What is the role of your pastor or any pastor for that matter?
Having been called “Pastor” for twenty-five years, I still struggle with the title and job description.
On a personal note, part of the problem with the definition is that I am fully aware of my own human deficits. I am conscious of my hypocrisies and incongruencies.
But what should be the expectations for the spiritual leader of any church?
To be sure, I know the biblical qualifications of being a shepherd to people. One of the key New Testament mandates is, “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”
These requirements are reasonable and any pastor worth his salt must strive for such character.
Is there more, though? Certainly.
Since I have limited space, I’ll not endlessly quote scripture (which is perhaps the better strategy), but try to focus on the assumptions of the congregants.
In part, pastoral responsibilities depend upon the size of the flock. For a church of less than 100 people, the pastor has a direct relationship with its members. On the other hand, churches surpassing 250 depend more upon a group of ministerial leaders to do the work of maintaining the body. So, a direct connection with the lead pastor is less likely.
In such a setting as the latter, to what extent does it matter whether it is the pastor of the church or a surrogate when considering the need for spiritual counsel?
In college, I attended classes that were led by a singular professor, lecture classes, that held students by the hundreds for instruction. I never had direct communication with the teacher, only teacher’s assistants to reinforce the material provided. This was deeply unsatisfying especially if the professor was a stellar orator. I wanted to engage with the “expert”.
When examining why so many churches are smaller in attendance, I used to believe it was a sign of an unhealthy ingrown nature or general conflict that kept the “faithful” number to a minimum.
Today, however, people, as perhaps never before, need a direct relationship with their pastor to assist them. This is not to sully the great multipliers of faithful adherents who increase the number of followers writ large; it is simply to say that human nature is more generally wired for personal interaction.
I am a second career pastor meaning I worked in a secular job for twenty-three years before becoming a fully vocational minister. What I learned is that churches are different than the corporate world.
In the corporate world, people must do as they are told by impersonal bosses above them or they will cease to be employed. But in a ministerial world, it is all about relationships. People choose to trust, to attend, and support those they feel are sincere, have a good reputation, and are insightful. They follow leaders and want to know their leaders.
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” It is of interest that in the first century a typical shepherd cared for 50-100 sheep.
And so, I return to my original question, “What is the role of your pastor?” And how important is it for you to know him personally?
There is no right answer—only a clear job description.
Kent Simmons is the pastor of Canyon Community Church in Kingman, AZ
