Wednesday, August 17, 2011
What Shouldn't A Pastor Do?
Should a pastor preach or clean toilets?He goes on to make two expanded points. His bullets:
Preach, of course. At least, that is how I would have answered almost 8 years ago when I first came to my current church. The problem was there was so much more to do than just preach and no one to do it.
- All tasks are ultimately the pastor’s responsibility.
- If you are not willing to clean toilets, you should not be preaching.
On his second point I could not agree more. All of us are called to serve the church, and while we may be gifted in some areas and not others, we may even be called to some things and not others, it is the attitude of service that matters most. One cannot have an attitude of service unless one actually serves when it is necessary - and yes that may on occasion mean cleaning toilets.
I can recall a time when I had to excuse myself from worship to take care of some necessary business and the receptacle of that business overflowed. The janitor was in service - it would have been rude to disturb him. I knew where the mop bucket was....
On this first point; however, I disagree completely. All task are God's responsibility and his tools are the congregation. It's not the pastors church. Croft's point is a practical one, and I understand it, but there is no better teacher than stuff going undone. If a congregation wants something to happen they will make it happen - it is not the pastor's job to force it.
In my experience, pastor's that bend to the "pressure" to be responsible for everything do so not out of an attitude of service, but self-preservation - to keep their salary's flowing. I am not sure that is leadership at all. Leadership makes others capaable.
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