes across as arrogant and distance-creating and, to be blunt, rude.

When God called me to be a pastor, I understood that involved people. People in the church. People outside of the church. It involved being in the midst of their lives, not just showing up when a crisis hits or when I can be a "superstar." I am an introvert by nature, and so holing up with books and study sounds really good to me. But to do that, to only do that, denies the calling God has placed on my life. God has called me to be a pastor—and that involves shepherding, guiding, leading, ministering to people. To say that I don't have time to do that would be a denial of my calling.

Maybe God has called these folks to only be preachers—though even being a "preacher" implies you know something of the people's lives. Preaching involves finding the place where the Gospel and real life intersect, which is hard to do if you don't know the lives of those you preach to. Maybe God has called these folks to be speakers—that, I think, would be closer to the mark. If that's the case, fine, great I suppose. But don't call yourself a pastor.

But...we hear...you don't understand the time demands. You're right, I probably don't. But I do know the pastor of a 20,000 member church who has incredible demands on his time, who oversees ministries in four locations, who speaks around the world, and yet he still goes one afternoon a week to visit in the hospital. He still does funerals and weddings. And he still spends time after every worship service talking to and praying with people. Maybe it's not a matter of the time demands. Maybe it's a matter of managing our time to fully do what God has called us to do, to put aside what we prefer to do in order to do what's most important.

I often have jokingly said, "Ministry would be easy if it weren't for the people." And that's true. But ministry is all about people. Without people, what do we have left? I have been forever shaped by my first senior pastor who once said, "Your ministry is in the interruptions." It was true then, and it's still true now. Ministry is in the midst of the world, where people are. That's why I'm a pastor. It's all about the people God loves and the ones I am called to love like he does.

Forgive the rant. It's just something I feel passionate about, even after twenty years in this gig.

Comments

Popular Posts