Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Find a Role
Ed Stetzer is trying to help pastors define their roles:
What does "rancher" role mean. It is not enough for him to merely appoint the shepherds - he has to make and maintain them. The pastoral role in the modern church is not merely pastoral, nor it it merely executive - it is a combination of the two. The sweet spot is far less about finding a role and far more about finding the sweet spot between all the roles. - which means giving away some of each role as well.
pastors running a church
You, as the pastor, are not ultimately responsible for the church. While you do have some, only King Jesus bears the final responsibility.That's healthy. He talks about a church plant he once did:
I actually got up one Sunday and "resigned." (Yep, I used air quotes.) I told my congregation that I was going to resign as the sole shepherd and caregiver of the church.Now, the Presbyterian in me is repulsed by the "appointed" part, but I'll let that slide for a bigger issue.
I apologized for not creating proper boundaries and explained that I was restructuring. Using some very 90's language (which wasn't too terrible because it was the 90's), I explained that I was going to move into a "rancher" role, while appointing "shepherds" who worked there. It was a big step of growth, both for the church and myself.
What does "rancher" role mean. It is not enough for him to merely appoint the shepherds - he has to make and maintain them. The pastoral role in the modern church is not merely pastoral, nor it it merely executive - it is a combination of the two. The sweet spot is far less about finding a role and far more about finding the sweet spot between all the roles. - which means giving away some of each role as well.
pastors running a church
