i came across this piece the other day, and i thought it was pretty right on… i can honestly say that ministry has been a much tougher and complicated calling than i ever figured it would be. there are conversations and situations that i never thought i’d ever have in my life, and the complexities of ministry life are not for the faint hearted. it’s no surprise to me that so many people quit and walk away – there are a great deal of things in this world that are much easier to do.
thanks to david foster for the thought.
oh, and in case you were wondering how to look after your pastor, david foster has some good advice… :-)
10 comments ↓
i agree that pastors should be treated with care, respect and dignity, but not because they are different, simply because all people should be treated this way.
i think these articles have been passionately written BY a pastor, FOR other pastors. I think accountants, school teachers, mothers, doctors, policemen etc could all have their own unique version of exactly the same thing, and be no less called, or educated, than a pastor.
but like i said – pastors do deserve to be treated well and cared for and connected with… just like everyone else.
I’ll just come out and say that i think you are plain wrong. (gee – i sound a little “over the top” there…:-)) pastors, as leaders of God’s people, *are* different. their gifting is not the same as anyone else’s (not saying it’s better or worse), but it is unique, and the burdens and responsibilities that come with that gift are unique.
i’m firmly of the view that leadership is an essential part of God’s community structure. in spite of the drivel being peddled in some circles which seek to undermine and devalue leadership (largely due to poor examples of it or hurt and damage by abuse of the gift), it seems to me totally self-evident in the Bible from start to finish that God calls leaders in all shapes and sizes to take up that specific role amongst his people. the Bible is replete with example after example after example of individuals who step up to inspire, organize, lead, equip, etc., the Lord’s people into action and obedience. the people of God, time after time, require this because sin paralyzes them into inaction and disobedience, and i can’t think of any biblical examples at all of the people self-organizing to the right thing – almost every time i can think of, when the people self-organize, it’s usually for a bad thing! and even in those cases, there is leadership usually happening, just a poor version of it. so, i’m a firm believer in the leadership gift and the importance of it, biblically.
and the burdens of that responsibility and calling by God are enormous and not at all like the burdens of others. i say this with firsthand knowledge. i can tell you right now that i felt *nothing* like i feel now when i was in other roles in my life, be it in the church or outside it. the sense of calling and responsibility that i feel for God’s people under my care is sometimes overwhelming because i know that i am accountable to God himself for the way in which i live out that gift, as are each of us accountable for the appropriate exercise of whatever gifts we have been given to bless and build up God’s people.
incidentally, i also happen to firmly believe that you, matt, *are* a gifted leader, and you will also be accountable to the Lord for the way in which *you* live out that gifting… and i don’t say that at all flippantly. i believe that about you without a shadow of a doubt. but, that’s an issue between you and the Lord, and I’m happy to leave it that way – i got my own part of the flock to watch over! :-)
yeah, i used to think that too when i was a pastor in a formal congregation – but that’s the point, this type of thinking works perfectly within that environment but not outside of it.
However, since i have moved beyond, i have discovered that everyone has the capacity for leadership within their own unique gifiting – and that as long as each part of the body faithfully wrestles out what it means to be an ear or a leg or an eye, the body can work together. The important thing is that this happens in an environment of grace, love, forgiveness and honesty.
you are right however, being a pastor of a formal congregation is indeed a tough job – no argument there.
in terms of being accountable to God, my responsibility before Him is to simply recognise and follow the footsteps of Christ in and around my life and allow the Spirit to daily redeem and refine me. If I do that, wherever I do that, I will be the best person I could be for God, myself and others.
And so far, Jesus doesn’t seem to think working in a church is where i need to be – and i couldn’t agree with him more ;-)
peace
i don’t think the leadership thing is just about a “formal congregation” – far from it… i think this is a biblical principle for *every* community of God’s people, whatever shape, including what you’re a part of.
oh, and by the way, just in case anyone was wondering…
i feel VERY cared for and supported, so please don’t read into my original post any sense of “whoa is me…”
far from it – i am a very blessed man in my situation, with an awesome set of leaders who stand around me in my role.
just in case anyone was concerned for me… :-)
yes, but leadership in our context means something very different from being a “pastor” in a formalised setting, as is the context of these articles.
in our setting each person is deserving of the same level of respect, honour, dignity – as each person carries the same burden… to be true to their calling/gifting whilst wrestling out their salvation daily.
in our setting many people would find it bizarre that david foster was so adamant at trying to get people to recognise that pastors are “special” or “different” from everyone else. such articles are “interesting” yet “irrelevant” to many in communities such as ours.
they simply serve to reinforce a modus operandi that we have felt convicted to move away from. this is not a statement of right vs wrong – but goes to show that certain emerging models of church require a re:imagining of more traditional modes of thought and practice. the old does not fit the new and that’s ok.
we don’t tend to think of ourselves as “old” – we think of ourselves as emerging and quite new… i don’t think these stereotypical boxes work, and my comments regarding leadership extend beyond such labels to what i see as biblical, universal principles.
Mark, language can be clumsy indeed – and the words i’ve used are simply meant to explain that – for a group of people that have “done church” for nearly two decades in a certain consistent manner, the current terrain is definitely “new” for us. And regardless of how new and emerging you are (in comparison to your own church journey), you are still in a very different practical place to where we find ourselves.
And with this being the case, no matter which way you cut it, the thinking and teaching of guys like david foster, regarding pastors as a “different” animal, fits snuggly into your context but not into ours and that is a reality that is beyond theory or argument.
For example, if you were to become a part of our community (;-)), you would be accepted the same way anyone else is. You would bring your personality and your gifting with you to our group (AND a meal to share), and you would be under exactly the same “call” as anyone else – to be faithful to who you truly are… in our context.
This would mean if you felt you would like to teach – you would be encouraged and given the freedom to do so – whether anyone listened or agreed with your teaching, well… that’s another thing altogether :-) but that’s no different to your congregation at Warnbro.
However, your gift of teaching, or pastoring, or whatever, would not receive a special “recognition” amongst our people. We would not hold you in higher regard than anyone else in the group – nor any less. You would be encouraged in your gifting, and would be free to encourage others in theirs.
You would definitely not be looked upon to care for all the members of the group, to counsel all of them, to guide all of them, to correct all of them, or to lead them all into the “vision God has set before you” – these are the shared responsibilities of everyone, as we explore a corporate faith journey together.
Now try and work David Foster’s articles into that expression of church :-)
hang on… was that an *invitation* i heard there… :-)
like i said – bring food and you’re always welcome :-)