O Pastor, Where Art Thou?

As a child, when I thought of pastors, I had an image of a gray haired man in a suit, standing behind some wooden box in the front of a big room. Basically, this:

Even as an adult in the ministry, I shuddered at the thought of ever becoming a pastor. It was too rigid, too stuffy. Too much responsibility. And years of youth ministry had created an aversion to wearing suits.

Yet, God called me to pastor anyway. But, and I am tirelessly grateful for this, it was to pastor a new church, a church that had no preconceived notions of what a pastor was, or how he dressed. And, to top it off, God called me to pastor a church in a bar, so my image of "pastor" could now be fully tossed out the window. Now, it looks like this:



The problem was, I still had no idea what the substance of the role of pastor was all about. I had served under some good pastors for too short a time, or some good men who were just plain tired and burned out, or some- well, let's just say some works in progress. And from my time as a youth, I knew that pastors needed to be good speakers and be nice to people, but other than that, not much.

I read some leadership books. They seemed to tell pastors to act like business men. I stopped reading them.

I tried being a hands off pastor, let things just flow. Nothing happened.

I tried to be a sterner leader. It alienated people.

Then it hit me: Pastoring has become about leadership alone, and forgotten the key characteristic of shepherding.

I looked at popular pastors- locally and nationally. The big guys were leaders, alpha-dogs. They conveyed concern and compassion and seemed genuine. They were good speakers. But everything the church did flowed from them- they were leaders, and they were the fount of inspiration for every major initiative of the church. If the pastor didn't create the idea- or at the very least massively endorse it- it didn't go far.

Just the other day, Chase, a new visitor to the Gate mentioned that the reason some people think church is boring is because it's the same old thing all the time. He went on to say that some people complain, just to complain, but that if there is a problem, the complainers need to offer a solution.

It was then that it hit me- again. The church needs leader/shepherds. See, the problem is that the pastor has become, in the minds of the modern church, much like the Old Testament Priest. He does it all. He is the visionary. He is the initiator. He is the chief prayer warrior. And the Leaders Only Model of pastoring has taken this bait hook, line and sinker.

Why? Because it's easier.

It is easier to lead the people and tell them what to do than it is to prepare and disciple and equip them to do it themselves. That's shepherding.

Shepherding is walking alongside the people, and guiding them gently. It's noticing their spiritual inclinations to do good and nudging them toward that. It's nurturing the natural gifts and talents of the individuals in the church and working with them to see those gifts used for God's glory. Shepherding is letting the people who make of the Body of Christ make choices for themselves, and only stepping in to keep them on the right course and away from danger.

I'm learning there is a balance that must be sought between leading and shepherding. The church is where all believers can come together and share ways to seek God, but the church must have a leader that brings it all together in a focus.

And, I believe, above all, the pastor must be allowed to be human. Too many times I've read about or seen pastors who become idols, or who suddenly fall to a "secret" sin that gets publicized. Pastors are not celebrities, and they do make mistakes.

A good pastor will have the grace to equip the church to make decisions, the strength to lead the church toward Christ, and the courage to share his failures.