My fried, Pastor Jamie Barfield, shared this on his church blog just a few days ago. I hope he doesn't mind that I share it with you on my blog. I believe that God anointed him to share this with his congregation, and I hope that every church member will read this and pray for their pastor.
Hearing of another Pastor who has taken his life today has my heart broken for leaders who aren’t able to find help in their pain. It also has pushed me to ask a lot of questions about church and the congregation’s responsibility. What do Pastor’s really want their church to know about them? What should be the focus of the church member in relation to leadership? How do we get the leadership process healthy again?
Here are some of my thoughts on each of those questions…
3 things local Pastor’s want you to know…
We aren’t superman, but we are doing our best. No Pastor wakes up on Monday morning and says “this week I’m going to preach a stinker, ignore every call, and spend no time with God”, but instead we struggle with how to fulfill the calling of God in our life every day. We are trying! We want to lead our churches to massive revival, and we are trying our best every week to see that happen. We are trying our best!
The burden of ministry isn’t left in the church office. I know the perception of a Pastor is that we work three days a week and then watch TV and play golf the rest of the time. The reality of the local Pastor is that we work way too much and even carry the burdens of work with us into our time off. We wrestle all night with the burdens of ministry, we wake up still burdened, and we go through our day carrying the weight on our shoulders. It NEVER lets up!
My personal life is always judged, so I sacrifice my family. It’s amazing how the car we drive, the house we live in, the places we eat, and the clothes we wear are talking points for people. There are many times I will tell my wife “don’t post that on Facebook or someone will get mad that we are here without them”. I understand the judgment that I receive for every choice I make, but I want to stop sacrificing my family to keep you satisfied. Find someone else to complain about, please!
What should be the focus of the church member in relation to leadership?
Church is a spiritual place and so our outlook in leadership should be spiritual. Stop leaving a church because of physical “fleshly” reasons like; music, lights, food, parking, phone calls. Is your Pastor teaching you God’s word with clarity and purity? Is your Pastor doing his best to follow God’s calling for his life? Is your Pastor standing up for righteousness and truth? If you answer is “Yes” then you should stand by your Pastor! Stand by him when he makes a stupid decision. Stand by him when he steps on your toes. Stand by him when he does something that you don’t like (physically). We can handle someone leaving the church because of theological differences, but we struggle when it’s something that’s physical and has no relevance to the Kingdom of God.
Stop giving up on us so quickly. The back door of the church shouldn’t be a revolving door because of the people that come in and out. When will we understand that the Pastor will do things we don’t like, but they are a gift to the body of Christ that the church needs to take care of? Most of us feel like janitors and fire fighters more than we do spiritual leaders and a gift from God. Allow us time to become your Pastor, then we can show you the purity of our heart.
How do we get the leadership process healthy again?
I wish this were the easy part, but it’s obviously the most difficult. The role of Pastor has been so misused that we are now placed in the same category as politicians; people aren’t sure who we really are and what our intentions are. The first step in this process is pushing ourselves, as Pastors, to live as righteous as possible while also being honest with the struggle. Secondly, we have to stop allowing our ministries success to define our calling in Christ Jesus. Finally, the church has to stop looking for the next big thing and instead start looking for the fruits of the spirit in a ministry. When the fruit is evident then you support that Pastor until God moves you (which shouldn’t be anytime soon).
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