A Broken Pastor

I stumbled across this blog article today by a Pastor on sabbatical. In it he describes quite transparently the heart of a Pastor. The high moments... the low moments... the questions... the desperation... the expectations (both of self and external)...

I post this to, hopefully, encourage you all to remember those whom are called to lead you, spiritually.

Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit. (Hebrews 13:17)

The life of a Pastor is often one of isolation (sometimes by choice, but usually out of protection). They can easily be in a crowded room and be completely alone (him and his family). They do not usually complain because they know their calling and refuse to waiver. They stand in the gap for us sheep (the Flock - the Church)... they labor in prayer on our behalf... they face temptation... they are ridiculed... they are mocked in the media... they are looked up to in crisis, but down upon in prosperity... their stances (especially against sin) are challenged repeatedly by us who seek only what's best for us.

Some ideas for encouraging your Pastor...

1. PRAY for him and his family! Ask him from time to time how you can pray for them. Teach your children to pray for him and his family, too.

2. LIVE the Gospel... instead of "just trying to make it," seek to LIVE the Gospel that Christ gave His life for and confirmed in returning to the living. Christ lives so that we might have a full life (John 10:10) - one that is for HIS glory and not our own (Col. 1:15-16). Pastors (hopefully/prayerfully) do not seek to achieve self notoriety, but instead to lead people to Him who is the absolute best for everyone's life. There is nothing that brings more joy to a Pastor's heart than to see people with broken hearts turn to Him who heals and molds people in His image.

3. TRUST his vision and calling. Most churches hesitate when it comes to change. They cling to what was/is and not what could be. Praise God if your Pastor has a vision and heart to see lost people saved - follow him! Ask how you might be involved. Churches often seek what's best for their own church (or personal lives/families)... a Pastor's heart is to seek how they might profit the Kingdom!

4. ENCOURAGE other church members in their faith. Call "sin" what it is - sin (not an "oops," but a blatant and conscious act that draws us away from God and offends God), fellowship in Truth together, hold one another accountable, pray for their families and together seek out Pastoral council in how you might be a part of His vision (not your own vision - or one that is self-seeking).

5. LEARN with him! Learn how to love the lost, dying, weak, sick, broken, confused, confrontational, impatient, self-seeking and sinful. Learn how to demonstrate mercy and grace and how to extend it to all (regardless of who they are, where they come from or whether or not they even care). Ask him to challenge you in this endeavor. Ask questions (Pastors are always encouraged to see their people hungry for the Word!). Ask for suggestions in ways you might teach your own family (both in Scripture and living out Scripture).

Pastors are MEN called by God - they are not perfect. They lose focus from time-to-time, they hurt, they are anxious, they question their own calling and leadership, they battle pride and they struggle (spiritually, emotionally, and physically). Just as much as they are called to lead us, we are called to be an encouragement to them and to follow them (trusting that they, who are accountable to God, are leading us toward Him)!

To Pastor Trevor (from the article) - I am praying for you and your family, my Brother. I pray God would illuminate your heart with clarity, vision, wisdom and an unquenchable fire!

Want to join the conversation? Click here to comment or ask a question!

The image I borrowed is actually entitled "The Lonely Photographer", but I found it to be a powerful picture that summed up in many ways what I wrote about regarding the Broken Pastor. Image Credit: bart_azare

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Rethinking "Worship"

A couple days ago I posted a response to a conversation started by my Twitter friend Tami about "Why I Can't Listen to Christian Music." Something I wanted to address (and made very brief mention of, or eluded to in the post) was this notion that worship is founded in music. Don't get me wrong, I love singing songs of praise and love to my King, but worship is so much more than singing once or twice a week in corporate worship. Worship is my living response to God and His grace and mercy (and patience!), not the songs I sing. Now that I've said this some people are going to instantly jump on me (or become defensive, at a minimum) for insinuating that some people think music is the only way to "worship," but I beg for your patience before raising arms against me. :-)

I was reading an article by Dan Kimball called "Communicating Well in a Fast-Paced World" that discusses the misuses or misunderstandings of certain words used by the Church/believers and the theological (the way people know and understand God) ramifications of those words. The first one mentioned is "worship" and I think his words are worthy of repeating:

"...if you were to grab a 20-year-old who is part of your church and ask him or her “What is worship?” there is a very high probability he would say “music” or “singing.” After all, we call the musician who leads the singing the “worship pastor” or “worship leader.” After the sermon is over, the worship leader usually says something like, “Let’s now worship,” essentially equating worship with the singing. So naturally, when we ask a 20-year-old to define worship, the first thing that comes to their mind is singing. As they are in a conversation with someone and say, “I love to worship at my church,” it usually means they love the music. We know as leaders that singing is but one very limited understanding of what worship is. But week after week we let it go, reinforcing the common perception through our language. In the hectic and fast-paced nature of life and ministry, we may not be stopping to wonder if the people we lead are understanding theologically what “worship” really is. This does have theological implications to our day-to-day living. If the people we lead subtly begin equating worship with singing together, then we aren’t understanding the concept of holistic sacrificial worship as Romans 12:1–2 teaches. So worship takes place mainly at a meeting when we all sing, not as a lifestyle. An extreme dichotomy can occur in one’s spiritual formation and how they live their life and view themselves as a worshipper."

Could not have said it better (hence the reason I didn't!). Interested in seeing his views on some other key words ("church," "pastor," "sanctuary" or "meeting place")? Check out the rest of his article here (highly recommended!).

Want to join the conversation? Click here to post a comment or ask a question!

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