I was thinking this morning about all the different “hats” pastors are expected to wear…
He is expected to be interested in what we are interested in so he can “relate” to us but there is no need for that to be reciprocal.
He is to be supportive and understanding of our needs but stoic and in solitude when it comes to his own.
We expect his family to be perfect at all times, otherwise he will be deemed to be disqualified to be a pastor pursuant to the “pastoral epistles”
He is expected to be on every single Sunday with an interesting monologue that is neither too short (leaving us wondering what to do until noon) nor too long (keeping us a minute past noon). The sermon should be as fresh and interesting as a late night comedy monologue, only way longer and without the benefit of professional writers.
He is expected to give up several years of his life and incur mountains of debt to get a couple of college degrees and then work for a pittance.
He is to be our confidant, our counselor, marry us and bury us. Our friend when we need one and the dispenser of church discipline when we are wronged.
He is to be open to critique but never critical.
He is to be fully committed to the local church without even entertaining a call somewhere else but is at the same time an “at-will” employee who can be summarily fired if a majority of the congregations votes him out.
He and his wife are to be involved in every ministry within the church.
We expect him to be the source of leadership and vision but liable to being overturned at the drop of a hat. A leader of a people who refuse to be led.
This is just a few I thought of off the top of my head. Is it any wonder that pastoral burnout and frustration is so rampant?
4 comments:
I ran across a couple of pastors complaining about all the work that they do, and I asked them a couple of questions. Unfortunately, they never responded.
1) If you're doing so many different things, how do you know that you're doing what God wants you to do, and not what other people want you to do?
2) If you're doing the work of 2-3 people, are you really helping the church, or could you be hurting the church?
-Alan
Alan,
It is a pretty vicious cycle. Filling in the perceived holes might make short term sense but I would agree that it is hurting the church long-term.
Have u thought about going to Graham again? Perhaps getting involved in the opportunities for ministry there?
Joe,
Not really. Graham is kind of far away and I am not really interested monologue sermons. If we do anything, it will be to move even further away from the traditional church.
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