Tuesday, August 09, 2011
To Pastor?
iMonk classic:
The first is that no one is picking up the slack on what the new pastorate is leaving behind. Pastoral calls are being left far behind. Maybe hospital calls, but when was the last time someone called on a member of the congregation? If the pastorate is going to abandon this function then it has got to make sure someone is doing it.
Secondly - such pastorates take away a lot from "lay" leadership. It used to be the executive functions were handled by elders. This went a long way to create ownership for the church for everyone involved. Now the pastor owns the church and the rest of us are just along for the ride.
Depersonalization and possession - are these moves towards selflessness? I don;t think so. That's a problem.
I hardly recognize today’s pastors as doing the same job as the typical pastors of my younger days. Of course, expectations were changing at the time, as I could see from what was crossing my desk when I was a pastor and what was happening at the megachurch just up the road.I agree, and I have two very important reason.
I have real respect for faithful pastors. I have similar respect for young pastors who are seeking to be shepherds. But I have no respect for those who, under various banners, have turned the church into a business and the calling of a pastor into the work of a CEO and salesman.
The first is that no one is picking up the slack on what the new pastorate is leaving behind. Pastoral calls are being left far behind. Maybe hospital calls, but when was the last time someone called on a member of the congregation? If the pastorate is going to abandon this function then it has got to make sure someone is doing it.
Secondly - such pastorates take away a lot from "lay" leadership. It used to be the executive functions were handled by elders. This went a long way to create ownership for the church for everyone involved. Now the pastor owns the church and the rest of us are just along for the ride.
Depersonalization and possession - are these moves towards selflessness? I don;t think so. That's a problem.
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